Professor is gonna fail me for missing too many labs.

[makeshift123]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Well, I havent started school yet (quarter system), but I know that my professor is not gonna let me miss my lab days. I had him for a lecture class last year, and I had to make up an exam because I was out of the country during the exam, and he was not excited with me at all.

My lab is every tuesday and thursday. I have 6 interviews so far (gratefully), but they're all on Friday. So I have to catch a flight on thursday to make it, meaning i'll have to miss at least 6 labs. I tried so hard to look for "redeye" flights or flights that departed after 7pm, but absolutely no luck. How would you guys handle this situation? I'm a senior, and this lab is only offered in the fall quarter and is required for my major, so I can't drop and take it the following autumn because i'll be graduated and hopefully in med school.

my only reasonable solution was this: the lab is from 2-6 on thursday, and i am done with my last class at noon, so i was thinking i could come in to lab at 12 and try to do my experiment (its a physical chemistry lab). but i dont think this'll work because u need TA supervision, partners, blah blah.

ughhh. this is my third class with him, and he knows me very well (i think he kinda dislikes me because I never went to lecture, yet always scored well on his exams... i'm the type of student that reads the text twice, does problems, and gets it. i'm not a auditory learner), but I don't know if he'll be understanding.

 

[Bacchus]

If not, go to the department chair. Then go to the dean. Then go to the VP of academic affairs.

 

[makeshift123]

I dont wanna be "that pre-med" that thinks they're above everyone because they're "premed" and thinks they get immunity from everything

 

[RogueUnicorn]

i think in this case it's fair to try to get some weight swinging your way

 

[searun]

Does your Prof normally wear sandals? Could you tell him/her that you want to be a podiatrist and then provide+ a free 26 point inspection of his or her feet??

 

[BlueElmo]

well, I don't think you have any other choice then to do what others suggested above, you need to talk to the top dogs.

 

[Mattabet]

Yeah, I'd try the professor first and then go to the brass. It's in the best interest of the school to let you go interview so they have another rich, well connected, alumnus doctor, and generally teachers try not to go against the best interests of the institution. I'm sure you'll be able to work something out where you can make up the missed time. Good luck.

 

[makeshift123]

Yeah, I'd try the professor first and then go to the brass. It's in the best interest of the school to let you go interview so they have another rich, well connected, alumnus doctor, and generally teachers try not to go against the best interests of the institution. I'm sure you'll be able to work something out where you can make up the missed time. Good luck.

yup, professor wasn't having it. He's only grading on "what he gets" and "doesn't think it is f**cki** fair for me to get any exemption from half the class." uhhh... i wasn't trying to get exemption, thats why I talked to him yesterday, almost a month before our first lab, and not the first day of class, to discuss the alternatives. He didn't give me an any alternatives except to go to lab one day a week and suffer the grade or have my partner do all the work, and I get briefed by him on the days I can go to lab... which i'm NOT gonna do because that is completely selfish on my part. I told him I wasn't gonna do that because it's not fair to make my partner work extra hard just for me, and he replied "but you think its fine to make the professor's work hard with your situation?" eff him, this is his damn job and hes been doing it for more than 20 years. I can't believe he's director of the graduate program.

after both of us argued and i told him i found his reasoning and stubbornness unfair, he said that "he's never had this problem with interviews and pre-meds before." i told him i was gonna go talk to the department head, he said, "go ahead, i'll talk to him too. But they won't do anything because it's MY course."

ughhh.... like honestly, he's been teaching senior lab for 20+ years now, and he's NEVER had an issue with pre-meds and interviews? my school has no chemistry/pre-med majors?

ughhh.... he hates me and always has. sorry had to vent.



i hate him.

 

[BlueElmo]

Sorry to hear that, man.🙁

 

[jtimmer1]

Well, if you have any close (~4-5 hour) interviews, you could try to drive to them after your lab. You could also try calling the med school and attempting to re-schedule; I have heard of others doing this before.

