Petition my bio. lab grade?

Short version of what I really want to say: It does not seem like you were treated abnormally. It does not seem like you have cause for a different grade. Accept it.

 

Yeah that really sucks dude. But it happens to everybody, and there usually isn't a lot you can do. At my school, the lab grade is a component of the lecture. Last year in a bio course I got high A's on all three exams (top 5% of class on each) AND the final, and an A- in lab, and the frickin prof gave me an A- in the course. I was real pissed. When I e-mailed the head TA to complain, I did not get a warm reception. I recommend giving it a try, but don't expect much success.

 

Unfortunately there's little you can do besides talk to the lab instructor. If he or she is not understanding, then you have to take it for what it's worth. At least during interviews, you will have a very good explanation of why you got the grade.

 

You have nothing to lose by trying, but don't expect success. It's a raw deal, but it can get much worse. My friend was in a lab class where his group collaborated to write a lab report. One of the members cheated by plagiarizing(sp?) someone else's work from a previous year. The whole group failed the report and my friend's grade went from A to B-.

In one class, my individual essay/test grades were a B, A- A-, and an A on the final. The professor gave me a B+ for the course, and my attempt to change it went nowhere.

The only time I've ever successfully changed a grade is in a course is when my test grades were A+, B-, A-. I thought I should get an A- because the A+ and B- would cancel out and the A- would tip the balance. The professor's grading scheme, however, set me one point short of the threshold for A-. She refused to simply bump up my grade on principle, but she did let me look through my tests to contest the grading of any of the questions, and I found an unexplained 2 point deduction from an essay answer, so I got the A-.


The bottom line is, hopefully good luck and crappy luck cancel out, but most of the time your final GPA is earned in spite of whatever chance events occur in. It's not fair, but frequently more talent and effort is required to make a grade than what should be necessary.

Fight the grade, don't expect to win, and find solace in the fact that there is plenty of crap to go around.

 

Go back in time and attend a school that normalizes lab grades. Ok, for a real answer......contesting a grade can never hurt you, so give it a try like everyone has said. But if it fails, move on and dont dwell on it. It will not make a difference in the greater scheme of things. Trust me.

 

I'm probably going to get flamed for saying this, but reading this forum sometimes is downright depressing. I can not believe the amount of people who complain and are upset over a B+ and even a B. B+ is an above average grade people, there are many people who would love to get it. Suck it up and move on. Phew, now I feel better.

 

I agree. But premeds are usually really anal and dwell on crap like this while in school. Its hard to realize in the present time that a B+ will not keep you out of medical school. I wish more people would realize that your GPA tells a school if you are capable of success at their particular school. I really doubt any school will look at a B+ and think that you would not be a good "fit". Instead, focus on other parts of your application like community service and knowledge of the medical profession.

 

No. You will come across as a complete tool if you blame it on a bad group and mean TA.

Fortunately for you nobody that interviews you will EVER care if you got a B+ on a 1 unit lab course, nor will they ask you about it, so this issue is moot. However, you can always try to bring it up yourself during an interview and come across like a jackass. Good luck whichever way you decide to go...

 

I think that's it's not so much the B itself but because all the work you have put into the class has not translated into success... it can be a little aggrevating.

 

BBAS, have fun going to med school in the carribeans

 

Negative, ghostrider. If the other lab sections have a higher average, that's odd. I'd ask the lab director (not the TA - the one who runs the whole show) to compare lecture grades with lab grades (if at all possible) and look for discrepancies. I know my profs will compare the lab sections, and if one section has all A's, but the average exam score is a C, then there's something awry.

 

Not that a 1 credit B+ will really change anything, but a B+ average is a "below average grade" for those accepted to med school. A cumulative of 3.33 is not a good GPA for someone trying to get into med school. It's just a different league.

 

It sucks but know that success in the lecture doesn't translate into success in the lab. They are two different beasts.

Appeal if you want but I suspect the prof won't due much but chalk the differences up to different talent spread throughout the labs.

 

No, dont petition the grade...

Think of it this way, the lab is 1 credit....you will have at least 120 credits at graduation...a F in a 1 credit lab will bring a 4.0 to a 3.97...a b, to a 3.99....this means that a B in a 1 credit class is lowering your GPA by .01 percent.....not gunna matter in the long run

 

I agree. Stop whining. It's a B+ which is not a bad grade and in a 1 credit lab class. Life's not fair. Suck it up and deal with it.

 

Why are you always so abrasive to everybody? Chill out.

And to the OP, if you think the TA for your section was unfair, then you should definitely talk to both the TA and your professor. Maybe talk to the TA first and see if you can resolve the issue. I wouldn't complain about your group though, you just sometimes get stuck with people who aren't very competent and/or don't care about the class. They won't make it into the upper division classes though if they keep going like that, so you won't be stuck with them for very much longer.

 

True enough, but we're not talking about a cumulative GPA of 3.33 here. Its a one credit lab course, which is not going to mean a thing in the long run.

 

Like others are saying, it's completely relative. There are times I've been happy with a B+, and there are times I've felt like it was a total ripoff. It depends on what you've put into the course.

 

Oh, I don't think it's relevant to his cumulative GPA in the long-run either, but if you're given a lower grade than you deserve, that's frustrating. Believe me, I had a one credit lab course that took a LOT of work, and I put the effort in because I'd have felt stupid if someone was looking at my transcript and saw a one credit C.

 

Suck it up and live with it. If you can't live with a B+, my friend, you are going to have a really difficult time accepting the rest of your life.

