B- on college essay

[OtisO]

Oh no.. my first college essay back and it's a B-. Many good comments in the essay yet still this grade. I emailed her to meet with her. Finally met and it went well. She told me that I could revise the one part she did not like. She went over the whole paper with me. I just know that the grade will take 5 points off of my total grade and that makes me sad. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I work hard and care about everything in my academics, I just want to know from others experiences, can I go up from here. It was my first ever essay back and it honestly has humbled me, but I just hope that it isn't what I should expect to get down the road. Idk, thoughts? Please don't be snarky, I cried a lot because of this and my day has been bad because of it. I'm looking for happy thoughts as well as constructive criticism. Thanks guys!

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[814965]

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[Gilakend]

At this point I would say look into podiatry. MD and DO are definitely out for you. However if you are the son/daughter of a large donor to a pod school you have an outside shot.

 

[OtisO]

At this point I would say look into podiatry. MD and DO are definitely out for you. However if you are the son/daughter of a large donor to a pod school you have an outside shot.

You're an ass. But I love your cat, so it's ok.

 

[ODea]

Yeah that B will destroy your medical career OP you're f**ked

 

[treesnm3s]

Oh no.. my first college essay back and it's a B-. Many good comments in the essay yet still this grade. I emailed her to meet with her. Finally met and it went well. She told me that I could revise the one part she did not like. She went over the whole paper with me. I just know that the grade will take 5 points off of my total grade and that makes me sad. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I work hard and care about everything in my academics, I just want to know from others experiences, can I go up from here. It was my first ever essay back and it honestly has humbled me, but I just hope that it isn't what I should expect to get down the road. Idk, thoughts? Please don't be snarky, I cried a lot because of this and my day has been bad because of it. I'm looking for happy thoughts as well as constructive criticism. Thanks guys!

I don't like gate keeping, but you want to be apart of a high-stress profession that loses members to suicide all the time and you're crying over a B- on one grade in one undergraduate course during what I'm assuming is your freshman year?

Smh. Get a grip.

 

[I'mJustCurious]

OP, this isn't going to look good for you in terms of SDN members going to roast you for this pointless thread. I've heard people on here posting about getting a B in their class and being sad, but not for one individual assignment. You are a little too sensitive for crying because you got a B- on an assignment. Good luck to you.

 

[Dox4lyfe]

I'd suggest a fifth year of solid grades if you really want to be sure adcoms don't notice that B- on that one assignment. Possibly even a two year SMP if you can find one. Preferably one linked to a med school to be extra safe.

 

[Turkishking]

relax! I actually posted a similar thread on SDN two years ago. Believe it or not, I ended up getting an A in English. One bad essay grade will not destroy you lol

 

[longhaul3]

Overreaction, yes, but doesn't merit the condescending chest-thumping from a bunch of fellow pre-meds. Physician suicide? Really?

I think meeting with the professor to review the essay was a good step, and with any luck you'll learn from it and improve from here.

 

[caramilk222222]

Oh no.. my first college essay back and it's a B-. Many good comments in the essay yet still this grade. I emailed her to meet with her. Finally met and it went well. She told me that I could revise the one part she did not like. She went over the whole paper with me. I just know that the grade will take 5 points off of my total grade and that makes me sad. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I work hard and care about everything in my academics, I just want to know from others experiences, can I go up from here. It was my first ever essay back and it honestly has humbled me, but I just hope that it isn't what I should expect to get down the road. Idk, thoughts? Please don't be snarky, I cried a lot because of this and my day has been bad because of it. I'm looking for happy thoughts as well as constructive criticism. Thanks guys!

The transition to college from high school can be rough. Don't worry about it. As you write more essays, tests and assignments you will get more accustomed to what they are looking for in this new environment. Keep working hard and this will translate into excellent grades. If it makes you feel any better, my first few assignments I did horrendous on, barely passing. Despite this, my semester still ended with great grades. A B- is still good and one essay doesn't determine the fate of grade in that class Keep your chin up, you can do it!

