Getting noticed by professors

[zeppelinpage4]

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So I just had my last biology final this morning and our grades were put up. I had thought that i'd done okay at best and simply tried ot forget about it for the day but upon seeing my grade it turned out I did really well. It was the highest grade in the lecture by 8 points and I was pretty ecstatic.

The only issue is that our grades are organized with our student numbers and not our names. So even though the professors know that someone did well in the class, they don't know it's me.

I had classes during one of my professors office hours so I never got much of a chance to visit or get to know him. The other one I spoke with on a regular basis and spent some time with. Both of them do really cool research with cells and such and I worked really hard in their class. Is there any way I can get them to know that it was me who got the top grade without just saying it?

I really don't want it to come off as bragging or anything because i'm just plain happy my hard work payed off and it doesn't matter if anyone else knows. However I really want my professors to know because it could help me stand out and I might be able to do research with them as a junior.

I sent an email to the one professor who I do talk to pretty often just saying how much I enjoyed the subject/class and mentioned the grade in the email. Was that okay?

I still don't know how to let my second professor know as I don't know him that well. Or should I just not tell him at all? I feel like this could help me stand out but I don't want to make it look like i'm showing off or anything like that because I really don't want to. Any advice on how to approach this?

I;ve genuinely enjoyed the material and I want to go further into what they teach.

 

[Beta Cell]

So I just had my last biology final this morning and our grades were put up. I had thought that i'd done okay at best and simply tried ot forget about it for the day but upon seeing my grade it turned out I did really well. It was the highest grade in the lecture by 8 points and I was pretty ecstatic.

The only issue is that our grades are organized with our student numbers and not our names. So even though the professors know that someone did well in the class, they don't know it's me.

I had classes during one of my professors office hours so I never got much of a chance to visit or get to know him. The other one I spoke with on a regular basis and spent some time with. Both of them do really cool research with cells and such and I worked really hard in their class. Is there any way I can get them to know that it was me who got the top grade without just saying it?

I really don't want it to come off as bragging or anything because i'm just plain happy my hard work payed off and it doesn't matter if anyone else knows. However I really want my professors to know because it could help me stand out and I might be able to do research with them as a junior.

I sent an email to the one professor who I do talk to pretty often just saying how much I enjoyed the subject/class and mentioned the grade in the email. Was that okay?

I still don't know how to let my second professor know as I don't know him that well. Or should I just not tell him at all? I feel like this could help me stand out but I don't want to make it look like i'm showing off or anything like that because I really don't want to. Any advice on how to approach this?

That is definitely worth mentioning. You got the highest grade in a class they teach, I'm sure they'd be happy to hear that a happy student would like to join their group. The key to this is not to sound like you think you're entitled to a spot in their group simply because you destroyed their class. I don't really know how you'd work it into normal conversation, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult.

In an email asking for a meeting to join someone's lab group, I would introduce myself as a student of their class, express my interest in their lab, how cool their research is, etc. If they are seriously considering you, they'll look up your grade before they meet with you. If it seems like they haven't noticed that, you could bring it up in conversation during the interview.

Good luck

 

[riverjib]

So I just had my last biology final this morning and our grades were put up. I had thought that i'd done okay at best and simply tried ot forget about it for the day but upon seeing my grade it turned out I did really well. It was the highest grade in the lecture by 8 points and I was pretty ecstatic.

The only issue is that our grades are organized with our student numbers and not our names. So even though the professors know that someone did well in the class, they don't know it's me.

I had classes during one of my professors office hours so I never got much of a chance to visit or get to know him. The other one I spoke with on a regular basis and spent some time with. Both of them do really cool research with cells and such and I worked really hard in their class. Is there any way I can get them to know that it was me who got the top grade without just saying it?

I really don't want it to come off as bragging or anything because i'm just plain happy my hard work payed off and it doesn't matter if anyone else knows. However I really want my professors to know because it could help me stand out and I might be able to do research with them as a junior.

I sent an email to the one professor who I do talk to pretty often just saying how much I enjoyed the subject/class and mentioned the grade in the email. Was that okay?

I still don't know how to let my second professor know as I don't know him that well. Or should I just not tell him at all? I feel like this could help me stand out but I don't want to make it look like i'm showing off or anything like that because I really don't want to. Any advice on how to approach this?

I;ve genuinely enjoyed the material and I want to go further into what they teach.

Definitely get a letter from your professor. But here's a ton of advice you may not have asked for. Get to know your professors. Even in weed-out classes, you CAN spend some meaningful time with them. Every professor is willing to meet with you by appointment if your schedule conflicts with office hours. Trust me, as a non-trad (read: older) pre-med, I've learned how and when to monopolize someone's time without being an annoyance. I've had professors in a lecture of 570 students sit down with me and ask me how I like the course, and tell me about their kids, college experiences, research, and even personal lives. It's a skill I honed by working in the "real world" for a while, but you can hone it just by going in and doing this:

a) Ask them questions about the material that genuinely confused you. Make sure you do your homework first.
b) Ask them questions relevant to, but beyond the scope of the class. They will often allude to things you "don't need to know" but are interesting. Note them, google them, and then ask more in-depth questions
c) Ask them about their research, present and past. People love talking about their accomplishments. Professors are no exception. If anything, they went the academic route in hopes that they can impart something to students.

