Has anyone cried in front of their professor before?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Members don't see this ad.
chillinillinkillin007 said:
wtf is this. You cried in front of your professor because you failed your test and your professor is giving u the option to RETAKE IT? There are only 3 explanations

1) Troll
2) OP goes to a really unrepuatable undergrad
3) OP is at least a 8 or 9 out of ten

My gut feeling is troll since I refuse to believe professors hand out retakes for no justified reason
Click to expand...

Yeah pretty much this, although I'm really hoping for #3. :naughty:
 
I've had med students cry in front of me and I keep a box of kleenex in my desk for this eventuality.

Most common reason is like yours, failing an exam or a course. Other reasons can be serious illness in the family or other life issues.

Stop being so paranoid and thank the professor for his understanding, and forgive yourself for being human.


believe <3 said:
Hey guys, I have a problem and I don't know how to move on...I recently took an organic chemistry test and completely bombed it. When the time came to hand in our papers, I couldn't do it and went to my professor to tell him in advance that I had completely failed it. Unfortunately, I got overwhelmed and started tearing up (not bawling, but I did cry a bit 🙁). I asked him what he thought my options were and he told me that I could retake it if I wanted. My professor is awfully nice but now I'm so embarrassed to face him! I wish I hadn't cried like some weak person (although I had some valid reasons for the stress).

Any thoughts on this? Is it really damaging for me to have done this? FYI, I'm not planning to get a rec letter or anything from this prof.

How do I get over my embarrassment and start talking to him normally again? I'm scared that he hates me now and I can't even bring myself to sit in class for the rest of the semester or go to his office!
Click to expand...
 
Hell yeah. I've cried in front of my high school teachers, I recently cried in front of my professor after seeing that I failed my first exam in college 😀 I was so embarrassed, but whatever. I am a huge crybaby, but I have been getting much better with holding it in. However, this isn't really good for my mental health because I eventually explode...gotta work on that.

I've even cried in front of my boss.
 
believe <3 said:
Hey guys, I have a problem and I don't know how to move on...I recently took an organic chemistry test and completely bombed it. When the time came to hand in our papers, I couldn't do it and went to my professor to tell him in advance that I had completely failed it. Unfortunately, I got overwhelmed and started tearing up (not bawling, but I did cry a bit 🙁). I asked him what he thought my options were and he told me that I could retake it if I wanted. My professor is awfully nice but now I'm so embarrassed to face him! I wish I hadn't cried like some weak person (although I had some valid reasons for the stress).

Any thoughts on this? Is it really damaging for me to have done this? FYI, I'm not planning to get a rec letter or anything from this prof.

How do I get over my embarrassment and start talking to him normally again? I'm scared that he hates me now and I can't even bring myself to sit in class for the rest of the semester or go to his office!
Click to expand...
Wow, women really work themselves up over nothing.
 
believe <3 said:
Hey guys, I have a problem and I don't know how to move on...I recently took an organic chemistry test and completely bombed it. When the time came to hand in our papers, I couldn't do it and went to my professor to tell him in advance that I had completely failed it. Unfortunately, I got overwhelmed and started tearing up (not bawling, but I did cry a bit 🙁). I asked him what he thought my options were and he told me that I could retake it if I wanted. My professor is awfully nice but now I'm so embarrassed to face him! I wish I hadn't cried like some weak person (although I had some valid reasons for the stress).

Any thoughts on this? Is it really damaging for me to have done this? FYI, I'm not planning to get a rec letter or anything from this prof.

How do I get over my embarrassment and start talking to him normally again? I'm scared that he hates me now and I can't even bring myself to sit in class for the rest of the semester or go to his office!
Click to expand...

I forsee either Peds or Derm in your future. OB-Gyn, not so much.
 
QuinnTheEskimo said:
I just assumed OP was female because no guy would 1) cry over an orgo test, or 2) obsess like this --"omg my professor HATES me omg omg." Sorry to sound like a sexist ass, but it's the truth.

