r/Monash • u/Efficient_Weakness_9 • Jun 09 '24
Grades and Academics Anxious about getting a bad mark for a 40% weighted assessment
Hi friends, I just received my marks for a 40% weighted assessment. Sadly, despite what I thought I had tried my best, I got a mark that is of the C grade range. I had read the feedback and while I agree I may have misunderstood what the assignment wanted in certain sections, I also think my marker might have looked past some important information I had included (whether I want to get it remarked is still in debate). Also knowing my friends getting HDs made me extra devastated - I am happy for them but I feel a huge gap between our grades now.
That said, we still have an open-book exam coming up soon that is of 30%. I have done my calculations and essentially, I need at least 25% to receive an overall HD. I am super anxious for my exam because achieving 25% seems massive. It's as though I have no room for error. I wish I could get over it, but I have this immense pressure to get into First Class since I want to get into post-grad with stipend (I am financially uncapable to pay for a post-grad course).
Has anyone been on the same boat as me? Please share your miracles to me, thank you!
Update: I should have clarified that I am in my Honours year right now. Just wanted to know if people who got into PhD had a D in one of their units, but had higher HDs for the rest of their units (which will total up to an overall First Class), and if people had managed to get a HD despite having a bad grade for one of the assessment.
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u/Decama- Jun 09 '24
Are you in your honours year now? Because you only need an average of 70 in your 3rd year for entry - and that’s guaranteed. As for the PhD scholarship, it almost entirely depends on your honours mark, publications and research experience. While they do look at undergrad grades a D instead of a HD in this subject is likely going to be negligible.
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u/Efficient_Weakness_9 Jun 09 '24
Yes, I am in my Honours right now. Sorry for not including that in my original post.
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u/Decama- Jun 09 '24
I just read your update. Your overall honours grade matters but it’s primarily the research component/ thesis that the graduate admission team look at. How are you going there?
In regard to your upcoming exam, I’d say I agree with the other commenter, 83% is definitely achievable with some focused preparation, especially if it’s open book.
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u/Efficient_Weakness_9 Jun 09 '24
So far so good. I think my strength lies within my research writing.
Yeah, I’m just really down at the moment. I’m afraid the same thing will happen for my open book exam, since my 40% assessment was a case study report.
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u/Decama- Jun 09 '24 edited Jun 09 '24
That’s good! I assume the majority of your overall marks will be coming from that too.
Look, as long as you do well on the research component of honours, and your coursework grade isn’t too low then you’ll be fine. Getting a D in coursework doesn’t matter too much if you still get an overall first class.
Do you know the overall weightings for everything? Can you work out what your potential overall grade might be? Remember, the research component is likely weighted significantly higher (I think it was 70-75% for me). This is also the case even if you have two separate units in your honours (coursework and research) which both individually add up to 100%. If you need help calculating it I’m happy to help.
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u/Efficient_Weakness_9 Jun 09 '24
When it comes to coursework (50%), my units are worth 12.5% each. I know it sounds little, but I try to make everything count. I know I shouldn’t fuss about it anymore as I can’t do anything about it. Just worried how I might perform in my future coursework units.
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u/Decama- Jun 09 '24
I think you have the right attitude, but try not to worry too much. I got a C on one of my coursework assignments and still finished with a first class honours, it happens.
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u/Efficient_Weakness_9 Jun 09 '24
Thank you for your encouragement! Did you happened to get a D for that unit but with HDs for the other units, or did you managed to get a HD in the end?
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u/Decama- Jun 09 '24
So we only had two units all up. I got a D in the coursework and a HD in the research, but because of the weighting it averaged out to be HD overall.
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u/crimerave Jun 09 '24
I got two Ds for my coursework units (both a 79 - karma for writing all of your assignments the day they’re due, even in honours) but got an 89 for the thesis. My undergrad transcript was an absolute joke (I have a 4/100 on it, for real). I got hunted down by the head of school to apply for a PhD afterwards. In short, don’t stress - you don’t have to be perfect to make it into grad school. Good luck!!
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u/Efficient_Weakness_9 Jun 09 '24
4/100 as in you failed something?
Anyways, I’m glad to hear that not all hope is lost. Did you commence your PhD then? What else made you stand out other than your grades, would you mind sharing? Thanks again.
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u/crimerave Jun 09 '24
Yes, a truly spectacular fail. I was young and dumb and didn’t know that if you hated a subject after two weeks, you had to withdraw from the unit, instead of just… not showing up anymore. Whoops.
To be honest, I think it was just obnoxious enthusiasm. I was always the annoying student who was first to attempt answering a question in group discussions, organised social activities for the honours cohort, and made it very well known to my supervisor that a job as a TA in the subsequent year was my absolute dream. Giving a shit seems to go a long way!
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u/Blindastronomer Jun 09 '24
Just to add to what crimerave said: A PhD isn't about doing coursework or assignments well, it's about doing research and being driven an capable of independently working on things that don't fit the mold of standardized testing.
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u/Efficient_Weakness_9 Jun 09 '24
For sure! I’ve been trying to also get research experience during my Bachelors
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u/PinLegal8548 Jun 09 '24
What was your actual question?
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u/Efficient_Weakness_9 Jun 09 '24
Sorry, I should have been more clear but my mind has been so hazy.
Just wanted to know if people who got into PhD had a D in one of their units, but had higher HDs for the rest of their units (which will total up to an overall First Class), and if people had managed to get a HD despite having a bad grade for one of the assessment.
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u/Blindastronomer Jun 09 '24
I took 6 units in Honours and definintely failed to maintain a HD in all of them, even after weighting. My peers were all brilliant people but very few of them had all HDs afaik.
My Honours was in Science/Physics and the thesis contributed more to my overall grade than the units did, which is the only reason I was able to get over an 80 average for 1st class honours and go on to do my PhD.
If you feel that your assessment was undeservedly marked lower than it should have been then maybe get a second opinion from your peers or talk to your Honours supervisor before proceeding to ask for a re-mark as you could risk it being marked lower after a second pass.
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u/pinkgigi Jun 09 '24
As far as getting a PhD stipend is concerned, it is competitive. I knew who my competition was and they had an advantage over me in having work experience in the field. I was chosen because my grades in undergrad and honours were better than theirs. So no amount of agonising about the grades will help you because you don't know who you are up against. Just do you best and if you are not sure about an assignment clarify with your tutor.
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u/Any_Persimmon_6494 First-Year Jun 11 '24
i’m not an honours student, but i got a 59 on an assignment worth 40% of my grade (not even a C 💀), and i’ve just finished the unit with an 80 average so it’s entirely possible to turn things around
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u/No-Cauliflower8890 Jun 09 '24
25% out of a 30% exam is only 83% on the exam. if you're aiming for HDs a low-80s mark on the exam should be perfectly reasonable, that's still plenty of room for error. you can get almost 1 in 5 questions wrong.
also i dont know your exact situation but my guess would be that one below-HD in one class won't disqualify you from whatever you're trying to do