Anyone Fail a College Class?

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Dr Winston O'Boogie's avatar

Dr Winston O'Boogie

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Dec 10, 2012 3:05 PM
I failed a few and had to retake a few that were not "F", but were low. In hindsight, I had no business giong into college at age 18 - way too immature.
Dec 10, 2012 3:05pm
S

sportchampps

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7,361 posts
Dec 10, 2012 3:12 PM
I know when I was at OU the first Chem class had like a 47% failure rate and the Chem department and professors were actually investigated for having such a high failure rate. Luckily I didn't need to take chem. My girlfriend was in her accounting 101 exam with about 200 students when several accounting professors busted thru the doors and made everyone put everything down and sit still or it was an automatic F. They had to wait while the professors when thru each of the 200 people's calculators seeing if they had any of the formulas or document layouts saved in the memory. The professors actually failed like 75% of the class for it and tried to have them expelled. Luckily my girlfriend wasn't one of them. She also was in another class when the professor posted all the assignments online and had everything submitted online. When she clicked on the assignment a couple weeks before it was assigned to start early the professor hadn't updated it to the current quarter so when she turned it in he accused her of cheating and gave her an f and made her go before the dean for expulsion. To tell her all this he had her meet him at a bar when she was only 18. This led to her dad ( a powerful attorney in Cleveland who worked under George W Bush administration) to threaten the school with all kinds of misconduct lawsuits until the Dean fired the professor for having an underage student meet him at a bar while discussing grades. People basically start freaking out whenever he sends a letter to them and they see letterhead.
Dec 10, 2012 3:12pm
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

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Dec 10, 2012 3:23 PM
Raw Dawgin' it;1339881 wrote:Reps. Seriously, who needs chemistry when you have the bible.
Exactly. It's much easier to just write "God did it" than actually participate in anything evidenced based.
Dec 10, 2012 3:23pm
J

jmog

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6,567 posts
Dec 10, 2012 4:16 PM
ts1227;1339483 wrote:I failed partial differential equations my junior year, had to retake it senior year and still only got a C. That class was a bitch.
Partial Diff Eq might have been the toughest class for when you take it that exists.

I mean I took higher level math classes later, but taking PDE as a sophomore (took ODE as a freshman) nearly made me stop my math degree (was doing an engineering degree too).

Our take home final for PDE, was 5 problems. 20 pages and 30 hours of work later I knew I was going to fail the class.

I ended up with a B (everyone else REALLY bombed the final I guess).

I will say this, taking PDE as a sophomore and then taking fluids, thermal, etc (Transport Phenomena in chemEng) later made that class extremely easy. For 90% of ChemEng students Transport is by far the hardest class.

The closest I came to ever failing a class was Thermodynamics as a sophomore, I missed 4 weeks of the 15 week course due to illness and all my other professors let me make up the course work. My thermo prof would not. I had a high A on the first exam, a 25 on the 2nd (took it while completely ill because he wouldn't allow a make up), and a high A on the final exam.

Average out two A's and pretty much the lowest possible "F" and you get a D. That's what he gave me. I was pissed, hated that prof.

When I had him for a process design class as a senior my 3 exams were 105 through 110 (he gave 10 pt extra credit questions instead of a curve) and when I had him for graduate lvl thermo I got the highest grade in the class on each exam.

At that point I knew I'd never have him again so I told him off about the BS he pulled on the undergrad thermo final grade and not letting me make up the work.
Dec 10, 2012 4:16pm
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robj55