OP, you need to brush it off and grow a thicker skin. I recommend going to your professor's office and talking to him directly, rather than emailing.
Click to expand...
I didn't even have to read the post. She has a freakin' heart in her SDN username.
 
dbeast said:
Wait until your clerkships. You'll meet people whose goal is to make you cry. Enjoy your warm and fuzzy professor while you have him.
Click to expand...
Exactly. No one can save you then, not even your medical school administration.
 
no, but i have openly told a professor that "i suck" or am "not qualified" for a part of the test or a task. i then took the necessary steps to fix my shortcomings. it was not easy.

on the flipside, i have shown emotion because i felt "cheated" for the work i had put in. i took a spanish language course (required by the college) and put in so much work and only got a B+. i will never forget that. it is very important for me to be compensated exactly on what i put in. hence if i suck at a test, no sympathy for me. i put in no effort or i am just too stupid. i accept either if that's what i did but i don't want pity. that's even worse.
 
believe <3 said:
Hey guys, I have a problem and I don't know how to move on...I recently took an organic chemistry test and completely bombed it. When the time came to hand in our papers, I couldn't do it and went to my professor to tell him in advance that I had completely failed it. Unfortunately, I got overwhelmed and started tearing up (not bawling, but I did cry a bit 🙁). I asked him what he thought my options were and he told me that I could retake it if I wanted. My professor is awfully nice but now I'm so embarrassed to face him! I wish I hadn't cried like some weak person (although I had some valid reasons for the stress).

Any thoughts on this? Is it really damaging for me to have done this? FYI, I'm not planning to get a rec letter or anything from this prof.

How do I get over my embarrassment and start talking to him normally again? I'm scared that he hates me now and I can't even bring myself to sit in class for the rest of the semester or go to his office!
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but am I the only one who doesn't agree with this whole sob story? When you're in residency and mess up while working with a patient towards the end of a 36 hour shift, you don't get a second chance or re-do. Malpractice lawsuits won't care if you had a 21 hour plane ride before the shift. You probably also won't get a re-do on anatomy exams on medical school.

Unless it was a family emergency (in which case I revoke this entire post), it was your fault for scheduling a 21 hour plane ride right before your test. I've been in a similar situation (took a midterm right after a long red-eye flight), and when my grade wasn't as great as I hoped, I took responsibility for it and didn't complain or make excuses.
 
believe <3 said:
Hey guys, I have a problem and I don't know how to move on...I recently took an organic chemistry test and completely bombed it. When the time came to hand in our papers, I couldn't do it and went to my professor to tell him in advance that I had completely failed it. Unfortunately, I got overwhelmed and started tearing up (not bawling, but I did cry a bit 🙁). I asked him what he thought my options were and he told me that I could retake it if I wanted. My professor is awfully nice but now I'm so embarrassed to face him! I wish I hadn't cried like some weak person (although I had some valid reasons for the stress).

Any thoughts on this? Is it really damaging for me to have done this? FYI, I'm not planning to get a rec letter or anything from this prof.

How do I get over my embarrassment and start talking to him normally again? I'm scared that he hates me now and I can't even bring myself to sit in class for the rest of the semester or go to his office!
Click to expand...


Wait until you have to write your personal statements.. Everything so personal to you that you don't want to know, and you have to sit down one on one with your advisor and go over every little detail.

You will be ok.

My mom died after my 2nd year of college and so I wrote about her in my personal statement, which is actually super personal, and I tear up every time I meet with my advisor to go over the next revision. I figure it shows your human.

And if he hates you, who cares? You will never have to see him again. I'd just count the embarrassment for what it is and move on.
 
mehc012 said:
Also, pet peeve of mine (and so you don't continue to inadvertently imply things as so many people do), nauseous means that you make other people feel ill. Nauseated is when you feel ill. I sincerely hope you were neither, but, in terms of embarrassment, I particularly hope you were not nauseous!
Click to expand...

Actually, this is not correct anymore. It was correct 50 years ago, but since people have been using it incorrectly so often, dictionaries allow nauseous to mean both things, only separated by context. I know this because I used to correct people on this as well.
 
