What was your most clutch academic comeback during finals week?

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PicardAndRoll

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I remember freshman year I had to pull off a 99 in an engineering course to make an A, but it was a 5 question test, so a 99 was impossible, no extra credit, no partial credit, no curve.

Pulled a 100. Made a 90.06 exactly in the course.

I'm going to have to do something similar tomorrow morning, and I'm nervous/anxious. But it's something I want to do.

What was your most clutch moment?

By the way, I felt like this after I saw my grade online for that engineering course:

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Got a B+ on both Physics Midterms, took the Final and got an A in the class.

Most clutch pull ever?

I don't ever go to class, and usually start reading the textbook (or reading lectures) the weekend before the test + study it hardcore there.

I had a Neurobiology test covering the first 1/3 of the semester. Pretty dense stuff and I didn't have any previous neuro knowledge. As usual, I hadn't gone to class, and for some reason 😛, I decided to go to vegas on the weekend (test on Monday). I got back Sunday 11:00 PM and had the test at 10 AM (1 hour drive to school as well) the next day having looked at NOTHING, and knowing absolutely NOTHING on the exam. I ended up only looking through HALF the lectures ( and not even really studying those half, just reading it a couple of times). I felt SO LOST come test-time, I didn't know Sh about the eye or ears or anything else that was being tested. I didnt even open those lectures (which were 100+ slide lectures each!) I ended up scoring average on the midterm (it was multiple choice and I became an awesome guesser after studying for the MCAT). Hahah, best academic achievement to date!
 
The stupidest thing I ever did in undergrad was forget to take my calculator to a physics II final. I didn't live on campus, so going home to get one would have taken about 45 minutes off my exam time. Instead, I asked the professor if I could use my iPhone's calculator to take the test. He agreed as long as he sat there to make sure I didn't use it to cheat (I wasn't planning on it). I went ahead with that and ended up acing the final using my phone's crappy calculator. I got the highest score in my class of 50, an uncurved 94%.
 
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M.MD said:
The stupidest thing I ever did in undergrad was forget to take my calculator to a physics II final. I didn't live on campus, so going home to get one would have taken about 45 minutes off my exam time. Instead, I asked the professor if I could use my iPhone's calculator to take the test. He agreed as long as he sat there to make sure I didn't use it to cheat (I wasn't planning on it). I went ahead with that and ended up acing the final using my phone's crappy calculator. I got the highest score in my class of 50, an uncurved 94%.
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Lolz at using phone calculator to find decay constant, parallel series.
 
lnvictus said:
Am I the only one who has choked in multiple exams this semester...
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Nah, I've choked before, too. Last semester, over half of my classes were like, "Okay, I stockpiled enough points and I took a big hit finals time and still make an A, barley".
 
Never had a comeback from finals. I usually worked incredibly hard during the semester so that I could slack on finals. I usually had a high A going into the final and coasted in to a comfortable A or A- after not doing as well on the final.
 
PicardAndRoll said:
I remember freshman year I had to pull off a 99 in an engineering course to make an A, but it was a 5 question test, so a 99 was impossible, no extra credit, no partial credit, no curve.

Pulled a 100. Made a 90.06 exactly in the course.

I'm going to have to do something similar tomorrow morning, and I'm nervous/anxious. But it's something I want to do.

What was your most clutch moment?

By the way, I felt like this after I saw my grade online for that engineering course:

Click to expand...


Endocrinology. Hardest class I EVER took. My prof e-mailed me the night before the final telling me I was excused from it and would get an automatic A because I was 1 of only 4 students out of 50+ who had an A going into the final. His tests were an f-ing bitch. Biggest sigh of relief ever, honestly on par with my acceptance letter. Seriously.
 
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lnvictus said:
Am I the only one who has choked in multiple exams this semester...
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Nope I had a very solid B going into G-Chem 2 final, ended the course with a f**king C.

Calculus; I had a VERY comfortable and extremely solid A grade (no curve whatsoever), but bombed the final with a 70%, drug me down to an A-.
 
