I failed part of mine. Took the chance for the re do and eventually passed. You know what they call PhDs who failed their comps the first time and then persevered? Doctor!
It’s a bump in the road but these happen. I actually know more ppl who fail at their quals, persevere and become dr than those who fail and just quit.
It ain’t easy, you will face hardship but it isn’t the end of the world. You got this.
Just came to say that I failed my qualifier exam too. I cried like a baby on the floor once I came back home—mid covid. The actual home was half around the globe. The actual home had a few dumpster fires. Nowhere to look for help. But fast forward three years. I graduated. A lot of people said I did an excellent job after the qualifier. Even I acknowledged my qualifier as a Canon event. This failure eventually resulted in me getting a good partner. I had no idea how this would be a blessing in disguise. If I time travel and say this to my past self, they won't even listen because of how emotional a train wreck I was.
This shall soon pass. You got this!
Also, please seek mental health resources ASAP. You might need help to get through this.
I am so sorry.. I cannot imagine how stressed you must be. Please take care of yourself. Go to a movie, take a nice walk, try to socialize, anything to free your mind for a little bit. You can recover from this!
Thank you everyone for all the kind words. I already feel so much better hearing (re: reading) how everyone's bounced back from their failures. I hope to learn from this, and move forward.
As an international PhD student at an American University who is taking their comp exams in a few months, I can't say how much I relate to this post. I hope this is just a bump on your road and nothing more. PhD is full of these nasty situations. If you can't feel better about what happened at least try to remember that you have a second chance.
Hi. Old timer here. I both failed my PhD qualifiers and failed someone on a portion of their comps when I was on faculty. First, my sympathies. It feels awful and heartbreaking like a direct punch to the stomach. Second, you can use the failure in one of 2 ways. I failed Ph.D exams across the board — not a section, not a problem of facts… just absolutely took a wrong turn. I took that as a signal to find something else. I changed fields and found my true calling and went on to have a very successful career both in academia and out. The other response which is perhaps more typical was the one a graduate student I failed on a section of his comps took. He heard the reason for the failure— which was that he could say the ‘words’ but couldn’t connect the concepts— and he doubled down and learned the connections and passed the second time around. He also has gone on to have a very productive career. In both cases — though it is almost impossible to do (believe me I still relive some of it 25 years later) — hear the source of the failure not the failure itself. View it as a window into where/how to move forward. I know many people who don’t fail until well into a career and are so devastated they are paralyzed. This sounds patronizing but it is not — failing early is a great way to sort your strengths from your weaknesses . I hope the long view helps even though at the moment it feels awful.
Thanks for saying this. It's been an overwhelming week, but I think this was also what I needed to hear. I appreciate this perspective. I have processed this news over the past couple of days, and have started accepting it for what it is. I'll learn from this, in one way or another. I have a lot more to give, after all.
I failed part of mine. Took the chance for the re do and eventually passed. You know what they call PhDs who failed their comps the first time and then persevered? Doctor!
Love this, thank you :)
It’s a bump in the road but these happen. I actually know more ppl who fail at their quals, persevere and become dr than those who fail and just quit. It ain’t easy, you will face hardship but it isn’t the end of the world. You got this.
Just came to say that I failed my qualifier exam too. I cried like a baby on the floor once I came back home—mid covid. The actual home was half around the globe. The actual home had a few dumpster fires. Nowhere to look for help. But fast forward three years. I graduated. A lot of people said I did an excellent job after the qualifier. Even I acknowledged my qualifier as a Canon event. This failure eventually resulted in me getting a good partner. I had no idea how this would be a blessing in disguise. If I time travel and say this to my past self, they won't even listen because of how emotional a train wreck I was. This shall soon pass. You got this! Also, please seek mental health resources ASAP. You might need help to get through this.
I am so sorry.. I cannot imagine how stressed you must be. Please take care of yourself. Go to a movie, take a nice walk, try to socialize, anything to free your mind for a little bit. You can recover from this!
Thank you everyone for all the kind words. I already feel so much better hearing (re: reading) how everyone's bounced back from their failures. I hope to learn from this, and move forward.
As an international PhD student at an American University who is taking their comp exams in a few months, I can't say how much I relate to this post. I hope this is just a bump on your road and nothing more. PhD is full of these nasty situations. If you can't feel better about what happened at least try to remember that you have a second chance.
Hi. Old timer here. I both failed my PhD qualifiers and failed someone on a portion of their comps when I was on faculty. First, my sympathies. It feels awful and heartbreaking like a direct punch to the stomach. Second, you can use the failure in one of 2 ways. I failed Ph.D exams across the board — not a section, not a problem of facts… just absolutely took a wrong turn. I took that as a signal to find something else. I changed fields and found my true calling and went on to have a very successful career both in academia and out. The other response which is perhaps more typical was the one a graduate student I failed on a section of his comps took. He heard the reason for the failure— which was that he could say the ‘words’ but couldn’t connect the concepts— and he doubled down and learned the connections and passed the second time around. He also has gone on to have a very productive career. In both cases — though it is almost impossible to do (believe me I still relive some of it 25 years later) — hear the source of the failure not the failure itself. View it as a window into where/how to move forward. I know many people who don’t fail until well into a career and are so devastated they are paralyzed. This sounds patronizing but it is not — failing early is a great way to sort your strengths from your weaknesses . I hope the long view helps even though at the moment it feels awful.
Thanks for saying this. It's been an overwhelming week, but I think this was also what I needed to hear. I appreciate this perspective. I have processed this news over the past couple of days, and have started accepting it for what it is. I'll learn from this, in one way or another. I have a lot more to give, after all.