I hope everything works out for you.

 

[siliso]

Could you take the class as a visiting student at some other local or semi-local university?

 

[chicubsfan]

you could try taking the lab next semester? otherwise, i agree - go to the dean if you have to.

 

[afugazzi]

Perhaps you can make some deal with your lab partner where you miss a whole bunch of labs but make it up some way, like doing all the work Tuesday labs... if that doesn't work, I find money always helps to sweeten people up.

 

[makeshift123]

you could try taking the lab next semester? otherwise, i agree - go to the dean if you have to.

it's only offered fall quarter. I don't know, I think my prof calmed down a little bit from his immediate "rage" this morning because he just emailed me asking me to tell him when all my interviews were. So, we'll see what happens from there. I will probably tell him in the email that more interviews in the future might happen, just so he's not surprised.

If worst comes to worst, I'll go the dean. Or just take the C/C- in the lab. It wont bring my GPA that much down, and I'll just explain myself if medical school asks about it or if I end up not going to medical school for a reason and my company asks.

 

[BlueElmo]

Dude, your professor is a douchebag. Don't worry, karma will bite him.

 

[JJMrK]

See if you can reschedule some of your interviews for Mondays. That way you can fly out on Sunday and back on Monday night. Even if you can't reschedule all of them, you can probably at least get half of them moved around.

 

[mirrorpair]

Can you substitute a class? You might want to explain your situation to whoever runs the undergraduate program and see if you can take something else in its place.

 

[ruiner]

Does your school offer the option of taking a course credit/no credit? That could be an idea. Your prof sounds like a dick, I would definitely talk to your advisor and the head of your department about possibilities/substitutions. Profs have got to understand that theres nothing you can really do about it.

 

[nlax30]

This prof sounds like a real winner....

I'm guessing this lab isn't offered on ANY other day? With another section or class even?

If not then I agree with looking into rescheduling some of the interviews if nothing is able to be worked out with the professor or the department. But go talk someone else in the department and explain the whole situation. Doesn't sound like you are trying to get out of any work and it's a legitimate situation so at some level they should be willing to work with you.

 

[makeshift123]

This prof sounds like a real winner....

I'm guessing this lab isn't offered on ANY other day? With another section or class even?

If not then I agree with looking into rescheduling some of the interviews if nothing is able to be worked out with the professor or the department. But go talk someone else in the department and explain the whole situation. Doesn't sound like you are trying to get out of any work and it's a legitimate situation so at some level they should be willing to work with you.

here's the best part... its offered FOUR DAYS A WEEK. the mon/wed class and the tue/thu class. The first day is "solution prep" then the second day is the actual experiment. I asked if I could come in monday and tuesday since we do the same experiments and then he said "you would be messing up two classes now, because the sections are on different experiment rotations so you can't sign up for both classes, and we simply don't have enough equipment or extra TA supervision to put extra people in an already full class"

i THEN asked "well, is there a way to do more solution preps ahead of time to get ahead so I wont miss that much or can I come in during my free time and do it? I have been working independently in a lab for over a year, heck i even have my own key to come in whenever I want" again he simply said "no"

anyway, does anyone have any personal or indirect experience talking to a department head or a dean and what the results were???

 

[JJMrK]

here's the best part... its offered FOUR DAYS A WEEK. the mon/wed class and the tue/thu class. The first day is "solution prep" then the second day is the actual experiment. I asked if I could come in monday and tuesday since we do the same experiments and then he said "you would be messing up two classes now, because the sections are on different experiment rotations so you can't sign up for both classes, and we simply don't have enough equipment or extra TA supervision to put extra people in an already full class"

i THEN asked "well, is there a way to do more solution preps ahead of time to get ahead so I wont miss that much or can I come in during my free time and do it? I have been working independently in a lab for over a year, heck i even have my own key to come in whenever I want" again he simply said "no"

anyway, does anyone have any personal or indirect experience talking to a department head or a dean and what the results were???