Plus, essays can be super subjective in marking, don't let it phase you.

 

[AttemptingScholar]

If it helps in general, here's something to keep in mind from my classes at my college (a pretty well-ranked school, popular for premeds):

The first two years are supposed to be a bit humbling. There are a lot of students coming in who succeeded by going to class and doing the homework in high school and nothing else. There are several ways the school works on that, but one is making less-than-stellar grades common, especially in the beginning (because they want kids to study!) . However, they can't make less-than-stellar final grades as common, because that looks bad. This results in first tests with a low score, but the classes are built in such a way that it is relatively easy to raise it by putting in work. It's the system.

As far as your particular case, it sounds like you handled the problem perfectly. You identified a problem, asked the teacher, and will be fixing. But understand something similar might happen again, and it's not a reflection of you as a student but rather a deliberate function of the system. It sounds like the system is working perfectly for you. (Hopefully it will result in better essays--you never know what you're missing until you stop having to write awful, 5-paragraph high school essays! College essays are way better, but they take getting sued to.)

 

[chappikachu]

It takes time to learn how to write on a college level, as well as to adjust to the expectations of your professors for each class (even as an upperclassman!). In my experience, professors love it when you're proactive and make an effort to meet with them about how you can improve when you receive a less than stellar grade on an assignment. You are already taking the right steps by meeting with your professor, figuring out what went wrong with this assignment, and learning what to change in the future.

I am not sure if your professor is willing to do this, but mine was open to discussing our essay ideas during office hours (well before they were due of course); you may find it helpful to do the same. If your college has a writing resource center, be sure to take advantage of this too--you can often get help with brainstorming ideas for essays, the writing process, and proofreading/editing.

You still have the rest of the semester to raise your grade. You got this!

 

[OtisO]

Thanks to all who gave a nice reply. I am brand new and overthink a little bit. My mind was all over the place (projecting my final grade) in my next class. I've never had such a bad day. I know it is a minor question, but a question nevertheless. Thank you all (some) for the supportive words and suggestions. I appreciate it greatly. Have a good night!

 

[OtisO]

UPDATE: I met with the professor today. She was extremely kind. She told me where I stand with all my other assignments: 20/20 on Journal Essays (25% of grade), 25/28 on Quizes (10% of Grade), 70/70 on Participation (10% of grade), and B- ???% (25% of grade) and I have a 30% final left. We talked for an hour and a half and she went through my whole paper. Said that everything was great EXCEPT for one or two paragraphs (relating to the facts/sources). She said I could even fix anything that was bad and she would give me a few more points to my grade. I am less stressed out given the fact I still have a chance at an A if I ace the final and stay on track with the journals and quizes.

 

[sehnsuchtsermedico]

I feel you! I got a C on my first undergrad paper, and that was because my prof knew I worked hard, so he didn’t give me the F I actually deserved!

Practice makes perfect. If you want to improve writing, take more writing courses and offer to look/edit other peoples work. You learn styles you like and don’t like. I majored in Spanish and German, so I was writing constantly! Even though it was a different language, it’s still the same concept of how you’re going to convey your thoughts to others. You should be fine. I’m in med school now. just keep working hard!

 

[MC_Spartan]

Oh no.. my first college essay back and it's a B-. Many good comments in the essay yet still this grade. I emailed her to meet with her. Finally met and it went well. She told me that I could revise the one part she did not like. She went over the whole paper with me. I just know that the grade will take 5 points off of my total grade and that makes me sad. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I work hard and care about everything in my academics, I just want to know from others experiences, can I go up from here. It was my first ever essay back and it honestly has humbled me, but I just hope that it isn't what I should expect to get down the road. Idk, thoughts? Please don't be snarky, I cried a lot because of this and my day has been bad because of it. I'm looking for happy thoughts as well as constructive criticism. Thanks guys!

