Might Fail Chem Lab! A/A- in Lecture. What should I do?

[Universitygeek]

I ran into a really harsh TA this semester for lab. Also, everything in lab is graded either pass or fail meaning that if there's even one thing that's missing, not detailed enough, or inaccurate, it's a fail. The rubric gives the TA a lot of room for interpretation which leads to inconsistent grading from lab to lab. To pass you need at least 34/53 which is a C-. Apparently the TA didn't think one area of my lab report was done correctly even though I did it the same way I did for a previous lab report which got credit. And this one lab report is worth 10 points or about 20% of my grade. Go figure . . . so I did the math and there are 7 "somewhat easy" points left in the lab assuming no more curveballs arise. If I get all 7 remaining points, I pass with the lowest grade of a C-. If my lab group or I mess one more thing up, I fail the lab. I have literally no room left for error, but am almost done with it and can expect an A/A- in lecture. My lecture grade is gone if I fail lab btw. Assuming I pass lab which is a big if at this point, will dental schools be understanding especially if I do better 2nd semester? I expected lecture to be hard and lab to be easy but the opposite turned out to be true so I didn't foresee this situation. Should I talk to my counselor or the TA to try to avoid failing? I honestly don't know what to do. I'm so close, but can't take another hit.

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[dshen92129]

Communicate with the staff about the situation.. how have your grades been so far overall?

 

[Universitygeek]

Communicate with the staff about the situation.. how have your grades been so far overall?

It's my first semester, but I'd estimate that my gpa should be around 3.5 by the end of it. Chem is the only science class I'm currently taking unless astronomy counts (lib ed). Should I contact my professor? My counselor? Maybe the TA but I don't want to annoy him especially since he's grading the last 7 points.

 

[dshen92129]

I don't think your counselor could do much since she just advises you and keeps you on track for your degree.. you could use her to be a mediator if your not comfortable talking with your professor alone. If you are cool with your professor, have a serious talking with him/her and lay your concerns out. Maybe they can give you a break or have you do some extra credit to make up the loss points. The TA seems like he/she is power hungry.. maybe the professor is giving this TA too much leeway you should probably make the professor aware. Doesn't hurt to try.

 

[workofshart]

Just IMO, but I think lectures are given more credence than labs, especially tough classes like Orgo. I think adcoms realize that labs can be a joke or insanely difficult depending on your TA (in other words its a crapshoot). I think if you can manage to pass the lab then just try to get an A in the next lab and you should be fine. Also you can try emailing/talking to your TA and explaining the situation and how important this class is for your future chances as a dentist. If that doesn't work, as a last resort, you can either talk to the lab coordinator/director or even the department head/dean.

 

[WheatLom]

Talk to the professor and department head.

You should be able to clear this up if there are inconsistencies in grading.

 

[Universitygeek]

Just IMO, but I think lectures are given more credence than labs, especially tough classes like Orgo. I think adcoms realize that labs can be a joke or insanely difficult depending on your TA (in other words its a crapshoot). I think if you can manage to pass the lab then just try to get an A in the next lab and you should be fine. Also you can try emailing/talking to your TA and explaining the situation and how important this class is for your future chances as a dentist. If that doesn't work, as a last resort, you can either talk to the lab coordinator/director or even the department head/dean.

Do all dental schools require at least a C in prerequisite courses? I'm looking and all the ones I could search up and they state that a minimum of a C in prerequisite courses. So would a C- in lab even if I pass mean that I still need to retake it since it's below a C?

 

[workofshart]

Do all dental schools require at least a C in prerequisite courses? I'm looking and all the ones I could search up and they state that a minimum of a C in prerequisite courses. So would a C- in lab even if I pass mean that I still need to retake it since it's below a C?

I could be wrong but I think all schools require at least a C in prereqs. The safest thing to do would probably be to retake the lab if you get a C- but I'm not sure if some schools would give you any leeway if you get a good grade in lecture. You may want to try emailing admissions at your top choices and ask their advice on it.

 

[Universitygeek]

Thanks for all of your input. Kind of late, but here's an update of what's happened since. They decided to apply a curve for the lab since everyone was failing and I managed to scrape by with a C and an A for the lecture. For gen chem II, I got a different lab TA so I managed to get A's for both the lecture and lab.