I did an independent study with a professor in my department this last semester. We met frequently during the semester, but there were enough cancellations, and my not being prepared, and not doing homework, etc. that I ended up with a B+. While that might sound okay, I've never gotten that grade before on anything that's stuck to my transcript. I'm almost hypervigilant about my transcript, so this was a real blow to my ego. I was in constant proctrastination-panic-completion-procrastination even cycle that never let up all semester. So of course the things that didn't seem to be on fire went by the wayside.

I'm debating whether I want to challenge this grade or not. When I signed up for the class, I wanted to take it on a Pass/Fail basis, since it's an independent study. But now, he's entered the grade as a letter grade which has brought my GPA from 3.98 to 3.75. Again, while that might not sound too bad, I am in a PhD program, and I was actually getting some sort of confidence from the fact that my GPA was that high.

I hope this lesson sticks with me so I avoid similar situations in the future.

Anyone else has experienced some negative consequences that felt like a blow to the ego? How did you handle it? What did you learn from it? How did you avoid it in the future?

I opened this once before, but didn't know quite what to say... You have an amazing GPA and while you did have this minor setback it sounds as if you will be able to work your way back up. You could of course dispute what has been given to you, but it sounds as if you are acknowleding it is a result of your own doing? In my opinion it's something for you to grow and learn from, a reminder of where you have been and what you will do differently in the future. Have you looked at a GPA calculator to see if a few more As will bring your GPA back up??

I opened this once before, but didn't know quite what to say... You have an amazing GPA and while you did have this minor setback it sounds as if you will be able to work your way back up. You could of course dispute what has been given to you, but it sounds as if you are acknowleding it is a result of your own doing? In my opinion it's something for you to grow and learn from, a reminder of where you have been and what you will do differently in the future. Have you looked at a GPA calculator to see if a few more As will bring your GPA back up??Thanks Dissonance. In a strange way, I really don't want to challenge it. I want it to stay there as a reminder, lest I forget. Once in grad school, the GPA really doesn't matter as long as you don't go below 3.0, so I'm in a good shape. It was funny because the day I found out was the day that my counselor and I were discussing about how many of the flexible professors who made exceptions for me when I was late with everything ended up negatively reinforcing the fact that I can be late, not complete assignments, and not receive any negative consequences. This is the first time it's happened, and I feel like it's a mixed blessing.