I graduated with 2 C's in science courses, 2 W's with 1 in science, a healthy portion of B's, a poor GPA trend, and I didn't do a post-bacc or masters. Yet, I currently have 2 acceptances (1 MD, 1 DO) and have received 7 II's thus far, most of which I haven't heard back from yet. I guess what I'm trying to say is a B- on a paper your freshman year isn't ending your medical career. You took the right steps talking to your prof to get feedback and plot a course for improvement. Keep that drive going! Let this experience fuel you whenever you feel burnt out.

 

[infectiousdisease101]

Overreaction, yes, but doesn't merit the condescending chest-thumping from a bunch of fellow pre-meds. Physician suicide? Really?

I think meeting with the professor to review the essay was a good step, and with any luck you'll learn from it and improve from here.

Don't want people to treat you like an idiot? Don't act like one.

 

[Verity]

Don't want people to treat you like an idiot? Don't act like one.

Probably not the right mindset for a physician to adopt



& OP, that B- is very surmountable! You took fantastic steps already, which is a great indication that you're making the correct high school > college mindset change. Agreed with the most recent posters - every professor I've had (granted, in smaller classes) has been happy to pre-read and give suggestions on essays if you get it to them early enough. I'd highly recommend that! Sure, a B- isn't fantastic, but it's what changes you make going forward that'll determine if you make it, and not that one grade

 

[infectiousdisease101]

Probably not the right mindset for a physician to adopt



& OP, that B- is very surmountable! You took fantastic steps already, which is a great indication that you're making the correct high school > college mindset change. Agreed with the most recent posters - every professor I've had (granted, in smaller classes) has been happy to pre-read and give suggestions on essays if you get it to them early enough. I'd highly recommend that! Sure, a B- isn't fantastic, but it's what changes you make going forward that'll determine if you make it, and not that one grade

Case to case basis. Doctors are held to a higher standard than others. DO NOT quote me on this but I attended a seminar where a physician spoke to pre-meds and he said that he HEARD, not know if it is true, but if he is pulled over and even a trace amount of alcohol (I'm talking so small it won't affect you at all), they can strip him of his medical license.

Besides, there is a difference between an "honest" mistake and just a plain "stupid" one. To me, this falls under the latter.

 

[ODea]

I attended a seminar where a physician spoke to pre-meds and he said that he HEARD, not know if it is true, but if he is pulled over and even a trace amount of alcohol (I'm talking so small it won't affect you at all), they can strip him of his medical license.

If he's drinking and driving obviously. If he's under the legal limit they won't because there won't be a record of it.

Also, fix your attitude you don't have the right to call anyone an idiot I doubt you're the brightest bulb on this forum so don't act like it.

 

[infectiousdisease101]

Never said he was an idiot nor did I say I think I'm the brightest. I said, "If you don't want people to think you're an idiot, don't act like one".

Since you're an EMT, little tip, make sure you have lots of patient interactions. Goro describes EMTs as glorified taxi drivers and he is biased against them.

 

[OtisO]

Hostility everywhere... I feel like I caused this. Haha.. Nah, I like it. It's all in fun. Thanks again to everyone who gave good advice and helped reassure me. I am much better today and I'm glad I got to talk to the teacher because I have a Chem Exam today. Last one was a perfect 100/100. Wish me luck!

 

[DBC03]

I got a kick out of this because I was not pre-med in college and made all Cs and Ds my freshman year (and 2 Bs, God bless those teachers). I was a bit stressed about it, so it wasn't like I completely blew them off, but B- grades were actually a Godsend. I can tell you that you, too, can get a 2.2 GPA your freshman year and get accepted to medical school (crazy, right). When those of us who weren't pre-meds became pre-meds we all became stressed about grades and minimize stress by taking classes we think we can succeed in. I think you handled this well (checking with the teacher on what you did wrong and what you can do differently next time is a great idea). On the other hand, I have since realized that I have a difficult time with writing classes and you may find the same. They grade arbitrarily and can be difficult to do well in because of that. Best of luck with the next exam!

 

[DrYuke]

Hey, just get all the feedback you can, learn from your mistake and try to fix it, and get an A on the next one