Why don't you just try to reschedule some of your interviews. Seems easier than dealing with this guy.

 

[student113]

Is it too specialized of a class to be offered in the summer? His willingness to email you is a good sign. But like someone else said, maybe your department will substitute another class for you to fulfill the requirement.

 

[makeshift123]

Why don't you just try to reschedule some of your interviews. Seems easier than dealing with this guy.

reschedule to when... the weekend lol? only one school offers monday interviews and I did schedule it for that. but for any other day of the week, i'll have to miss either tue or thu because my schools are 11+ hours of driving so i'm flying the night before, except for one thats 7hrs which i am driving to.

it is offered in the summer, but our summer classes go until september 1st since we're quarter system, so thats not feasible.

:/ seems like i cant win...

 

[Bacchus]

I don't have personal experience. But a story such as this is not something the school wants to get out. Preventing a soon-to-be graduate from interviewing and being accepted to medical school, graduate school, law school, etc. is bad business. It won't do anything except tarnish the University's name if you take to a public outlet such as a newspaper. Schedule a meeting with the department head. If the department head is unable to compromise then schedule an appointment with the dean. If that doesn't work, there should be a way for you to contact a VP of Academic Affairs to help you. Don't underestimate your student government either... many of the VPs have committees and one of them might be academic affairs.

 

[Confused2626]

I'm going to have to play devil's advocate here...

Your situation is terrible, and it is unfortunate that the professor is not willing to work with you to make it up during lab sections on other days of the week you can make.

All of us in this forum are wrapped up in medical school applications, or at one point were once wrapped up in medical school applications and know how time consuming and involved it is. But, your professor and your school are obligated to provide you an education that you pay for AND ALSO meet accreditation standards. This usually means making labs...and 6 labs is A LOT. Just because somebody is a senior doesn't make the school obligated to shift their schedule and order their faculty to tip toe around schedules...their primary focus is making sure you are qualified for your degree. There is always the option of applying when not a full time student (which is another point...you are a full time student by definition, so this should be your full time job technically).

I think your best approach here is not to act entitled to special treatment (yes, it is special treatment if any re-scheduling is required beyond the specified schedule in the syllabus) and to be as non-confrontational as possible (ie, don't threaten to go above your professor's head to the admin! sure fire way to make sure he won't cooperate with you).

It sounds like the winning solution is to try and work out a deal to get in to one of these labs that are full. Try talking to one of the TA's...it will be their burden to have an extra student, and if they are agreeing your professor will be more inclined to let you switch.

****
Sorry, had to play the bad guy. I completely sympathize with your situation though and wish you the best. This whole process is messed up, and it'd be nice if med schools could be more accommodating with schedules. But that's life

 

[chiz2kul]

Do you even have to take that class?

 

[JJMrK]

reschedule to when... the weekend lol? only one school offers monday interviews and I did schedule it for that. but for any other day of the week, i'll have to miss either tue or thu because my schools are 11+ hours of driving so i'm flying the night before, except for one thats 7hrs which i am driving to.

it is offered in the summer, but our summer classes go until september 1st since we're quarter system, so thats not feasible.

:/ seems like i cant win...

I suggested mondays earlier in the thread. That's too bad none of your schools offer them then, it really does seem like the cards are stacked against you. Can you try to switch labs? I would go to the TA's for the other labs and see if they will let you make up some work. You could also try talking to the students in that lab to see if any of them want to switch.