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Dec 10, 2012 4:20 PM
like_that;1339480 wrote:I nearly failed Italian. It was a requirement for my degree to take a language, and this was the 4th and final class I needed to take. I really didn't give a **** about the class, so just as I did with my other Italian courses, I took the course pass/fail (you need a 70 or above to pass), because I didn't want my "not give a ****" attitude to mess with my GPA. Needless to say I ****ed around in the class and it was pretty much borderline whether I was going to pass it or not. The teacher was a cute grad student. I saw her at a bar one night, and I pretty much bought most of her drinks for the night and basically asked her to pass me. She promised she would pass me. I ended up passing the course, and I honestly think it is because of me seeing her at the bar. I know I did very poorly on that final exam.
nicely done
Dec 10, 2012 4:20pm
J

jmog

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6,567 posts
Dec 10, 2012 4:23 PM
mhs95_06;1339533 wrote:P Chem was very rough for many of us Chem Es. We took it in our Jr. year(1971-2), 3 qtrs plus a lab. The 1st qtr I really struggled and was happy to get a C. The key turned out to be to take feverish, meticulous notes in the intense lectures, then memorize them for the tests, were at night with an unlimited amount of time allowed. This was foreign to me as before that I would take sketchy notes and do my learning by paying close attention in class. I think the tests were at night so he didn't have to lose any of the hr classes each day to lecture. The prof would give 300 point tests, and maybe a week after we went through the drudgery of taking them, he'd come to class and say something like: the low was 23, the median 58, and the high 152(most of the class would then booooooooo!). One day he also said: " I've been accused of there being no relationship between the textbook, the lectures, the homework, the lab, and the tests. I do not deny that accusation!" (big round of boos). Spring break was an anxious time that year, and my grades came in the mail at home about 3 days before it was time to go back for spring qtr. I clearly remember the suspense as I opened the envelope and learned that I failed.

That put me having to pass the 2nd qtr and the 3rd qtr in my envisioned last two qtrs in school in winter and spring of my senior year(each class only offered once per year). My buddy made it through, and I borrowed his notebooks with his notes of the lectures. The classes were always at 8am. After going to class with the notes already I found that the material was identical and it didn't do me any good to listen to it and follow along in the notebook. I never had skipped classes before, but when I got a B on the first exam, and could see attendance not benefiting me, I started skipping classes and just studying the notes and going to take the tests. I got Bs from then on like clockwork for the 2nd and 3rd qtrs.

Grades for graduating seniors had to be turned in 2 weeks before the end of the quarter(remember this was when we used slide rules - calculators came in starting about my junior year and my first one cost $150 in 1972 dollars(probably over $1000 in today's dollars for a basic one that would be maybe $5-10 today). A B would have given me a final GPA of just over 3.0, and a C would give me a 2.99. The prof would not turn in a B for me, saying if I did on my final as I had on my clockwork scores, he'd send in a correction(after I already had my copy of my final transcript). I did get the B, but my copy says 2.99!
When I was at Akron U, PChem 1 was a joke for ChemEs because it was all thermodynamics and we had already had chem eng thermo.

However, I will agree with you about the PChem 2, at Akron U that was the molecular dynamics/Einstein/Schrodinger crap. Most definitely the hardest chemistry or physics class I had to take while in college.
Dec 10, 2012 4:23pm
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Ironman92

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49,363 posts
Dec 10, 2012 4:24 PM
Con_Alma;1339612 wrote:If you are taking Algebra in college what level of math were you taking in high school?

Jackson High School
1988-1989 Algebra
1989-90 Geometry
1990-91 Algebra 2
1991-92 Math Analysis

All were the highest level math classes you could take...

29 on my math ACT if that mattered and College Algebra was one of the "general courses" you had to have at Wilmington....and it kicked my ass.
Dec 10, 2012 4:24pm
J

jmog

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6,567 posts
Dec 10, 2012 4:30 PM
Raw Dawgin' it;1339881 wrote:Reps. Seriously, who needs chemistry when you have the bible.
How about chemistry AND the Bible?
Dec 10, 2012 4:30pm
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

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Dec 11, 2012 9:06 AM
ts1227;1339483 wrote:I failed partial differential equations my junior year, had to retake it senior year and still only got a C. That class was a bitch.
jmog;1339954 wrote:Partial Diff Eq might have been the toughest class for when you take it that exists.
I loved that class. I'm not sure if my prof was easy or really good. One of my classmates recommended him and that was one of my favorite classes in college. (I wonder now if I had a different prof if I would have liked it as much.) I do remember that the homework problems could take multiple pages, but we were allowed to have two pages of notes, front and back, for the test. I made the deans list that quarter and I'm pretty sure it's why I was accepted into my major.
Dec 11, 2012 9:06am
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Raw Dawgin' it

