first orgo exam...what would you do?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

mynamewastaken

Member
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2005
Messages
141
Reaction score
0
just want to get some opinions on this....the TA's interrupted us 4 times during our first orgo midterm to point out typos and mistakes on the exam....the last question of the exam was worth 15 points and i couldn't figure it out....long story short after handing in my exam i saw a WRITTEN correction for this question also on the blackboard that i never noticed....i am not just saying this, but if i knew the correction I would have absolutely gotten this question right (right answer is even on my scrap paper)....i emailed the TA's to ask if they made an actual announcement about this correction....if they did I seriously didn't hear it I guess i was too focused on the exam at this point...if they did not however, I really feel those points should not be taken off....what do you guys think? if i'm being honest, i'm incredibly upset about this....it was a tough exam and losing 15 points on something like this probably put me below the mean....long sigh.
 
just want to get some opinions on this....the TA's interrupted us 4 times during our first orgo midterm to point out typos and mistakes on the exam....the last question of the exam was worth 15 points and i couldn't figure it out....long story short after handing in my exam i saw a WRITTEN correction for this question also on the blackboard that i never noticed....i am not just saying this, but if i knew the correction I would have absolutely gotten this question right (right answer is even on my scrap paper)....i emailed the TA's to ask if they made an actual announcement about this correction....if they did I seriously didn't hear it I guess i was too focused on the exam at this point...if they did not however, I really feel those points should not be taken off....what do you guys think? if i'm being honest, i'm incredibly upset about this....it was a tough exam and losing 15 points on something like this probably put me below the mean....long sigh.

you have every reason to be pissed off... (if your story is true)

I had a very strange orgo teacher. This kind of stuff happened with him too. People would lose up to 20 points because he asked questions about things that were completely unrelated to what we've done in class and what we have read on the notes.
 
This is the reason why being premed as an undergrad at research universities sucks.

(I'm assuming you go to a research U)
 
You'll probably never miss a correction again 🙂
 
you could talk to the TA or Prof...and show that you knew how to work the problem if it had been written correctly
 
you could talk to the TA or Prof...and show that you knew how to work the problem if it had been written correctly

but they could say that it would be unfair to other students (again logical fallacy) as it was announced to the whole class.
 
but they could say that it would be unfair to other students (again logical fallacy) as it was announced to the whole class.

what do you have to lose...it shows them you are commited...and are intersted in doing well...dont go in and approach it saying because you suck at writing questions i did worse than i would have...approach it by saying that you sincerely feel you learned the material and that the miscommunication that occured by no fault of anyone caused you to less well than hoped...also it helps to say that you are only concerned with getting grades because medical schools and graduate schools require high grades...but in reality you are interested in truly learning the information

note you=op
 
Make your case. It O Chem is hard enough without having to wade through typops and misinformation. If you could have done that without them messing up it isn't your fault.
 
Ok little update (like all you care haha)...the TA got back to me saying the prof himself wrote the correction on the board before leaving the class just as we started the exam but did not make an announcement....like i mentioned though the TA's made several other correction announcments after this and wrote them on the board....the one i missed was therefore NEVER announced just written down. is this my fault for not seeing it on the board?? As the TA suggested I have now emailed the prof but i'm not expecting anything to come of this....this sorta thing is the last thing you need on an orgo test....damn...
 
jesus christ I would be fuming if that happened to me. If I didn't get those points back, or some sort of retest wasn't given I would continue to hassle the prof about it and if that didn't work I would take it a step further to the chair of the academic department. You may not get anything out of it, but it can't hurt to try everything in your power. It will also hopefully send the message that what they did was not right and that things need to be clearer next time. God I feel really bad for you man... it's a tough situation to be sure. Whatever happens, though, promise me you you'll shove the next test down his throat, both for your grade and for great justice.
 
I know that some profs have a policy in place that allows students to resubmit a test and argue why they should earn more points, but it seems like that isn't the case. You're probably not be the only one in the class who lost points because the test was written poorly. You're making the right decision by contacting the professor and TA immediately. If it makes you feel better I had an orgo 2 test that I walked out of thinking there was no way I got more than half the points. It turned out the class average was something around 35%, so my 50% was ok.
 
Get over it, you should have paid better attention.
 
thanks I probably will....

Honestly, I have a feeling that most other students saw this....I spoke briefly to a friend of mine after the exam and that person was in the same boat but didn't seem to care because the rest of the exam was a distaster anyway....ok i'm over it i'll wait to hear back from the prof.
 
haha yep....very research oriented Ivy...weird thing is I really like the prof so far and he is a traveling prof so doesn't even teach here fulltime....looks like i'm getting B's in orgo...
 
Top