 

[shindotp]

yup, professor wasn't having it. He's only grading on "what he gets" and "doesn't think it is f**cki** fair for me to get any exemption from half the class." uhhh... i wasn't trying to get exemption, thats why I talked to him yesterday, almost a month before our first lab, and not the first day of class, to discuss the alternatives. He didn't give me an any alternatives except to go to lab one day a week and suffer the grade or have my partner do all the work, and I get briefed by him on the days I can go to lab... which i'm NOT gonna do because that is completely selfish on my part. I told him I wasn't gonna do that because it's not fair to make my partner work extra hard just for me, and he replied "but you think its fine to make the professor's work hard with your situation?" eff him, this is his damn job and hes been doing it for more than 20 years. I can't believe he's director of the graduate program.

after both of us argued and i told him i found his reasoning and stubbornness unfair, he said that "he's never had this problem with interviews and pre-meds before." i told him i was gonna go talk to the department head, he said, "go ahead, i'll talk to him too. But they won't do anything because it's MY course."

ughhh.... like honestly, he's been teaching senior lab for 20+ years now, and he's NEVER had an issue with pre-meds and interviews? my school has no chemistry/pre-med majors?

ughhh.... he hates me and always has. sorry had to vent.



i hate him.

Wow, if I were you, there's no way a lawsuit wouldn't be coming his way. I think I'd send an email to the Dean of my university first, and if there's no response within a week, I'd be filing a lawsuit against the professor.

Actually, if he's letting your partner pick up your slack, I don't think that's too unfair.

Also, how can you not find red eyes? I always take the red eye. Did you try expedia and orbitz?

 

[GoSpursGo]

Wow, if I were you, there's no way a lawsuit wouldn't be coming his way. I think I'd send an email to the Dean of my university first, and if there's no response within a week, I'd be filing a lawsuit against the professor.

Actually, if he's letting your partner pick up your slack, I don't think that's too unfair.

Also, how can you not find red eyes? I always take the red eye. Did you try expedia and orbitz?

Incidentally, what would you be suing him for?

Seriously, there has to be a way to work this out. Have you considered that possibility where you do all the work for Tuesdays and your partner does all the work for Thursdays? It's not ideal, but it would be a possibility.

 

[makeshift123]

Do you even have to take that class?

whoa lawsuit... thats pushing it, i think.

yes, the class is required for a BS in chemistry, which is what I was shooting for and also put down on my apps. If I drop the class, I can still get a BA in chemistry. I'd only be this ONE class away from getting a BS, though, because I've been on the BS track for the past 3 years, taking the extra classes BAs don't. I mean, I guess it doesn't matter BA vs. BS going to med school, and if for some reason med school is not for me, I can always go back to school, take this one damn class and get a BS to be a better candidate for the entry-level industry? I mean, this is a last resort, but I feel all the work I did, slaving my ass in Physical Quantum Theory and Inorganic III (BS courses, not for BA), would be useless cuz I would still be officially a BA.


The thing is, GoSPursGo, the experiments done on tuesdays (day i would be there), cannot be really done without a partner. the work I would leave for my partner is the busy prep work stuff that can be essentially be done alone, but it would take the full 4 hour class, where with 2 people, it would take only 2 hours. i dont see that as fair for my partner, and I sure as hell would be mad if I was paired up with me.

 

[JasonE]

this is a tough situation. but missing 6 labs is pretty much the entire class. no way would a prof accept that. why take the class if you are going to miss more than half the labs?

 

[GoSpursGo]

The thing is, GoSPursGo, the experiments done on tuesdays (day i would be there), cannot be really done without a partner. the work I would leave for my partner is the busy prep work stuff that can be essentially be done alone, but it would take the full 4 hour class, where with 2 people, it would take only 2 hours. i dont see that as fair for my partner, and I sure as hell would be mad if I was paired up with me.

Ugh, that's really rough 🙁

If it really would just take 2 hours with a partner, though, most of the time... why don't you just pack everything up before you go to class, go to lab, get as much as you can done in 2 hours by working as efficiently as possible, and then when it's time to go catch your flight, hopefully you guys will either already be done or at least have almost finished it... maybe that way you'll actually only miss like the last half hour or so of maybe 3 labs? Assuming you're good friends with your partner, I'm sure you can pay him back for an extra hour and a half of his time over the course of a whole semester, and honestly no matter what you do, you're going to inconvenience SOMEBODY. If you're getting out of the lab at 4ish, you could probably catch a flight at 5:30 or 6... surely that has to work for most of the places you're going, right?