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Dec 11, 2012 9:16 AM
jmog;1339977 wrote:How about chemistry AND the Bible?
Raw Dawgin' it;1337890 wrote:Ok my last Rogan clip - but i think this fits with this thread too

[video=youtube;NXexBtNLcF4][/video]
probably not.
Dec 11, 2012 9:16am
J

jmog

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6,567 posts
Dec 11, 2012 11:04 AM
FatHobbit;1340349 wrote:I loved that class. I'm not sure if my prof was easy or really good. One of my classmates recommended him and that was one of my favorite classes in college. (I wonder now if I had a different prof if I would have liked it as much.) I do remember that the homework problems could take multiple pages, but we were allowed to have two pages of notes, front and back, for the test. I made the deans list that quarter and I'm pretty sure it's why I was accepted into my major.
Probably had something to do with my prof being foreign and only being a sophomore taking a senior level class.

I took 4 other classes after that (grad level) that were more on PDEs and had tougher problems. However, I did quite well in all of the later classes.
Dec 11, 2012 11:04am
G

gut

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15,058 posts
Dec 11, 2012 11:27 AM
jmog;1340411 wrote:Probably had something to do with my prof being foreign and only being a sophomore taking a senior level class.

I took 4 other classes after that (grad level) that were more on PDEs and had tougher problems. However, I did quite well in all of the later classes.
Yeah, I don't remember PDE being hard. But the teacher in pretty much any math class makes a huge difference. Didn't really get tough for me until Abstract Algebra and Real Analysis. I ended-up doing well in Abstract, but Real Analysis was like "ok, this is as far as you go in math"
Dec 11, 2012 11:27am
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ts1227

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Dec 11, 2012 11:47 AM
My PDE teacher was some 70 year old Romanian guy. That didn't help
Dec 11, 2012 11:47am
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FatHobbit

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Dec 11, 2012 12:28 PM
jmog;1340411 wrote:Probably had something to do with my prof being foreign
ts1227;1340436 wrote:My PDE teacher was some 70 year old Romanian guy. That didn't help
Mine was Russian but late 20's early 30's.
Dec 11, 2012 12:28pm
G

gut

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Dec 11, 2012 12:43 PM
FatHobbit;1340465 wrote:Mine was Russian but late 20's early 30's.
Well, there's your problem! Never take a math class taught by a Russian. That, and beware that the degree of difficulty for a math class is usually inversely proportional to the thickness of the text.

But seriously, most math classes really come down to what problems the instructor chooses.
Dec 11, 2012 12:43pm
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Pick6

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Dec 11, 2012 2:28 PM
Might have just added another one to my list in Cost Accounting. Probably the hardest class I will have undergrad.

Had a 78% going into the exam. Had to get about a 50% to finish with a 70%. 35 questions, critical thinking and multiple steps required on 3/4ths of them. Had to do some educated guessing on probably about 10 of them to get done in time. Prof doesnt curve the grade at all, and she's the only one who teaches the course.

Im prob fucked.
Dec 11, 2012 2:28pm
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

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Dec 11, 2012 2:29 PM
Cost accounting is fairly difficult. Accounting in general is fairly difficult as well.
Dec 11, 2012 2:29pm
V

vball10set

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Dec 11, 2012 3:09 PM
Pick6;1340542 wrote:Might have just added another one to my list in Cost Accounting. Probably the hardest class I will have undergrad.

Had a 78% going into the exam. Had to get about a 50% to finish with a 70%. 35 questions, critical thinking and multiple steps required on 3/4ths of them. Had to do some educated guessing on probably about 10 of them to get done in time. Prof doesnt curve the grade at all, and she's the only one who teaches the course.

