Bumping up a grade

[bcat85]

Lol, of course we are. Med school doesn't MAKE gunners, it just brings out the worst in them.

This should go on a t-shirt

Contrary to popular pre-med belief, not everyone competing for medical school will sacrifice their dignity for an increase of .33 GPA in one course.

amen

From the "What is Your GPA This Semester" thread:



Plus your thread in All Students that I won't repeat here.

Equals

Enough said about this thread.

Good research HumidBeing... and OP

This is my new favorite thread.

I second

While you were crying in your Biochem professor's office I was asking my analytical chem professor for a "bump" from an A- to an "A". I conducted myself in an extremely professional manner, explained the circumstance as to why the A- would not "cut it" for my medical school application and asked for an opportunity to earn the extra 0.3 point towards my course average to put me in the "A" range since I was ridiculously close to the cut-off. She gave me a few calculation problems to perform on the spot, I did them correctly and she gave me the bump.

Good work

OP:

Yeehaw

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[Jolie South]

How do people even know how close they were to an A? In only around 5 or 6 of the courses I took in college did I even know what percentage I ended up with and what percentage was required to get a certain grade. Most of my classes were curved but the teachers were always very vague ("the class will be curved to around a B or B-). If you tried to ask them during the semester about grades, they would just say that the curve cannot be determined until the end of finals when they look at everyone's overall grade. I found out my grades on the report card but never knew the breakdown. I could basically estimate my grade within 1/3 of a grade beforehand but would never know how close I was to the next higher grade.

my school didn't have curves. you knew the cutoffs coming in and how much each assignment counted for. i was always able to figure out what i needed to get going into the final or whatever. it was pretty easy to calculate.

if a test was incredibly hard, there would be a curve up, but never down.

 

[Begaster]

This comment is insufficient without a picture of a cat dressed up as a troll.

Especially on Caturday!

 

[anomalous738232]

I've never understood the whole begging for grades mentality. I mean I don't get all A's since high school, far from it, but when I don't get the grade I want I don't go in and whine about it. (obviously that is different than noticing a legitimate mistake in grading) The same thing confuses me about the people that try to argue more points on every single test. What makes them think that they are so special that the professor always seems to "unfairly" grade them down?

i completely agree. in one of my biol classes, there is a student (in my lab section) who asked for a re-grade on both midterms-- she ended up getting 2 points back on the first one, and i'm not sure about the latter. however, it is somewhat frustrating b/c at the end of the qtr/semester, is 2 points really going to make or break your grade? i know everyone says, "every point counts, especially in classes that grade on a curve. people who don't ask for a re-grade aren't taking advantage of the "system"". in a way, this could be slightly true-- but if these students do so happen to make it into med-school, and become a practicing physician, they can't always ask for a re-grade, or a "bump". and to cry about it, begging the professor is just... pathetic. why can't people just do things the old fashioned way and just work harder? or accept what's given? and saying a professor has a "bull****" grading system is bull**** in itself. every one of us, i'm sure, has encountered a class that we've felt has been unfair. who the hell cares? life is unfair. people seriously need to grow up and learn to put their egos aside. that's the whole point of the pre-med curric. it's hard, and it's even harder to do well in every single class-- these classes do break you down at times, but the ones who persist, and pick themselves up quickly and efficiently are those who make good med-student candidates... not the ones who cry and beg. seriously. life will go on if you get a B+ in biochem. and if you feel that it won't, then maybe it'd be a good time to reevaluate what you really want in life.

just my 2 cents.

 

[redlight]

So true. Last time I checked, college courses give you a syllabus at the beginning of the semester that tells you exactly how you will be graded. If you got a B, it's because you earned one. Work harder next time.

uh this will differ from course to course or from professor to professor within schools.

case in point: my calc professor told us the letter grade breakdown and cut-offs for final grades after our final exam.. he waited till all the grades were in and then controlled how many people got As and Bs and w/e..

 

[beachblonde]

wtf!!! did this really happen?

Yep.

Frankly, after reading some of the crap on these boards, I almost don't blame him for hating pre-meds. I cannot stand the entitlement some of these people have. Good grief, if you got an 89 in a class, it's a B+, deal with it. What are some of these people going to say at an M&M conference in the future? "I shouldn't be penalized for killing the patient, because I tried and it's tough being a doctor!"

 

[chad5871]

Yep.

Frankly, after reading some of the crap on these boards, I almost don't blame him for hating pre-meds. I cannot stand the entitlement some of these people have. Good grief, if you got an 89 in a class, it's a B+, deal with it. What are some of these people going to say at an M&M conference in the future? "I shouldn't be penalized for killing the patient, because I tried and it's tough being a doctor!"

One of my favorite quotes ever, from Les Brown:

"If you take responsibility for yourself, you will develop the hunger to accomplish your dreams."

Note the bolded section.

 

[realjara]

One of my favorite quotes ever, from Les Brown:

"If you take responsibility for yourself, you will develop the hunger to accomplish your dreams."

Note the bolded section.

Right on!

 

[bcat85]

Yep.

Frankly, after reading some of the crap on these boards, I almost don't blame him for hating pre-meds. I cannot stand the entitlement some of these people have. Good grief, if you got an 89 in a class, it's a B+, deal with it. What are some of these people going to say at an M&M conference in the future? "I shouldn't be penalized for killing the patient, because I tried and it's tough being a doctor!"

 

[Squiddie]

I got my calculus II grade back and it was an A. I was pretty happy, I had worked hard during semester and had visited the prof several times in office hours and he liked me. I emailed him asking out of curiosity what my exam mark was. He replied and told me what my exam mark was and what my overall mark was, and then nonchalantly added that as it was 2% below an A he had bumped me up and that he hoped it showed on my transcript as an A.

Moral of the Story: Real men don't need to ask for a bump.

That's how OChem II went for me. I was in the professor's office every week. She gave me an A for the overall because even though my test average was a C+, I had A's on the homework and final (that was a miracle), and she knew I was trying my hardest.

 

[cpants]

That's how OChem II went for me. I was in the professor's office every week. She gave me an A for the overall because even though my test average was a C+, I had A's on the homework and final (that was a miracle), and she knew I was trying my hardest.

Laughable. Where do you go to college?

 

[bcat85]

That's how OChem II went for me. I was in the professor's office every week. She gave me an A for the overall because even though my test average was a C+, I had A's on the homework and final (that was a miracle), and she knew I was trying my hardest.

I thought the A for effort thing stopped in elementary school

 

[Raryn]

That's how OChem II went for me. I was in the professor's office every week. She gave me an A for the overall because even though my test average was a C+, I had A's on the homework and final (that was a miracle), and she knew I was trying my hardest.

Several of my teachers have made it so if you get an A on the comprehensive final they'll give you an A in the class no matter how you did on the midterms. I've never needed it, but its a nice option for the slackers.

 

[Squiddie]

Laughable. Where do you go to college?

Virginia Tech. I guess rocking the final (99) helped. Significantly.

 

[Squiddie]

Several of my teachers have made it so if you get an A on the comprehensive final they'll give you an A in the class no matter how you did on the midterms. I've never needed it, but its a nice option for the slackers.

That would have helped in some classes I had...but overall, I hadn't needed it, and honestly, a B in OChem II wouldn't have fazed me much. I guess I'm not really "pre-med material" since I just accept my grades and move on.