 

[ScronCron]

"here's the best part... its offered FOUR DAYS A WEEK. the mon/wed class and the tue/thu class. The first day is "solution prep" then the second day is the actual experiment. I asked if I could come in monday and tuesday since we do the same experiments and then he said "you would be messing up two classes now, because the sections are on different experiment rotations so you can't sign up for both classes, and we simply don't have enough equipment or extra TA supervision to put extra people in an already full class"

i THEN asked "well, is there a way to do more solution preps ahead of time to get ahead so I wont miss that much or can I come in during my free time and do it? I have been working independently in a lab for over a year, heck i even have my own key to come in whenever I want" again he simply said "no"

anyway, does anyone have any personal or indirect experience talking to a department head or a dean and what the results were???"



Not sure if someone has already posted this, but wouldn't simply taking the Monday/Wednesday class instead of the Tues/Thurs class solve the entire problem??? You would be able to leave Thursday for all your Friday interviews and not miss a single lab.

Edit: Also, you wouldn't have to create a mess going back and forth between two sections.

 

[JJMrK]

Another option: Push some of your interviews back to winter break.

 

[phospho]

Dude, that is rough.

As someone mentioned above, it is (ultimately) in the best interest of the school to let you go to these interviews. Also, it will be very bad publicity for them if this were to get out. I'd work my way up to the university president if I had to. If that fails, type up an email of everything that happened, and send it to every local newspaper. You have absolutely nothing to lose. Do what you gotta do. And if this application cycle is anything like the last cycle, if you want to change the interview date, you'll be looking at months away from the original date, which will be to your disadvantage. It's simple - the earlier your interview, the better your chances are of getting in.

I say keep the interview dates no matter what. Talk to the higher ups. And if everything fails, drop the class and get the B.A. If you've got 6 interviews, you're med school material, and you will eventually become a doctor, so there is point in making a plan B for entering into the industry.

Just my 0.02. Keep us updated with what happens, and best of luck!

 

[Bacchus]

whoa lawsuit... thats pushing it, i think.

yes, the class is required for a BS in chemistry, which is what I was shooting for and also put down on my apps. If I drop the class, I can still get a BA in chemistry. I'd only be this ONE class away from getting a BS, though, because I've been on the BS track for the past 3 years, taking the extra classes BAs don't. I mean, I guess it doesn't matter BA vs. BS going to med school, and if for some reason med school is not for me, I can always go back to school, take this one damn class and get a BS to be a better candidate for the entry-level industry? I mean, this is a last resort, but I feel all the work I did, slaving my ass in Physical Quantum Theory and Inorganic III (BS courses, not for BA), would be useless cuz I would still be officially a BA.


The thing is, GoSPursGo, the experiments done on tuesdays (day i would be there), cannot be really done without a partner. the work I would leave for my partner is the busy prep work stuff that can be essentially be done alone, but it would take the full 4 hour class, where with 2 people, it would take only 2 hours. i dont see that as fair for my partner, and I sure as hell would be mad if I was paired up with me.

You sir, are ridiculous. All my advice is null and void. GET THE BA AND GET OVER YOURSELF!

 

[Tin Man]

You sir, are ridiculous. All my advice is null and void. GET THE BA AND GET OVER YOURSELF!

Listen to this ^.

This one-track no-compromise inflexible mindset you have as to what's acceptable and what's not is going to make future decisions very difficult for you, and it's too bad that your abilities to make said decisions haven't been honed before now.