Im prob ****ed.
The only thing to do then is drink. Heavily. :cool:
Dec 11, 2012 3:09pm
Pick6's avatar

Pick6

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Dec 11, 2012 3:13 PM
vball10set;1340576 wrote:The only thing to do then is drink. Heavily. :cool:
Already a bowl and a few beers ahead of ya. Im sure ill be passing out soon, though, since I stayed all night studying for that bitch.
Dec 11, 2012 3:13pm
V

vball10set

paying it forward

24,795 posts
Dec 11, 2012 3:24 PM
Pick6;1340577 wrote:Already a bowl and a few beers ahead of ya. Im sure ill be passing out soon, though, since I stayed all night studying for that bitch.

reps!
Dec 11, 2012 3:24pm
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O-Trap

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Dec 11, 2012 6:24 PM
I actually failed two classes in college, both my freshman year. One was Epistemology. The other was a culture and history class on the Akkadians, Neo-Babylonians, and Neo-Assyrians. The prof was a dick who gave a 7-page paper (single-spaced) every week and who started the first class with this phrase: "100% is reserved for someone who has nothing left to learn in this class. 90% is reserved for someone qualified to teach this class."

In the entire semester, one person wrote a paper that received a grade in the 90 percent range.

Thankfully, the egomaniac left after that semester, and I got to retake it to end up with a 91% (B) for the class.

As for Epistemology, I retook that and got a 94% (A-) for the class.
Dec 11, 2012 6:24pm
Pick6's avatar

Pick6

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Dec 11, 2012 6:32 PM
O-Trap;1340707 wrote:I actually failed two classes in college, both my freshman year. One was Epistemology. The other was a culture and history class on the Akkadians, Neo-Babylonians, and Neo-Assyrians. The prof was a dick who gave a 7-page paper (single-spaced) every week and who started the first class with this phrase: "100% is reserved for someone who has nothing left to learn in this class. 90% is reserved for someone qualified to teach this class."

In the entire semester, one person wrote a paper that received a grade in the 90 percent range.

Thankfully, the egomaniac left after that semester, and I got to retake it to end up with a 91% (B) for the class.

As for Epistemology, I retook that and got a 94% (A-) for the class.
I would have dropped it the minute he said that. The dude probably got fired. I cant stand professors like that.
Dec 11, 2012 6:32pm
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Commander of Awesome

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Dec 11, 2012 6:33 PM
I came close in Calculus. Class was taughtt by a laid off Delta pilot and he graded every homework question for completion and correctness. Avg about 30~40 questions a night, fucking hated that class. I took Honors Calc in hs and still only managed to scrape by with a D+.
Dec 11, 2012 6:33pm
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O-Trap

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Dec 11, 2012 6:45 PM
Pick6;1340712 wrote:I would have dropped it the minute he said that. The dude probably got fired. I cant stand professors like that.
Nope. Accepted a position at another school. My mentor (a colleague of his, mind you) and I were discussing it, and even my mentor was honest about him being a douche and said that the school that hired him never asked Grace College anything about him, and that they were going to feel stupid once they found out what kind of professor he was.

He was mainly an honors-level ancient languages professor, so apparently, he was difficult to work with on a schedule as a professor, because he acted like teaching anything that wasn't a language or that wasn't at least a junior-level class was beneath him.

They were glad when he left (the students were too), but I guess it really puzzled the administration that the new school didn't ask them anything about him.

Last I heard, he had moved schools again. Not sure the circumstances.
Dec 11, 2012 6:45pm
J

jmog

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Dec 11, 2012 9:09 PM
gut;1340425 wrote:Yeah, I don't remember PDE being hard. But the teacher in pretty much any math class makes a huge difference. Didn't really get tough for me until Abstract Algebra and Real Analysis. I ended-up doing well in Abstract, but Real Analysis was like "ok, this is as far as you go in math"
I found abstract easy and hated real analysis, but that was because I was an applied math and engineering major (those and advanced calc was the only theory classes required).
Dec 11, 2012 9:09pm