This is why ADCOMs want recommendation letters. Anyone can glance at your application and see that you mastered basic science classes AND fed the homeless. What matters beyond that is how you actually relate to people.

 

[apumic]

Definitely get a letter from your professor. But here's a ton of advice you may not have asked for. Get to know your professors. Even in weed-out classes, you CAN spend some meaningful time with them. Every professor is willing to meet with you by appointment if your schedule conflicts with office hours. Trust me, as a non-trad (read: older) pre-med, I've learned how and when to monopolize someone's time without being an annoyance. I've had professors in a lecture of 570 students sit down with me and ask me how I like the course, and tell me about their kids, college experiences, research, and even personal lives. It's a skill I honed by working in the "real world" for a while, but you can hone it just by going in and doing this:

a) Ask them questions about the material that genuinely confused you. Make sure you do your homework first.
b) Ask them questions relevant to, but beyond the scope of the class. They will often allude to things you "don't need to know" but are interesting. Note them, google them, and then ask more in-depth questions
c) Ask them about their research, present and past. People love talking about their accomplishments. Professors are no exception. If anything, they went the academic route in hopes that they can impart something to students.

This is why ADCOMs want recommendation letters. Anyone can glance at your application and see that you mastered basic science classes AND fed the homeless. What matters beyond that is how you actually relate to people.

^THIS!!!

riverjib knows what s/he is talking about here.

I find it odd, TBH, that your profs don't know who (i.e., names of students that) did well in their classes -- seems quite strange. Nevertheless, your best bet is to go and get to know your profs. Go to office hrs even when you don't need to. If you're able, talk to the prof after class (let the other students ask questions first) and then walk out w/ them and get to know them a bit. (With that said, however, be sure to know your profs and make sure they're the kind of prof that'd be okay with that.) Getting to know faculty is truly an art and an extremely valuable skill. If a prof knows who you are, they are more likely to do everything in their power to help ensure you succeed.
When I was a TA (for 3 yrs), I found this principle to be so important to their success that I actually used to tell freshmen that if they got to know me, they would do better -- nothing to do w/ favoritism but if I know you, I'm more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt (on subjective answers) and you're more likely to have easy access to me when it comes to getting help (i.e., I'm more likely to be okay with answering your questions outside office hours, I might give more/better hints as to what I expect, etc.). The fact is that we, as human beings, prefer people we know and trust and if you can get inside of the prof's trusted circle (of business associates and students), you're going to be rewarded quite nicely for your effort. (Of course, you don't want to screw up once you're there as the damage that would do is far worse than the neutral position you held prior to getting to know the prof. And I am not talking about committing boundary violations here -- that would obviously be a very poor idea. You obviously have to keep a proper student-professor relationship in mind.)

 

[zeppelinpage4]

The advice was a big help guys. I did send an email to the other professor just saying that I really like one of the topics on genetic disorders and asked him if he could tell me more about his research.

The other professor I sent a nice goodbye message as I had gotten to know him quite well.

Unfortunately it's too late to try and make appointments as our semester ended today. 🙁
If I am to try and get to know them it'll have to be 3 weeks from now but i'm going to try and keep contact and maybe I can bring up how well I did next semester?

On a brighter note I did manage to follow riverjibhttp://forums.studentdoctor.net/member.php?u=292245's advice with my chem professor who I knew quite well by the end. I had a lot of good shots to get to know my professors overall and I did generally well in their classes, especially bio. I hope I didn't ruin any chances of getting to know them more closely etc...it seems all I can do is email them at this point which I just did.

 

[riverjib]

The advice was a big help guys. I did send an email to the other professor just saying that I really like one of the topics on genetic disorders and asked him if he could tell me more about his research.

The other professor I sent a nice goodbye message as I had gotten to know him quite well.

Unfortunately it's too late to try and make appointments as our semester ended today. 🙁
If I am to try and get to know them it'll have to be 3 weeks from now but i'm going to try and keep contact and maybe I can bring up how well I did next semester?

On a brighter note I did manage to follow riverjib's advice with my chem professor who I knew quite well by the end. I had a lot of good shots to get to know my professors overall and I did generally well in their classes, especially bio. I hope I didn't ruin any chances of getting to know them more closely etc...it seems all I can do is email them at this point which I just did.

Apumic had a lot of great advice, too. I wouldn't worry too much at this point if your professors don't know you well enough. You can carry this advice into future semesters...upper-level recommendations are especially strong. Just focus on meeting with professors in person, and you'll be in good shape.