Understand that regardless of this pithy sense of entitlement that most of the arrogant pre-meds here seem to feel, the school is NOT OBLIGATED to help you out of this situation, nor are they going to care in the least if you fry for it. Their job is to get you your degree when you pay them, not to get you into medical school, and the consequences of you not making it to medical school interviews or not getting the degree you paid them for due to YOUR lack of ability to show up to classes is not going to affect them in the least.

So your options are as follows:

1) Find another lab section. If they're full, it's not the school's job to find a new section for you. YOU ask around and try to get it switched. If school hasn't started yet, maybe there's another student willing to switch class sections with you. Once you find one, it shouldn't be tough to go with that student to a counselor and get it done in five minutes. Problem solved.

2) Reschedule your interviews. Once again, this shouldn't be tough, as the medical schools have a little more motivation to try to help you out than your college does. Granted, assuming you have had your interview invite for a while, you should have contacted them as soon as you knew there would be a conflict, but they still might be able to make things work, and them changing an interview date is much less of a burden on them than the college trying to find a way to let you make up 6 labs. This really should have been the first thing you did.

3) Drop the class. Seriously. What you need to get into medical school is a four-year degree. The difference between a BS and a BA in this regard is completely irrelevent. In fact, in almost every real-life situation I can think of for almost any degree (chemistry, psychology, biology, etc), a job will not care what type of four year degree you have. If medical school really is your top aspiration, and you can't switch either your interviews or your class schedule, then get the BA and be done with it.

4) Fail. Crash. Burn. Whine. Cry.

Oh, and BTW.... whenever I see things like this...

he knows me very well (i think he kinda dislikes me because I never went to lecture, yet always scored well on his exams... i'm the type of student that reads the text twice, does problems, and gets it. i'm not a auditory learner)

...I always have to roll my eyes a little. Very, very few professors dislike students that actually understand the material intuitively. Honestly, unless they feel a strong need for attention (which is obviously why they work as a nerdy science professor), the level of necessity for you to listen to them ramble in order to pass the lecture is so far down on most professor's priority list that it's awe-inspiring. I can bet you dollars-to-donuts that there is another reason why this professor dislikes you, assuming he knows or cares enough about you in order to dislike you in the first place.

 

[JasonE]

this isn't a lecture. it's lab. going to lab is the class. it wouldn't be fair to other students if one kid got to miss a bunch of the lab (9/10 ppl hate going to lab), and still pass. almost every lab prof. would tell you to drop his/her lab if were going to be missing so much. this isn't the professors fault.

 

[flip26]

whoa lawsuit... thats pushing it, i think.

yes, the class is required for a BS in chemistry, which is what I was shooting for and also put down on my apps. If I drop the class, I can still get a BA in chemistry. I'd only be this ONE class away from getting a BS, though, because I've been on the BS track for the past 3 years, taking the extra classes BAs don't. I mean, I guess it doesn't matter BA vs. BS going to med school, and if for some reason med school is not for me, I can always go back to school, take this one damn class and get a BS to be a better candidate for the entry-level industry? I mean, this is a last resort, but I feel all the work I did, slaving my ass in Physical Quantum Theory and Inorganic III (BS courses, not for BA), would be useless cuz I would still be officially a BA.


The thing is, GoSPursGo, the experiments done on tuesdays (day i would be there), cannot be really done without a partner. the work I would leave for my partner is the busy prep work stuff that can be essentially be done alone, but it would take the full 4 hour class, where with 2 people, it would take only 2 hours. i dont see that as fair for my partner, and I sure as hell would be mad if I was paired up with me.

Why did you leave this out of your earlier posts? It is kind of relevant...

Jeez, are you really this obtuse or ego driven? DROP THE FREAKIN' LAB, take the BA, and get on with your life. Said life may include med school, but after reading this thread, I would not be too sure about that...

 

[makeshift123]

Why did you leave this out of your earlier posts? It is kind of relevant...

Jeez, are you really this obtuse or ego driven? DROP THE FREAKIN' LAB, take the BA, and get on with your life. Said life may include med school, but after reading this thread, I would not be too sure about that...

