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[deldongo]

Ok, so I got my first B+ in 6 years of university (including a BA and MA). The rest of my marks are all A`s for this semester; I am a first-year student in a PhD program (Ivy school). I do feel that the mark was not justified, but I am not planning to protest; instead, I will work harder next semester and try getting straight A`s. But I am a bit concerned about the potential effects of this B+ on other matters, such as funding and the way in which this grade might be seen by other professors. Have many of you gotten such a grade? What kind of an effect has it had on you? Where you still able to get major fellowships (note: I know that the quality and originality of research dwarfs grades in fellowship applications)? Did you later realize that the initial fears about the "blot" on your transcript were unfounded? How did you professors react to the grade?

   

[yellowtractor]

Every time you get a B+, a puppy in Uganda dies.  Know this.

[larryc]

Your life is pretty much over. That B is a ginormous flashing neon sign over your head. People at conferences will cross the street to avoid walking in its shadow.

[deldongo]

Wow! To the two replies above: you people must be reading piles of good fiction besides the less-than-useful academic theories and monographs to keep that kind of sarcasm floating in your heads. I am floored. No, really, the Ugandan puppy and the neon sign... I mean really...I am still laughing. Truly amazing.

That aside, I would still appreciate hearing from people who might have experienced the situation I outlined above.

And remember, if you have comments like that offered by the above forumites, and you actually take the time to write them out, you shall never get that time back: it is a net loss in your lifespan.

Best,

X

[systeme_d_]

Look, lots of folks get Bs.  I got a B. 

The university didn't yank my fellowship, my professors didn't laugh about it in faculty meetings, and it didn't have any impact on my life whatsoever, except to make me realize that I knew a bit less about Beguines in Belgium than I thought I did.

You know what a B stands for?  Big freaking deal.

[yellowtractor]

And "Belgium."  It also stands for "Belgium."

[systeme_d_]

Yes.  And "Beguines."

[yellowtractor]

On the periodic table, it is the symbol for Boron, "a trivalent metalloid element which occurs abundantly in the evaporite ores borax and ulexite" (says Wikipedia).

I like the phrase "the evaporite ores."

OP, are you getting all this down?  It might be on the test.

[antiphon1]

Congratulations!  You have crossed over to the land of the unwashed, the merely great and the intellectually adequate.  Revel in the camaraderie with your fellow mortals.  You may now smirk at the petty concerns of the 4.0.  We welcome you to our ranks and hope this life altering experience builds your character and tolerance.  

Yes, I just increased my carbon footprint while composing this post.  

[larryc]

you shall never get that time back: it is a net loss in your lifespan

Good Lord, man! Look at our post counts! Do you think we value our time?

[bewilderedta]

Another student in my program got a B+ last year (and she did not turn her face to the wall and die of shame, though I think she was a bit peeved). Her advisor told her that it was not a big deal, but that she should speak to the professor to ask what she could have done better. So maybe you (the OP) should consult with your professor about it, not in a grade-grubbing or challenging fashion, but it would be good to know where you went wrong. Especially since (based on the OP) it sounds like you don't understand why you got the grade you did.

As far as I know my colleague didn't talk to the professor, which I think might have been a mistake, but no dire consequences so far, anyway.

[yellowtractor]

I got a B+ in a graduate seminar too, once.  It was a disappointment for a few months, until I figured out why I received the B+ and changed my seminar tactics.

But now, tonight, I am learning so many useful things.  Also from Wikipedia, from the entry on "boronic acid":  "In the Liebeskind-Srogl coupling a thiol ester is coupled with a boronic acid to produce a ketone."  Isn't this a beautiful sentence?

OP, what matters at the end of grad school in the humanities is your ability to (a) pass your exams and (b) conceive of, research, and complete a dissertation.  Depending on the cause of your B+, you may not want to ask that prof for a job rec.  That's all.

[galactic_hedgehog]

A B+?  I used to dream of getting a B+.  When I was a grad student, the library was a small shoebox in the middle of the road.

[merce]

A B+?  I used to dream of getting a B+.  When I was a grad student, the library was a small shoebox in the middle of the road.

A shoebox, Paradise!

Our library was in the lake!


note to OP:

I'm guessing that either a B+ is not a big deal or perhaps this is where you end up if you ever got a B+.

[post_functional]

But I am a bit concerned about the potential effects of this B+ on other matters, such as funding and the way in which this grade might be seen by other professors. Have many of you gotten such a grade?

Twelve years ago when I was starting grad school at an elite university I got a B+ in a course in my field.  I am now teaching that course at that institution.