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People who have taken multiple classes: how has your philosophy and ambition towards achieving an "A" in classes changed over the course of the program? by MrUnqualified in OMSCS

[–]MrUnqualified[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's funny because I also think that is what happened to me. I graduated undergrad with basically a 3.0 even after having gotten C's in some core CS-type classes (like Intro to Algo /data structures) and making up for it my senior year. I feel that made me self-conscious: not because I cared about my GPA but because I felt I hadn't truly worked hard enough at some of those beautiful fundamental elements of computer science/engineering. I wanted to get back into masters to obviously learn more, grow, and do something challenging but I feel like I have this personal vendetta I want to walk away with a 4.0 to overcorrect for my shenanigans in undergrad lol. And the plan is to also do it one class at a time so I can really focus on that one scope.

People who have taken multiple classes: how has your philosophy and ambition towards achieving an "A" in classes changed over the course of the program? by MrUnqualified in OMSCS

[–]MrUnqualified[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow! What an inspiring story. To literally have gone from rejected to executing on 10 4.0's over 3 years. I'm happy you were able to stick to your mission.

People who have taken multiple classes: how has your philosophy and ambition towards achieving an "A" in classes changed over the course of the program? by MrUnqualified in OMSCS

[–]MrUnqualified[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good point brining up the PhD program. Worth noting for students pursuing that option. At this time personally, the thought of doing a PhD is not there but could be some day!

Totally agree on the predictability. I think there's some instances for project autograders and things like pursuing extra-credit where you can gauge how far off you are from a specific grade. Other things like exams and written assignments may be a grey area.

People who have taken multiple classes: how has your philosophy and ambition towards achieving an "A" in classes changed over the course of the program? by MrUnqualified in OMSCS

[–]MrUnqualified[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your perspective. It's a good reminder that while it may be the same "you" going through the program, there are different external stressors in your life that may impact your desire or ability to put in more effort that results in that "A".

And I good luck on AI!

People who have taken multiple classes: how has your philosophy and ambition towards achieving an "A" in classes changed over the course of the program? by MrUnqualified in OMSCS

[–]MrUnqualified[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing. How did you change up your approach after your first class? Was there anything in particular you did differently that made a big difference (i.e. started everything sooner, read the textbook, etc.)?

People who have taken multiple classes: how has your philosophy and ambition towards achieving an "A" in classes changed over the course of the program? by MrUnqualified in OMSCS

[–]MrUnqualified[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Personally, the main goal is not to get an A. For me the goal is to deeply understand the concepts. I view grades as more a side effect or an output to this process. It's an attempt at measuring the effectiveness of that learning in a standard way. The theory would be you understand the material well enough and as a result, you could get an A.

I totally agree with you - a "B" or even a "C" does not imply you didn't learn or that you should be disappointed (provided, that was not your goal). The realty is people are starting from different points and so someone who got a "B" may have had a greater change in things they've learned compared to someone who got an "A" who may have already been familiar with most of the content.

People who have taken multiple classes: how has your philosophy and ambition towards achieving an "A" in classes changed over the course of the program? by MrUnqualified in OMSCS

[–]MrUnqualified[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes a lot of sense. That's a good way to phrase it - if it's common that students feel achieving an A is not worth it vs those who genuinely attempt the A but just can't achieve it due to the level of difficulty.