How do you explain an okay grade in a class with a bad professor?

[sujc]

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As the title says, I really think the B I got in my organic chem 1 (ahhh!!) class was mostly because of the teacher. This was the first class my teacher has ever taught, and the other class, grade-wise, was doing better. Like people are getting 98's, etc.

I obviously feel bad because of this.....so what can I do to make things better? Can I explain myself, or will that just come off as mean?

thanks

 

[nctw]

As the title says, I really think the B I got in my organic chem 1 🙂thumb down )class was mostly because of the teacher. This was the first class my teacher has ever taught, and the other class, grade-wise, was doing better. Like people are getting 98's, etc.

I obviously feel bad because of this.....so what can I do to make things better? Can I explain myself, or will that just come off as mean?

thanks

I wouldn't think that it would be a good idea to blame your professor. You can always do more 🙂.

I certainly feel your pain. I'm in Bio 1, and I'm currently borderline A-/B+. My roommate (also premed, but with a different professor) has an A. I compared our exams, and they probably cover half of the material we do. All of their questions are surface-level, and they don't have as many free response questions. His study guides are usually three pages. Mine are 8-9 pages. I'm confident I'd have an A+ in his class, but unfortunately, there's nothing you can do in this situation except try harder.

 

[dblue10]

I think saying it were because of the teacher would be "making an excuse," no matter how true or false your arguments are. It's also okay though, plenty of people get in with B's in Orgo!

 

[aSagacious]

You have better odds of being struck by a meteor fragment on your way home than being asked about a B on your transcript.

 

[NatrixCaelicola]

As the title says, I really think the B I got in my organic chem 1 (ahhh!!) class was mostly because of the teacher. This was the first class my teacher has ever taught, and the other class, grade-wise, was doing better. Like people are getting 98's, etc.

I obviously feel bad because of this.....so what can I do to make things better? Can I explain myself, or will that just come off as mean?

thanks

Blaming your professor seems like a horrible idea... after all, just as you got a B, I'm willing to bet that people still got As.

 

[sujc]

Yeah I had a feeling it would be bad to blame anyone on my own performance.

...It's just not fair! I swear, after every exam, while I felt like an idiot who bombed it, all my friends (in the other classes) were confident, and gauging their grades to be between 92 and 100.

In my class, there are only 2 A's

 

[sector9]

You have better odds of being struck by a meteor fragment on your way home than being asked about a B on your transcript.

But seriously, +1

 

[dmf2682]

Medium to poor grades are great things to bring up in an interview. Seriously.

If you're ever asked about a time you failed, struggled, or how you reacted to adversity, talk about your poor performance in a class, discuss why, and then move on to what you learned from it and how you've grown. This can show your interviewer a sense of self awareness and can be great story if you play it right.

 

[kduck]

Sometimes profs curve classes at the end, after all the scores are in. Don't freak out prematurely.

Having a harder teacher that covers more material will better prepare you for the MCAT and for life. So just try to embrace it (even though I know it's pretty frustrating) and don't worry about one B.

 

[NickNaylor]

If you're blaming the professor for YOUR performance, that'd be a pretty big red flag.

 

[duress]

this is probably the perfect time to get used to teaching yourself

"my lecturer was horrible" generally doesn't fly often in med school

 

[LifeTake2]

Yeah I had a feeling it would be bad to blame anyone on my own performance.

...It's just not fair! I swear, after every exam, while I felt like an idiot who bombed it, all my friends (in the other classes) were confident, and gauging their grades to be between 92 and 100.

In my class, there are only 2 A's

If there is any ONE thing you need to learn before you get out of college is to accept that life isn't fair.

You got a B, if that is really that upsetting I would you suggest you sit back and look around at those around you in this world.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

If you realize that the professor is not a good lecturer, learn by yourself. Stop going to class, it's basically an hour and a half wasted. An hour and a half can get you through so much.

 

[BeGladNonTrad]

This is probably the best advice tbh, especially if they don't have attendance requirements. I'v been reviewing my upcoming professors and they have 3 and 3.5 on rate my professor for ochem and physics respectively. Other professors for similar classes at other local schools have 4.5s and 4s. Sometimes, it is the professors, but as noted above. You still need to do your best and if the profs suck, they suck. We gotta work with what we have.

 

[Goro]

Please don't necrobump 14 year old threads.