 

Semi-related i guess. I had a raw score of 93% in a 1 credit physics II lab and I was assigned a B+ because of the curve (can you imagine how pissed i was??). In any case, I wrote to my TA, emailed him, and met with him twice about the grade. It was my last semester in college and I had taken a huge courseload (24 units). He actually felt bad for me and wanted to give me an A-, but he said that meant he would have to convince the rest of the TA's that I deserved an A- which apparently was no easy task. Well, he ended up sticking up for me, and I got my A-. One of my few successes in grade grubbing.

 

People have given you a lot of opinions already, but I encourage you to go ahead and talk to the lab instructor. For general bio, I had a very similar situation to yours - I had an A- average from exams, but I ended up with a B+ overall because of a very bad lab group. I emailed the GSI with my side of the story, and she took sympathy and bumped me up to an A-, even though I wasn't even close to the threshold. It can't hurt to try. And I disagree with some of the others that have responded; if you put a lot of work into a class, it's really frustrating to end up getting less than you deserve, especially if the situation isn't entirely in your control.

 

That's not the point, it's the principal of getting what you deserve. I have argued for 2 points back on a chem exam I got a 98 on b/c I deserved them, and I have also happily taken a C- in organic 2 b/c that's what I earned. It's one thing if someone can never accept a poor grade but another to stand up for yourself and the correct thing being done, if that be the case.

 

For me, it would be all about whether the outcome is worth the effort. I also had the bad lab grade experience, but with Orgo lab. I got a B despite the fact that I spent half the term teaching the other kids in my section how to do the labs, and despite getting the highest grade on the lab final in the section. I definitely understand the frustration of feeling that you earned more and worked for more than you received.

But when I thought about it, I really just didn't care that much about a 1 credit B to go through all the effort of trying to have the grade appealed. I cared just enough to be slightly bitter for a month or two, and to make sure to get an A the next term, but it just didn't seem worth the hassle to appeal 1 credit.

And honestly, if a school actually cares about 1 credit on your 120+ credit transcript (which they won't), that's probably not the kind of school you want to attend.

 

I was in a similar situation for the first bio class I took in college. The only thing that saved me was that the midterm and final for the lab were standard across all sections.

 

welcome to college!!

**** like this happens all the time, and your case isnt as bad as others. Suck it up, you will miserable if you keep worrying about stuff like this.

I had something like this happen to me also, it was for chem though. Our final lab report for the quarter was worth 200 points, we only had three write ups. Different TA's graded different reports, even though they were given a ruberic to grade the reports, some did things way differently than others. My lab section got screwed and our lab report grades were the lowest, a lot of us got below 100. It was soo bad that the lab coordinator gave us a measly extra 10 points , which honestly did jack for most poeple. So because of that lously lab grader my grade when from a A to a A-, i was kinda pissed but didnt care after a while. Also the lab was incorperated into the class grade, so it was worth more credits too. I think they got rid of that lab grader for this year......

We all get screwed at some point.....

 

OP-

I think you need to pick your battles. Something like this will happen again. Complaining about this lab TA now will only label you as one of those kids who whines to get their grade changed. What if next time it happens in a 5cr lecture class? With a prior grade change complaint you will have trouble getting a prof to take you seriously no matter how well-founded your complaint. I would suggest letting this one go and save the grade change requests for a course where it really matters.

 

Let us know what the outcome is.

 

You dont have control over all of your grades in college---think of your classes as a game, learn the game and you win....if you dont learn how to 'play' correctly, you may not get all the points you deserve--- it is ALWAYS a good idea to be nice to your TA's...not brown nosing, but generally nice and respectful of them. If I were you, I would take this grade as an experience (whether you appeal or not) and learn what to do differently next time.
Good luck with your appeal---

 

That's what happened to me in my Animal Physiology lab (TA being a harsher grader than the other TAs). Sometimes if you point this out to your professor (or whoever is in charge of the grades), they'll try to curve the grades so all lab sections are treated equally. So give that a shot.
Also if next time you're the only one doing all the work, just tell the instructor before you even hand in your work. Then you don't have to go through the whole "could you change my grade b/c..." some professors are really anal about changing grades or regrading tests/papers because of special circumstances.

 

I can totally relate to the OP. situations like this anger me. I got an A+ on my midterm 1 A- on midterm 2 and a B+ in the class. Unless I bombed the final, which I really dont see myself doing, there must have been a mix up of some sort. While a B+ only affects my gpa by .01, it still is frustrating to see all your work gone down the toilet. My week of sleepless nights were suddenly invalidated. I am also in the process of hounding down my professor in hopes that he will re-evaluate

 

The time to place blame on your lab partners was at the beginning of the semester, not after your grade was posted. If you did all the work for an entire semester with a group that did no work you deserve the B+.

 

I never said anything about my grades, smartass. Don't get me wrong, I'm probably just as anal about grades as all of you, but I wouldn't get worked up over one B once in a while. Grades are important of course, but its only one aspect of the application. The difference between a 3.65,3.70,3.75 etc is actually pretty negligible assuming that the rest of your application is strong.

 

I'm sure we've all busted our asses for a class yet fell short at some point or another. Let's all go contest our grades just because we're hard workers and put forth the effort.

 

It's college. In the end though, I found out that all the setbacks (such as your example) canceled out with all the little boosts some professors gave me (aka rounding an 89.2 up to 90 etc). It all works out in the end.

 

Life's a b!tch. Do you know how many A-'s I got because of stupid things like that? If it weren't for that kind of crap I'd have a 4.0 and thats no lie. Don't worry about it. Deal with it and move on.

 

No you are absolutely right!!!! Premeds act like a B+ means the end of the world for them. That is why so many profs hate premeds. Sometimes ish happens and you have to role with the punches. There is no way for that guy to prove he did all the work in the lab. So what stands is based on grp work.
He'll get over it!

 

damn skippy!!!