A in lecture, but failing lab- what would you do??

[veridisquo]

My problem:

I currently have an A in organic lecture. We're two tests into the material, I do well on the quizzes, and I have overall a good understanding of what i'm learning.

In lab, in have a 72% (i'm assuming this is a C-, not sure if plus/minus grades are issued). The cutoff for a C is a 70%. My TA suggested some withdraw now while it's still possible (and receive a W on their transcript), since grades do go down the second half of lab. Organic lab at my university consists of two parts: the first half being group activities and weekly quizzes, the second half consisting of individual experiments, lab reports, etc.

My TA warned us at the beginning of the semester to gain as many points as possible in the first half since generally most students' grades go down during the second half. She's seen a few people at least maintain their grade, but hardly anyone increase their grade. Also, there is no curve for the lab.

My reason for doing poorly is the quizzes. I performed terribly on them (a variety of F's).

If I withdraw from the lab, I must withdraw from the lecture.

What would you do? Do I drop the lab (and therefore the lecture as well, which I have an A in) or do I stick it out and try my hardest to at least maintain my 72? I can't afford for my grade to get any lower. I need at least a C to get credit. I'm not even concerned at this point with how well I do; I just want to pass. Plus, if I did end up with a C, I suppose it isn't that bad assuming I end up with an A in lecture. Overall, my grades are good (overall GPA of 3.91; science GPA is a 4.0).

I have four days until the end of the withdrawl period.

Thanks in advance.

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[63768]

don't drop if it translates to two Ws. if it's just one W then i'd say drop it and work harder next time.

if you don't drop, then tough it out. don't think of it as just passing. figure out why you're failing the quizzes, learn to integrate your lab material with your lecture material and you'll be fine.

 

[veridisquo]

It would translate to 2 Ws.

With quizzes I was having trouble with during the first half (which are now over and done with) - my poor performance had to do with misunderstanding as well as laziness. It was on topics we didn't cover in lecture, and I was frustrated so I stopped trying. I regret that now.

The experiments we started last week don't coincide with the material being taught in lecture, so i'm hoping that, assuming I do stick it out, with enough preparation I can do better than I have been. It's very easy to lose points over tiny things (forgetting or not having enough time to number and sign a page, for example) and the highest grade anyone will get on a lab is a 90% (A-). Each lab is 10 points, and only whole numbers are issued. 10s will never be given because a 10 means the lab is perfect, and apparently no lab is ever perfect.

 

[modelslashactor]

If a 90% is the highest anyone gets then depending on your school the lab might be heavily curved. This was the case at my school, the prof made up some bogus scale and freaked everybody into trying really hard, and then at the end a ridiculous amount of people ended up getting A's. Your quiz grades might not be that bad either, in my gen chem lab the averages were around 50%. Maybe talk to the head professor/coordinator, you might not be as bad off as you think.

 

[caffeine37]

that's a terrible policy- basically they're separate classes with different grades, but you can't drop just one. i feel for you. in any case, an A in the lecture is awesome, and I can't imagine you failing the lab while acing the class. talk to the prof! someone should be able to cut you some slack, since its not as though you don't know the material or are a bad student.

 

[diosa428]

It would translate to 2 Ws.

With quizzes I was having trouble with during the first half (which are now over and done with) - my poor performance had to do with misunderstanding as well as laziness. It was on topics we didn't cover in lecture, and I was frustrated so I stopped trying. I regret that now.

The experiments we started last week don't coincide with the material being taught in lecture, so i'm hoping that, assuming I do stick it out, with enough preparation I can do better than I have been. It's very easy to lose points over tiny things (forgetting or not having enough time to number and sign a page, for example) and the highest grade anyone will get on a lab is a 90% (A-). Each lab is 10 points, and only whole numbers are issued. 10s will never be given because a 10 means the lab is perfect, and apparently no lab is ever perfect.

I say stick with it and work really hard. If your poor grades in the lab this far are due to your own laziness, than it IS possible for you to bring your grades up if you stop being lazy. Don't let the TA convince you that you won't be able to bring your grades up - with a 72, there is a lot of room for improvement. It's not like you have an 89 and the highest you can get is a 90. Also, see the professor for extra help if you need to. Orgo lab sucks, no doubt about it, and it will suck next year just as much as it does this year, so I would say don't drop it, especially if you're getting an A in the lecture.

 

[Scoot]

I dont know the class or your capability to pick your grade up, but, if you think you cant bring it up to a B at the very least then I think you should drop it. W's do not matter as much as most people think. If you're worried about getting into medical school then you should know that few people who don't meet a certain (school specific) numeric cuttoff ever get interviews. On the other hand, I've had experiences like previous posters have where there were some unreasonable demands (like no curves when there needed to be) given at the beginning of the semester and then fair to generous curves actually used to compute your final grade when the professor had already extracted as much of your time and energy as he could.

 

[swifteagle43]

SAME HERE MAN!! I HAVE AN A IN LECTURE BUT A D+ in LAB!! HAHAHAHAHA

I THINK WE NEED TO FOCUS MORE ON THE WRITEUPS...atleast that is what i am doing 🙂