I have a scholarship which pays for most of my tuition/living expenses; one of it's conditions was that I had to score at least 80% in every class I took or it's value would be reduced (to peanuts). I was fine for all my classes except physical chemistry (hardest class in my major), where I had to get perfect on the remaining midterm and the final to get 80.03%. I ended up getting it, and I don't think I've ever studied so hard for something, and I hope I'll never have to do something like that ever again.
 
Not really that clutch on my part, but I went in to my physics final last year with an A and then the final was really hard. I did pretty poorly (only a few points above average) and I was really worried. My professor held office hours the next day to allow us to look at our exam and submit a regrade if we wanted. I was in a bind because I had a final before that and then only an hour to kill before another final, so I hurried over there. The line was really long and I thought I had lost my opportunity b/c there were a bunch of students who stupidly used it as an opportunity to cry and discuss the grade, when you were supposed to get your exam and get out of the line. I almost left but I stayed, got my exam, and then I basically just searched for the two questions I got the fewest points on and quickly wrote some BS request about how I deserved points on them because I "showed work" or something.

As it turned out, I ended up getting back 15 points and it pushed me up to an A-; if I hadn't done the regrade, I would have gotten a B+.
 
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Studied for Gen Chem all of Tuesday for the final Wednesday @9
Finished Test at 10:30, Skimmed 5 chapters of Psych (about 200 pages) for the final @1.
Pulled an 80 on psych to lock in an A+ (needed a 65 for an A). Still waiting on chem......
 
Missed a week while I was in the hospital (after missing much of the prior weeks due to the reasons I went to the hospital). Came back, spent 20hrs sitting outside of my orgo prof's office studying like crazy, took the final at the end of it. Boom, A.
 
Calc III a year ago. 94 on the first midterm, 33 on the second (didn't know there was a second midterm...) and had to pull an A on the final to get even a C in the course, I thought. Pulled a 100 and the professor rounded me up to a B-, the only one I got. More proud of that B- than any of my A+s
 
Inorganic chem final. I was at a low C and was scared of failing the class with a D. I ended up acing the final and pulling a B in the class 😉
 
On the last Genetics exam I got a 79. I when back to the professor and walked out with a 91 (error on the graders part).
 
First semester calc. We had 3 tests: two midterms for 100 pts each and a final for 200. I got a solid D and C on the midterms, then 200/200 on the final to get an A-.
 
Six syllables:

RICE tables and Kirchoff.
 
Pulled a 97 on my Genetics final....which gave a final grade of 92.6 = A!! :soexcited:
 
But besides that..

Second year undergrad I took Physics I. I loved the class. Kinematics just clicked with me. When we got to impulse... okay a little rocky, but I "survived." Then we get to static equilibrium. Hey now, Doc! I'm used to things moving! I'm used to xrad and delta i! I'm used to conserving momentum and energy. WHAT is THIS!? The concept that zero was the final force value was alien to me. There was little to no movement. So you're telling me... Fnet = 0. Really? You gotta be kidding me.

I failed that test (which is usually a C for me, but I legitimately failed this one). It took me down to a B. The next test was the final and it was 2 days away (that test was on Monday and our final day was on Wednesday). Great! I watched video-after-video. I looked at diagrams. I even went to the book (something I rarely do). After scurrying through my notes, digging through piles and piles of what I considered to be personal death threats from the physics gods. Nothing. I'm usually adept when it comes to understanding concepts and applying that. Not here. So, finally, I sigh and just go to bed.

My test is at 8:30 and school is about an hour away. But there's always "hey I gotta' get to work by 9" traffic. I didn't review the other concepts because those were imbedded. I did that whole "cest la vie. I'm betting a B" power prep. I came to terms with it. I park. I say hi to some of my friends/class mates. I go to the bathroom. 30 minutes until class begins. I start shaking. Low blood sugar vs. nerves. I eat a granola bar. Still shaking. I take out my phone and try to find the most un-viewed video concerning this fnet zero stuff. 15 'till class. At this point I'm getting desperate. Like wishing I had the rosary beers I haven't touched in 12 years desperate. 5 minutes. I put the phone on my leg so I could get another bar. Of course it falls in the toilet. Cool. I quickly dry is off. I don't have time to worry about the internals atm. Then it just clicked.. substitute to find tension. The issue wasn't the concept. It was missing an elementary step. I felt like lesser being. Woooow..