I "left it out" because it was not an option for me. I dont want this thread to turn into BA vs. BS, and I think we've exhausted all possibilities, so its best for me to just wait and see what happens. Thanks for all the suggestions and opinions so far, though. I set up an appointment with my prof on Monday and we'll see what happens.

Anyway, the BA track at my school is known as a complete joke. It's really geared towards a double major or more of a minor. you only take ONE quarter of the the three-quarter upper level chemistry courses, compared to a BS who has to take all 3. There's no senior lab, and there's no capstone except writing a big lab report about a special analytical technique. That's it. You never know whats gonna happen during/before/after med school. What if I hate it? What if I dont think its for me? What if something happens and I have to drop out and work a job before going back? My advisor says, of course, they're both accredited degrees, but he always leans towards getting a BS if you want to be competitive in the job field, only due to specifically to the difference of the degrees at my school.

 

[Confused2626]

What if something happens and I have to drop out and work a job before going back? My advisor says, of course, they're both accredited degrees, but he always leans towards getting a BS if you want to be competitive in the job field, only due to specifically to the difference of the degrees at my school.

No offense, but you're not going to get a "good job" with either a BS or a BA in chemistry. Either path you'd need to go to graduate school to do relevant work in the chemistry field

 

[flip26]

I "left it out" because it was not an option for me.

Oh, it is not only an option for you, it is the intelligent solution to your dilemma.

And as someone else has pointed out, you aren't going to get a good job with either degree.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I "left it out" because it was not an option for me.

Med schools don't know it's a joke... if it comes down to it, the prof holds all the cards so you do what you have to do.

 

[akinetopsia]

For most employers there is very little difference between BA/BS. The bigger distinction, if as you say you have to find employment before starting med school, is your GPA. GPA matters less in the workforce the more experience and longer removed you are from your undergraduate education, but this is a moot point considering your plans.

A bachelor's is a bachelor's. To distinguish yourself for a chemistry-related "fall-back" career, you'd really need a M.S. or Ph.D. in it. It doesn't sound like that's what you're interested in doing. I know plenty of people with BA Chem, MS Chem and/or PhD in Chem that have successful careers. I know the majority of people with a BA/BS in Chem are typically going to be lab monkeys or associates, and not a principal. I'd agree with everyone else saying drop the class and take the B.A., go do your interviews, hopefully do well and pass go/collect $200/attend med school/???/profit!

You're making obstacles out of nothing.

 

[flip26]

Usually I like smash on the students who complain when professors don't give them special consideration. But in this case, the professor is clearly being a tool and I'm shocked at the number of folks on here who think that the OP is doing something wrong by pushing this point.

When you are in a hard-core science program like chemistry, usually by your junior/senior year you have proved yourself to the faculty, have good grades, and more likely than not are doing some research in the department. Under such circumstances, you cease being "one more student" and effectively become part of the family.

The OP is in exactly that situation. He has proved his worth by surviving in a tough major. He has demonstrated his committment to the field by getting good grades. And all he is asking is for a prof to let him slide on a few labs, which no doubt the professor doesn't give a rat's ass about because nobody cares about labs, least of all the people teaching it (I've been there).

This is the OP's home department. They should let him slide. He paid his dues. Whether or not it's "fair" to the thousand other bio-major premeds is beside the point; this is his own department and they should treat him like one of their own. If I were the OP, I would push this point too.

First, it doesn't sound like sliding by on a "few" labs - the OP indicates he will miss a significant number of labs - he mentions missing 6 - and it is just a quarter schedule, so that is a ton of labs to miss.

You are assuming that the OP has proven his worth to the department, etc. The OP says this prof hates him - who knows what is going on there - but it sounds like the OP has done something to this particular prof to cast serious doubt on any favors he will extend, and my assumption is that he may be persona non grata around the rest of the department, too.

So if he then elevates this to the department head, he may get his wish, or he may open a can of worms he will wish he never had.

