I just don't get some people!

[Mudd]

Okay, it's rant time. Pull up a seat around the ol' whiners campfire, because I have a story to share.

I got an e-mail from this kid's mother that has to be printed, framed, and mounted on the Darwin Award Hall of Fame wall.

This kid took the MCAT last summer and got a 27. His mom came to me saying he's a smart kid but he stayed at school in Baltimore to study over summer and she didn't think he focussed being away from home. I listened to her tell me she wasn't happy with his prep course, yada yada. So I agreed that I'd tutor her son this past summer and I suggested he take a different course, if he took one at all. She forked over the $1200 for the course and he was set.

I met with the kid well over 40 hours, and only charged him $15 and hour for a total of 40 hours. The mom complained about the cost a few times (given that she dropped money on BR), so there were a few pro bono sessions.

So when I opened her e-mail, expecting thank you (stupid me), I instead read this:

• "I would like a complete refund from you sir. My son scored a zero on the MCAT."

She went on about how disappointed she was in the help I gave and that a "zero" would ruin him for life. After e-mailing the kid to find out what happened, it ends up he got a 35 and an O. The stupid mom saw the O and thought it was a zero. So now I have to write this lady back as politely as possible. Any suggestions for alternative words for "stupid" and "loser" would be greatly appreciated.

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[Spiderman [RNA Ladder 2003]]

hahahahahahaaha

 

[Dr. Wall$treet]

wow rough life.. i dont know how u handle those types of life devesating things

 

[NE_Cornhusker1]

Give her the refund in pesos. And not the new (3 pesos to an American dollar) pesos but the (30,000 pesos to a dollar) pesos.

Rubles (Russian currency) is another option.

 

[Mr. Z]

Mudd, could this be an advertisement? or are you just sharing

 

[tBw]

I think you should send her an additional bill for getting her son up from a 27 to a 35! You could base it on a % of how much more he is likely to earn over his lifetime as a doctor

 

[woolie]

No wonder her son stayed in Baltimore and didn't come home all Summer, I feel bad for him - altho I wish my folks had paid my way, plus my $1300 TPR + $160 MCAT + (40)x(15) = 600 for you!

I wouldn't even respond to her email; tutoring is a cash and carry business, what they do with the information is up to them. Heck, here in NYC I have to cough up 35-40 per hour for grad students who really don't give a **** about how I do ....

 

[limit]

Every now and again, to be explained only by the planetary alignments, a vortex of stupidity drains into a human being. Write back to this lady politely? In the words of Sir W. Temple, cruelty ... argues not only a depravedness of nature, but also an imbecility of mind. A zero is unacceptable; refund her at once, so the son may retake!

 

[BananaSplit]

You know, last August, I had my MCAT scores sent home instead of to my school address because I was moving around quite a bit. So, I called home, and asked my mom to read me my scores...so she read me the numbers, 11, 10, 10, and then she got very quiet and said..."Oh, you scored zero on the writing sample." Anyhow, it happens...sometimes parents (or any other person who is not pre-med) have no idea what MCAT's are about, how it's scored, and what constitutes a good score. I got my scores this year, and I told my roommate that I did really well, and she said, it's out of 45 right, did you get a 40? OMG! If I got a 40, I would have pranced all over my apartment building singing. Anyhow, just my $.02

BananaSplit

 

[Mudd]

Originally posted by Mr. Z
Mudd, could this be an advertisement?

God no; I am so through with private tutoring for the MCAT. This summer made it clear it's not worth the hassle.

Besides, as impressive as the kid's score increase is, I didn't have that much to do with it. He went from an 8-9-10 to an 11-13-11. Considering I'm a cut above illiterate (on a good day), his verbal increase is all his. His bio increase is probably because he took biochemistry and more genetics this past school year. I'd guess the PS increase is a combo of using better materials this time and the tutoring.

I'm pretty happy for the kid. He might end up being a classmate of yours, so I shouldn't disclose too much. Although I'll bet his mom goes with him to his first day of medical school, which might be a dead giveaway.

 

[limit]

You know, Mudd, I think you were selling yourself way short with such inexpensive private tutoring. I'd say it was a wise decision to call it quits; people get paid more to read out of an instructor's manual and administer/supervise full-lengths. Such nasty incidents are hardly worth it, I can't imagine how it must feel for so many hours of hard work, including the pro bono, to be robbed of some well-deserved appreciative gratitude. If you decide to make a comeback, quadruple your hourly rate.

 

[Mr. Z]

Originally posted by Mudd
Although I'll bet his mom goes with him to his first day of medical school, which might be a dead giveaway.

I don't know about that, when i went to take the mcat this aug i was amazed at the number of students who showed up with their parents. I mean they were literally walking their kids into the hall, practically holding their hands. I was thinking "damn, are ya gonna hold his hand when he starts practicing medicine too". Somebody cut that umbilical cord, please!

 

[indo]

I gotta bump this to break some of the stress in the mcat forum.

good luck everyone!

 

[Wilford Brimley]

Do you teach SAT?