I learned how to type my name before I could write it, and I failed my computer class midterm. I am currently a freshman here at DePaul, and last quarter, I took a class that all students that are not business or health and science majors are very familiar with: LSP 121. For those not familiar with the class, quantitative reasoning and tech II is a class that works with SPSS, Microsoft Access, and coding through Excel.
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All fairly basic stuff once you get the hang of it. I struggled with the previous class, LSP 120, but I thought as long as I kept up on the homework, which I did, I would be fine. I, among many others, do this thing where I put off getting help until it’s too late. I did this with LSP 121 as well. The SPSS unit was one I thought I understood, so I did not study for the midterm.
This was a mistake.
I got my score back and realized that I had gotten a 45%. Looking back on it, I feel ridiculous that I got that grade, but after a good cry, I realized that I couldn’t let that defeat me. I was lucky because my professor offered extra credit, and I intended on taking full advantage of that. I did 16 points extra credit which bumped my grade from a 73% to 76%. This raised my hopes.
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After the midterm, we moved on to the Access unit. This, for me, was more frustrating than the previous unit. I waited until the night before the unit test to frantically email my professor at midnight asking for help. Thankfully, she let me come in before the exam and practically taught me everything I needed to know. I passed the exam with an A and it boosted my grade to 86%. I was so happy I almost cried. I proceeded to do the post-exam extra credit as well. My grade was rising so much and I couldn’t believe it.
After the first exam, my professor offered up to 100 points extra credit. The extra credit was up to five 20 point essays that had to be 750+ words. I was overwhelmed with knowing that I had failed, so I did not fully process that I could save my grade after almost destroying it. I had done the homework all through the quarter, but I also kept up with the extra credit essays. I honestly enjoyed writing the essays because I love writing.
Once we got to the Excel unit, I asked for help whenever I needed it and reviewed the notes after class. I completed four of the extra credit essays and gained a total of 112 extra credit points. This brought my grade to 94%. After working so hard and doing all of the extra credit on the final exam, I got 101% with a final grade of 95%. I am very proud of this because I proved myself with my hard work.
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Moral of the story: take a class with Professor MJ Davidson.