 

[aggie08]

Usually I like smash on the students who complain when professors don't give them special consideration. But in this case, the professor is clearly being a tool and I'm shocked at the number of folks on here who think that the OP is doing something wrong by pushing this point.

When you are in a hard-core science program like chemistry, usually by your junior/senior year you have proved yourself to the faculty, have good grades, and more likely than not are doing some research in the department. Under such circumstances, you cease being "one more student" and effectively become part of the family.

The OP is in exactly that situation. He has proved his worth by surviving in a tough major. He has demonstrated his committment to the field by getting good grades. And all he is asking is for a prof to let him slide on a few labs, which no doubt the professor doesn't give a rat's ass about because nobody cares about labs, least of all the people teaching it (I've been there).

This is the OP's home department. They should let him slide. He paid his dues. Whether or not it's "fair" to the thousand other bio-major premeds is beside the point; this is his own department and they should treat him like one of their own. If I were the OP, I would push this point too.

Although I agree with this to an extent, I'm sure he is not the first chemistry, bs pre-med from this school who has senior year interviews. Something just is not adding up here.

 

[makeshift123]

Although I agree with this to an extent, I'm sure he is not the first chemistry, bs pre-med from this school who has senior year interviews. Something just is not adding up here.

to previous poster, I think I am liked in the chem dept, or at least theyre covering it up pretty well if they dont and wouldn't have given me 3/7 awards at our awards ceremony. There's only about 25-30 of us, so it is "like a family" as someone suggested. all my other professors are extremely supportive, and told me not to worry about missing midterms or anything, and to just focus on my interviews. even professors from years befors are asking me how the whole process is going.


anyway, i FINALLY figured out why there's this mess. The department had a major curriculum change for the juniors and seniors. This lab used to be offered only in the Winter. Next year will be the second year that it is offered only in the Fall, so I guess I now understand my professor's comment that this is a new problem for him since most interviews are gonna be during fall quarter.

Side note, got another invite today, again not offering Mondays. I'm dropping.

 

[CCLCMer]

Well, I havent started school yet (quarter system), but I know that my professor is not gonna let me miss my lab days. I had him for a lecture class last year, and I had to make up an exam because I was out of the country during the exam, and he was not excited with me at all.

My lab is every tuesday and thursday. I have 6 interviews so far (gratefully), but they're all on Friday. So I have to catch a flight on thursday to make it, meaning i'll have to miss at least 6 labs. I tried so hard to look for "redeye" flights or flights that departed after 7pm, but absolutely no luck. How would you guys handle this situation? I'm a senior, and this lab is only offered in the fall quarter and is required for my major, so I can't drop and take it the following autumn because i'll be graduated and hopefully in med school.

my only reasonable solution was this: the lab is from 2-6 on thursday, and i am done with my last class at noon, so i was thinking i could come in to lab at 12 and try to do my experiment (its a physical chemistry lab). but i dont think this'll work because u need TA supervision, partners, blah blah.

ughhh. this is my third class with him, and he knows me very well (i think he kinda dislikes me because I never went to lecture, yet always scored well on his exams... i'm the type of student that reads the text twice, does problems, and gets it. i'm not a auditory learner), but I don't know if he'll be understanding.

Drop the class and take it at a different school or just take the BA. You aren't going to win this fight, man, so accept that and focus on your interviews.

 

[Tin Man]

Even though this issue seems to be closed, I'm still confused.

Regardless of what you feel about your school, how many of the medical school admissions board members are going to be aware of or care about the difference between a BA and a BS from your school? Not only do most not care about it regardless of the school, but the chances of the members grading you knowing about YOUR school and judging you based on that knowledge is so low, it's laughable.

The idea is to get the degree. If it was a decision between an impossible BS in whatever major you're getting and a BA in snorkeling, the correct answer would STILL be to get the BA, since that's the achievable 4 year degree.