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My First Assignment Got a 60%

lifeuniversitylearning

so i got my first real assignment back today. 60%.

sixty. percent.

i stared at the screen for a solid minute before my brain processed what i was seeing. i've never gotten a 60% on anything coding-related. ever. in my entire life.

the feedback

the comments were... humbling.

  • "code works but lacks efficiency"
  • "consider edge cases"
  • "documentation could be improved"
  • "variable naming is inconsistent"

apparently naming things x, y, and temp is not considered professional. who knew.

(everyone. everyone knew. i just didn't listen.)

the stages of grief

denial: this must be wrong. my code worked. it literally worked.

anger: the marking is unfair. how was i supposed to know about edge cases?

bargaining: maybe if i email the tutor and explain my thought process...

depression: i'm terrible at this. i should drop out and become a barista.

acceptance: okay fine. i have room to improve.

what actually went wrong

after spending way too long analyzing my submission, i figured it out:

  1. i didn't test my code properly
  2. i didn't read the rubric properly
  3. i didn't think about what happens when input is empty/null/negative
  4. i assumed "working code" = "good code"

turns out, working code is the bare minimum. who knew. (still everyone.)

the silver lining

my friend got a 55%. which doesn't make me feel good exactly, but it does make me feel less alone.

also, i talked to some second-years and apparently everyone fails their first assignment. it's like a rite of passage. "you're not a real CS student until you've gotten a mark that makes you question your life choices."

what i'm doing differently

  • actually reading the rubric before starting
  • writing test cases (revolutionary concept)
  • using proper variable names (goodbye temp, hello temporaryStorageForComparison)
  • asking for help before the deadline, not after

the bigger picture

i think this is the moment where i realize that uni is different from just coding on my own. at home, if my code works, it works. no one grades it. no one tells me it could be better.

here, "it works" is step one of ten.

i kind of love that? in a masochistic way?

next assignment is due in two weeks. aiming for a 70. dream big.