Not sure what to do about PI

[Shirafune]

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I've been in this lab for 1.5 years now. I was doing a write up for my project which I had a sent a draft to my PI for her to look over. There was one grammatical error which I corrected and when I asked her if there were any other issues or if she needed more time to read it, she replied that it was good to go and told me to just turn it in. Moreover, my PI consistently tells me that I'm going above and beyond what she expects and thinks I could finish up a first author paper fairly soon. Other members of the lab tell me the same. She even jokes that I know everything already.

Fast forward to grade release, I see that I was given an A- for my work. I'm really confused about how everything seemed overly positive but I still end up with an A-.

I know that an A- isn't a bad grade; it's just that I was blindsided and actually think she assigned me an incorrect grade by accident, but of course I don't want to directly bring this up and seem cocky/entitled.

Any recommendations on how to approach this? I have already emailed her and am just waiting for a reply, but just want some foresight on how to bring up possibly changing my grade.

 

[planeblue]

Wait I'm confused. You get letter grades from your PI for doing research?

It could be that she rarely gives anything above a B, so an A- from her may actually be something substantial.


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[Shirafune]

Wait I'm confused. You get letter grades from your PI for doing research?

It could be that she rarely gives anything above a B, so an A- from her may actually be something substantial.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

It's through a special course under a larger program at my university. I'm more peeved that she didn't say anything was wrong and yet I didn't get an A. If it isn't an A, something can be fixed.

 

[bate16]

You could just straight up ask your PI why it is that you got an A-. No need to phrase it like "I believe I deserve A". Instead you could say "I was wondering why I got an A- and what I can improve on to get an A in the future".

 

[Im76at711]

say this exactly "bitch you need to get your **** updated"

then walk away, quit the lab, and join a motorcycle gang.

 

[Lurkvey]

To some professors that are older or from another culture a B might be worthy of doing everything right and an A is for going above and beyond. If your PI is like some of the professors I've taken classes with, you may have landed somewhere in between overall to her (maybe you had a poor start?).

Do what bate16 suggested and keep a professional attitude.

 

[caffeinemia]

Did you win the Nobel prize yet? If not, no A.

 

[DingoPingo]

Just ask her why the A- instead of an A. It's a completely fair question. But don't expect a grade change. A- vs. an A is not much difference and won't affect you in the slightest.

 

[IslandStyle808]

Wait I'm confused. You get letter grades from your PI for doing research?

It could be that she rarely gives anything above a B, so an A- from her may actually be something substantial.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Definitely. You just need to find a research rotation course listing and get the okay from your PI (and sometimes the department your degree under). I've done this before.

EDIT: OP you can change the way you approach the question. Just ask ", I had an A- last semester is their anyway I can improve myself this semester?" If it was a mistake she will change it. If it wasn't, she will give you constructive criticism for the next semester.

 

[Medgrant]

I was given my first B in science/math style courses last term by my PI. She ruined my 4.0 sGPA after four years in school over A one HOUR credit. Dropped it to a 3.98 and that B was powerful enough to drop my cGPA by 0.02 . No idea why, don't even want to ask her about it because it really bothers me. I feel your pain.

 

[efle]

It could be that she rarely gives anything above a B, so an A- from her may actually be something substantial.

I like this guy's optimism. I bet he's really cool.

OP, is there really any chance that this affects your path in life at all? Not worth grade grubbing to your PI over it, just chalk it up to being one of those people that "doesn't believe in giving perfect scores" and keep impressing them so you can get a killer recommendation.

 

[Bones 2020]

Why are you so scared to ask? Do you think the next time you look it will say B+? lol

 

[Shirafune]

I'm not really scared to ask. It's more like I don't know how I can defend my position without seeming cocky if we do end up discussing my grade.

 

[DingoPingo]

I'm not really scared to ask. It's more like I don't know how I can defend my position without seeming cocky if we do end up discussing my grade.

You don't need to defend your position. You just ask why A- and not A. Don't ask for an A.

Oftentimes people give out bull**** grades. We can't change them, but we can also learn from them just in case we missed something the professor did not.

Best case, your professor made a mistake and fixes it.

 

[MaxPlancker]

A- = find another family. I am disappoint.

But seriously, either accept it or just ask her what you can improve on for next time.