I received a C+ in my biology class and was .76 points away from a B-. This is bothering me SO much right now. I'm going to email the professor but I need some tips. How would you phrase it and ask her? I'm a hardworking, diligent student and showed up to every class. I was one of the only people who actually went to her office hours multiple times during the semester. Please help me. I want to say "Is there anything I can do for you to change the grade? I wouldn't mind writing an essay on a topic of your choice". Or does that sound too desperate??
How to ask professor for a higher grade?
- Thread starter IndieMed
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It should state in the syllabus whether or not extra credit is offered. If it isn't, don't give up hope. Are you on good terms with your professor? And, you don't sound desperate at all. You sound like you care. Trust me, when students show that they actually care about their grade, your professor will notice as well. Ask if you could set up an appointment and discuss further steps.
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You could try.... though be prepared to get no answer or a negative one... It's not very becoming and it is likely against the pedagogy of the professor -- of any professor. If you were failing it would be a different issue, but a pre-med coming forth with GPA concerns is not very compelling.
Definitely don't mention you're a pre-med. It does not help your case.
Definitely don't mention you're a pre-med. It does not help your case.
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Never worked for me. I have 3 C+'s that were all within 0.5 of B-.
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.5 from C+ to A-??????!?!?!?!?!?!?
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oh **** i meant B- lol
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Walk into his office with a crisp $100 and ask how many points that baby can buy you.
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You don't. You work harder next time and earn that grade.
And drop that entitlement mentality.
And drop that entitlement mentality.
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If you earned a B-, you would have been given a B-.
Showing up to class and going to office hours does not entitle you to a bump in grade.
You can try pleading your case, but I can guarantee most professors are annoyed by students who do this, because:
Showing up to class and going to office hours does not entitle you to a bump in grade.
You can try pleading your case, but I can guarantee most professors are annoyed by students who do this, because:
- the syllabus is either handed out the first day of class, or it's available electronically (example: Blackboard)
- the syllabus delineates the grading scheme, and if you had earned a B-, you would have been awarded a B-
- the fact that you always showed up to class and went to office hours may have been what pushed you to a C+ instead of a C.
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Honestly, I'm all for accepting the grade you earned, and I understand that professors have to draw the line somewhere. But if you're not planning on asking that professor for a LOR, you have a decent relationship with the professor, and you word the request politely, I really don't see any point in not trying to get them to round it up. Even if they aren't particularly pleased by your request, I doubt that the professor of a massive intro bio course is going to remember or really care that you asked to have your grade bumped up. I say go for it, but if they say no, accept it and move on.
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If you were .76 points away from a B-, than you don't deserve a B-. Grade definitions exist for a reason. You can try to change it but frankly this is the logic your professor should and rightly will have. Suck it up, be an adult, take responsibility for your grades - handouts don't happen in the real world.
Lol my biochem professor actually had to email everyone in the class regarding stuff like this cause it was happening so often, and it sums it up pretty well:
"All students in the course worked very hard, so that is not evidence you should get a higher grade. We cannot simply give you points that you did not earn to get a higher grade. That is clearly unfair to other students."
"All students in the course worked very hard, so that is not evidence you should get a higher grade. We cannot simply give you points that you did not earn to get a higher grade. That is clearly unfair to other students."
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You don't ask. If you were graded fairly on all assignments that is the grade you deserve. Does not matter is you were .76 away from the desired grade or .01. The work you produced earned you the C+.
Does your course outline specify that grades will not be bumped upon request, or has your professor mentioned that in class? If not, there is nothing wrong in asking. Even if your professor has said that, you can still ask if you want to.
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Usually people just study more, then they don't have to ask for points that they didn't earn. Look at it this way, if everyone gets an extra point, they should shift the grade cut offs up a point. Therefore you still get the C you earned. Be glad you have +/-. That's a luxury I didn't have.
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