Rik1111 said:
Actually, this is not correct anymore. It was correct 50 years ago, but since people have been using it incorrectly so often, dictionaries allow nauseous to mean both things, only separated by context. I know this because I used to correct people on this as well.
Click to expand...
Still, given the choice, I'd stick with the one which can't be mentally adjusted by your listener to mean "yeah, you DO make me feel ill."
 
mehc012 said:
Still, given the choice, I'd stick with the one which can't be mentally adjusted by your listener to mean "yeah, you DO make me feel ill."
Click to expand...

I think that's reasonable and still correct. That was my polite way to tell you that you should stop correcting people on that because they're not wrong.
 
What a **** professor, just because you "felt" like you bombed the test, he gives you the option to retake it. Get out of here, we're all adults here, welcome to real life. Plus if one test was going to make it or break it for you, you obviously don't have the work ethic.

No sympathy for losers.

I have and I know multiple friends who have had to take tests literally on no sleep before due to their schedules. Once I had a scribe shift overnight and 2 hours later I had my exam. Just prepare for it advance, life is always going to try to break you down- don't let it.
 
believe <3 said:
All I need to know is when I can retake it, so wouldn't it be okay to just email him? I don't think I can go to his office yet until he tells me my next step...I am just really embarrassed right now.
Click to expand...

Yes, you should be embarrassed. Definitely do not retake the exam. Do you not have something called dignity? Not to mention the fact that retaking the exam is extremely unethical, learning how to clean up after your own mess is an essential part of growing up into a mature adult. And I trust that you are aware of med schools' strong preference for mature applicants.

I mean, as a fellow undergrad, all I can say is this is disgraceful. If you do retake the exam, I hope that I would never come across a medical student with that ethics of yours. I really hope I never do.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
No, when I fail a test I get more of a sinking feeling in my stomach, especially when I didn't study.
 
I replaced college professor with high school teacher when re-reading the thread title...miss the good ol days of extra credit and retakes
 
Rik1111 said:
I think that's reasonable and still correct. That was my polite way to tell you that you should stop correcting people on that because they're not wrong.
Click to expand...
I appreciate the tact...it did make me reconsider, for what it's worth, and will likely factor in the future. I love discussing common linguistic misconceptions, though...for instance, the incorrect, yet widely presumed story that 'Duck tape' was originally called 'duct tape', but got corrupted because everyone said it wrong/the branding. In fact, it was originally called 'duck tape' due to its water resistant back, is terrible for ducting work, and eventually became known as 'duct tape' because of mispronunciation/misinformation in the other direction! Doesn't make duct tape wrong to say, as that is widely accepted now, but it's worth spreading. I feel similarly about 'nauseous', as the concept that we, as a culture, have been using it completely incorrectly for so long that it has become the norm is fascinating. Suddenly all of the other inconsistencies in the English language start to make a lot more sense...

The dictionaries I've looked it up in contained only the 1 definition for nauseous, btw...I did check when I was first told of my own error on that front.
I personally am very glad someone corrected me; I never used nauseous again after that and it's the kind of error I'm very glad to have pointed out...it's interesting, not really insulting as it is a common misconception, and I am glad to have the opportunity to use it correctly.
 
Served said:
Yes, you should be embarrassed. Definitely do not retake the exam. Do you not have something called dignity? Not to mention the fact that retaking the exam is extremely unethical, learning how to clean up after your own mess is an essential part of growing up into a mature adult. And I trust that you are aware of med schools' strong preference for mature applicants.

I mean, as a fellow undergrad, all I can say is this is disgraceful. If you do retake the exam, I hope that I would never come across a medical student with that ethics of yours. I really hope I never do.
Click to expand...

Be prepared, there WILL be people like that in your class, and on the wards being your senior resident grading you. There are people who would retake that test with a HUGE grin on their face.

