This class is gonna fuck up my GPA yo
So I took this Market Microstructure & Electronic Trading course. The professor is a baydass and clearly knows his shit, but he also doesn't give a shit who fails. A third of the class already dropped. I kind of just feel like a dumbass when I read the material. But everyone who took it in the past says that they learned a lot.
I have a 4.0 right now. Do you guys think it makes sense to stick it out and take the C I'm not even sure to get here, or should I drop it for International Finance or something like that and learn this on my own time? I really want to learn this material, but that GPA though... it's like the one thing I have going for me.
I'd drop it. Get a good GPA
Just learn it but don't fuck up. If it has any relevance to what you are applying for job then any employer would take a 3.9 GPA + Knows his shit over 4.0 GPA anyday.
Apart from the classic miscers on here telling you to have a spine, I'm going to take the realistic approach and offer the opposite advice.
You have a 4.0. I don't know where you go to school, but assuming it's not the most obscure non-target in the nation, it's probably not easy to carry perfect grades. Don't risk the golden egg in your backpack. Do whatever you have to to preserve it, because grades (unfortunately) are the first and foremost thing people look at on your resume. Two kids with the same work experience and university (HYPS, sophomore summer in PWM and junior summer at JPM) with a .3 difference in GPA (3.5 vs. 3.8) are going to get totally different responses during the accelerated full-time hiring cycle when they reach out to their contacts. It's stupid, because the 3.5 kid might have carried two jobs through school to pay the bills while serving as president of two organizations, but people see the 3.8 and that's what counts.
Coming from the perspective of someone who had the lower grades and could only explain it through extenuated circumstances like those above, if I could do it all over again, I'd have taken more loans, done fewer extracurriculars, scrapped more things in favor of focusing purely on classroom performance.
If you can, pass/fail the course. If you can't do that, withdraw while you're in the shopping period. If you're already out of the shopping period (you shouldn't be, it's barely even September yet), take the W. You can have 2-3 W's on your transcript and raise literally no red flags when applying to grad school, it's fine. Preserve your grades at all costs. If you have true interest in the course material, continue attending the class without being a registered student. If all you care about is the knowledge, go to the class, absorb the knowledge, and be content knowing you learned it without it harming your grade. I did that for a handful of classes, and I wish I'd done it for more (in the sense that there were too many times I was too obstinate, stayed in the class, got the B- from the brilliant yet asshole professor, and sabotaged my GPA).
Be smart. Ignore the people insulting your bravado, get the best grades you can, and keep yourself well-positioned for recruiting.
Sounds like a really relevant course. If you're interested in trading and markets, even if not quant, then take it. I believe in most cases if an individual lacks decent work exp, regardless of school attended, it usually means they have an low gpa and did not attain enough practical knowledge to get noticed. If you have a near perfect GPA, it would actually be optimal to attain some relevant practical knowledge even at the expense of your gpa. Learning something important by being forced to hand in assignments etc on time is a lot different than just passively showing up.
You can learn this stuff independently. Just keep the book and get the learning material from friends; I'm sure there's video tutorials elswhere.
You have your whole life to learn.
You have one opportunity for an undergrad 4.0 GPA.
Be smart.
dont be silly. drop iti
i'll hire a 4.0 over a 3.9 anyday. perfection is important
you sound like a 3,9
Drop that shit.
Damn, I'm gonna have to take an 8am class if I drop this.
can you pass fail this class? that'd be my first choice. if you can't, fuck this.
This is RustyFork we're talking about...based off of his posting history I'm going to venture to guess he doesn't have a 4.0. If he does his major is probably basket weaving or some other liberal art shit.
I'm gonna speak with a counselor tomorrow and see whether I can pass/fail. If I can't, I'm gonna take Intro to Urban Real Estate at 8am with some sexy lady professor. But I'll be out of there by 3.
Might even drop my other finance class and pick it up with an easier professor. Really just not feeling school right now.
drop
Grades>Learning
I can't get an appointment with a counselor in the CBA or the honors college for 3 days. That's kinda bullshit.
So I took the first quiz of the Microstructure course. Probably got like a high C (remember that drink? was dope) on it and the class is gonna get much harder. So I dropped that. ONE spot opened up in Small Business Finance an hour ago and I hopped on that. It apparently has an awesome professor and good guest speakers apparently and is an easy A. Once a week at 6pm.
And I dropped my other finance class for the same one but with an easier professor. And I met some people today who had him last semester and they gave me all of the old tests, which hardly change apparently, and the book on pdf.
I've charmed my business strategy or whatever it's called professor already, so that should be easy to bullshit. Now, all I need to worry about is my database class. But that should be no problem and the professor's my Chinese home boy.
AND I didn't spend a dime on books this semester. Class two days a week and my earliest class is 11am. Gonna have lots of time for my other ventures now.
Aww yeah, comin' up in the world!
Hey bro, shouldn't this be in the Success Stories subforum?
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