Grad grades: Truth of "B=PhD"?

[luckyoceania]

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How much truth is there to "B=PhD"?

How bad does a B (not B+) graduate grade look on one's transcript - I realize it's not the kiss of death, but is it relatively normal, or a black mark? What proportion of graduate students would you guess have at least one B on their transcript?

 

[cara susanna]

I can say for sure that it's not a black mark. In fact, some people think that all As look bad because it means that you weren't doing enough research/clinical work, haha.

 

[Ollie123]

What we are told is that SOME internships might care A LITTLE about your clinical coursework. Come post-doc and job search time, no one is likely to even ask for it. If they do they will probably ask after you get the job so they can throw it in a filing cabinet somewhere so they can "have it on record" that you didn't just fabricate your degree.

I have a 4.0 right now. If someone asked me to list significant grad school accomplishments, that wouldn't even be on my radar to mention let alone emphasize. I did pretty well in coursework, but its without a doubt the least important part of my education. I think I'm an oddity in my program (and by no means one of the top students here) and it worked out partly because of the electives I took, partly because some of my strengths lend themselves to coursework more than other endeavors (that I'd actually make the case are far more important than coursework).

I would trade it for a 3.5 for a single additional publication in a mid-tier journal without a second thought, and would be happy to do so if that puts it in perspective.

 

[Psychology 76]

What about those going into academia?

Is getting a B in a stats class going to leave a black mark while looking for academic jobs at colleges?

 

[AcronymAllergy]

What about those going into academia?

Is getting a B in a stats class going to leave a black mark while looking for academic jobs at colleges?

To the best of my knowledge, not at all. Academic departments are going to be MUCH more interested in your research achievements and/or (at four-year colleges and the like) your teaching experiences than they will your grades.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

make sure to be higher than a 3.5 (more A's than B's), but don't worry much past that.

 

[krisrox]

Thanks. Phew! This is a relief to hear!

 

[Ollie123]

Yeah...if it wasn't clear, I am extremely academically-focused (i.e. would go back to school and enter another field before accepting a non-research job). Obviously flunking out would be a significant problem, but getting a B (or a couple B's...) is not at all anything to freak out about. Grades are just not important, or a useful measure of quality at this stage in the game.

I mean really...do you ever walk away from a graduate class feeling like you know a substantial amount about a topic? You could spend three hours a week discussing the role of one narrow aspect of cognition on maintaining behavior in an individual already addicted to a drug and barely scratch the surface of the topic. When a course is as broad as something like "Cognitive-behavioral therapy" or "Personality Assessment" does it really make you even qualified in something, let alone an expert? If you think about it, it doesn't make sense to care about grades. It proves you have a basic background in a topic, that you may have used as a springboard for further learning. That's about it.

 

[PsychPhDone]

I have Bs. Nobody seems to care. I'd like to hope Internship admins and beyond will care far more about my research and clinical experiences... But yes, others do get a B sometimes...and sometimes we get more than one 🙂 and live to tell about it!

 

[luckyoceania]

Thanks everyone for the reassurance, I really appreciate it 🙂