And those that would sleep their way to the top as well. Then again, medicine isn't the field I would think of for dignity 😛
 
Served said:
Yes, you should be embarrassed. Definitely do not retake the exam. Do you not have something called dignity? Not to mention the fact that retaking the exam is extremely unethical, learning how to clean up after your own mess is an essential part of growing up into a mature adult. And I trust that you are aware of med schools' strong preference for mature applicants.

I mean, as a fellow undergrad, all I can say is this is disgraceful. If you do retake the exam, I hope that I would never come across a medical student with that ethics of yours. I really hope I never do.
Click to expand...
You apparently have not met any medical students.
 
KnuxNole said:
Be prepared, there WILL be people like that in your class, and on the wards being your senior resident grading you. There are people who would retake that test with a HUGE grin on their face.

And those that would sleep their way to the top as well. Then again, medicine isn't the field I would think of for dignity 😛
Click to expand...
That is quite contradictory to what med schools claim themselves to be. What a shame.
 
Served said:
That is quite contradictory to what med schools claim themselves to be. What a shame.
Click to expand...

And you actually believe at face value the claims of medical schools who willingly take your student loan money because?
 
Goro said:
No, because they were failing, typically because mom developed cancer or their marriage was falling apart.
Click to expand...

Damn... my apologies for them. At least this is a credible reason for tears and sadness and I have my sympathies for them, unlike the case for OP.
 
Served said:
Because that's how you get into med schools :soexcited:
Click to expand...

You'll be a perfect candidate for indoctrination. Just a hint, your medical school doesn't always tell the truth to students.
What they want and what they practice is often different.
 
Served said:
That is quite contradictory to what med schools claim themselves to be. What a shame.
Click to expand...

It's not the med school's fault. Keep in mind med students are just regular folk. Just like the average 20-30s group, there are some that would have no remorse if they got a chance to retake something or get free passes to make their goal, without caring that others didn't get the same treatment. In addition, there will be some who gets hints from professors, but chooses not to share with others.

Or some where, when the resident tell the other med students to get her footlong sandwiches from Subway, one med student will give her a different footlong for an easy Honors. 😉

Even though most people will have good morals, you gotta expect that some won't share the same mentality.
 
KnuxNole said:
It's not the med school's fault. Keep in mind med students are just regular folk. Just like the average 20-30s group, there are some that would have no remorse if they got a chance to retake something or get free passes to make their goal, without caring that others didn't get the same treatment. In addition, there will be some who gets hints from professors, but chooses not to share with others.

Or some where, when the resident tell the other med students to get her footlong sandwiches from Subway, one med student will give her a different footlong for an easy Honors. 😉

Even though most people will have good morals, you gotta expect that some won't share the same mentality.
Click to expand...
Strong everything lol
 
believe <3 said:
I'm sorry, I don't get what you mean. Why is it important if I am a female? If it helps, I think my prof. understands the situation. I had just gotten off a 21-hour plane ride, was severely jetlagged and feeling nauseous, but still took the exam that day because I didn't know if it was feasible to reschedule with all my other finals coming up. Plus I thought it was too late to do so.

Do you have any ideas as to how I can phrase my apology in the email?
Click to expand...

Before I rip you a new one I need to know was the 21 hour plane ride to go see a dying friend or family member or a funeral? I need to know this so you can't make me feel bad for what I am about to say...
 
I cried.
My cat died after 48 hours of non stop trips to the vet over a weekend. My research professor force me to come in on Monday. I showed up and just started to bawl.

Anyone who knows me, knows I am practically in love with my dogcat (my cat Does everything a average intelligence dog can do - but way cuter)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
Letter of Intent before interview
Replies
5
Views
1K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
M
  • Question Question
Is it Clinical (Front desk receptionist urgent care)
Replies
6
Views
1K
Goro
Goro
H
  • Question Question
Dropping off a letter of intent in person?
Replies
5
Views
624
Goro
Goro
rose1101
Submit app before or after getting MCAT score?
Replies
2
Views
325
Faha
F
hermionegranger1
My friend has 21 Interviews, is it considered normal?
Replies
7
Views
2K
Goro
Goro
Top