I tend to have unrealistic expectations when it comes to my graduate program. Like, if I turn in an assignment, I expect to have it graded and returned. If you give me a test, I expect you to return it and tell me how I did. I expect you to actually read the papers that I make so many sacrifices to write.
But sometimes that’s too much to ask. Not all my professors… I have had a few who are absolutely fantastic. And I have had a few who are not.
So tonight my professor returned my research paper… which I honestly kind of phoned in anyway. Let’s face it, I had a tough semester and I had a 98 going into this final paper, so I approached it with a “good enough” attitude. I even reconciled the fact that I just might get a B. (gasp) in the class. My first in this program.
So you can imagine my horror when I got back the paper and it had a big fat 17 on the top. SEVENTEEN. Eeeek! Are you kidding me? I may have done a less than stellar job, but a SEVENTEEN???? I thought you could get at least 17 points just for putting your name on it.
And then my professor explained that this score was like golf… the lower your score, the better you did. So I think, “Do I subtract 17 from 100? Does that mean I made an 83?”
Apparently not. Because a perfect score was an 8. Seriously. Somehow an 8 is a 100, and a 100 is a 0. Huh? So I have no idea what a 17 means. I figure it’s somewhere between an 83-91. Whatever. Honestly, I was too tired to mess with it this morning. So I took my 17 and went home. I take that back… my 17 and I went out for sushi with friends from class, and then we went home.
I’m not sure this paper will be going on my refrigerator.