I took the test. Out of 42 problems, 30 mc, and if my math is correct, 12 practical. Whaddya know..? 5 of them are statics questions. I did those first.

Anyways, I wound up scoring around a 98 on the final. That bumped me back up to a 94.thankGod.

My phone didn't work until four hours later.
 
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I still remember aerodynamics my junior year, way back in 2003. My first and third exams added up to the score on my second exam, which was an 88. The professor didn't curve in the traditional sense, but he had similar questions from the exams on the final, and said if you got full credit on the final's questions he'd count them as such on the original exams.

I had a 59 going into the final, which I nailed with a 99, and eked out an A in the course.
 
I needed a 55% on my physics final to maintain my A in the class.

I got a 100%.
 
Not finals week, but I was clutch during AP week. I'm a horrible verbal test taker who signed up for AP Lang Comp to get credits so I don't have to take expository writing in college. Had a 520 reading SAT score and did start studying for Lang Comp til day before the test. Got 1s and 2s on the practice tests. Pulled off a 5 on AP exam.
 
Was 2 points shy of an A in Neuroscience, no exams left, no quizes. Tickled my professor to the point of defecation and he gave me an A to stop.
 
I was wondering if that was REALLY a clutch or not.
 
Had a low C in Organic 1 going into the final, studied as hard as I could for every test and always made C's. Didn't study the last 2 days before the final, made a 96% on final and test average on the final was so bad he curved it and I went from a C- to an A overall.
 
I had a D going into an ochem final because I missed an exam due to a funeral. I needed a 90% to get a B. I pulled off an 89% but my prof was a boss and rounded for me.
 
lnvictus said:
Am I the only one who has choked in multiple exams this semester...
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I choke all the time. Had to make a 80 on one of my finals to make an A in one class this year, pulled off a 79. Yay me.
 
I have the best clutch. I had to get an 100% (exact) to get a 90.0. My school does not have +/- scale.

I actually got a B so I thought I must've not gotten an 100%. My friend saw my exam and told me I indeed did get a 100%, he did not put in an assignment that was completed and graded. I found the returned homework, gave it to him, and got an A.
 
This wasn't me personally, nor what it a clutch academic achievement, but a friend of mine showed up to our OChem I final with only about a half hour left to take it (final started an hour and a half ago) Apparently his motorcycle got a flat, but the professor let him do as much of the exam as he could within the half hour.

He said he finished the exam but wasn't sure how he did. He ended up pulling an A overall in the class, with only a half hour to take the final. Pretty clutch if you ask me.
 
I love this topic. Freshman year for my G-chem course, I had an 84 average needed a 100 on the Final to get a 89.5. Anything less than 100 would have resulted in 89.4, and the professor said 89.4 gets rounded down to a B😱, 89.5 gets rounded up to an A. Studied my butt off, I did everything possible, some days didn't leave the Library till 4am, the Starbucks crew in the library made a fortune off of me that week . Took final and got 100. Grades came out and my 89.5 was rounded up to 90=A. I maintained my 4.0. I was so hungry back then, I've gotten lazy now. Hopefully that hunger will return for M1.
 
I was basically failing a graduate level Pathogenic Bacteriology course after doing absolutely awful on two exams and turning in part one of a huge lit review on C. difficile three weeks late, which was all due to some extremely difficult family circumstances at the time. The professor said that she didn't think I'd be able to pull it up to a C and should withdraw.

I got my **** together afterwards and earned a 99 and a 97 on parts two and three of the lit review, a 98 on a mock NIH grant proposal--the concept and writing of which I pulled out of the ether in a single night after I discovered my original idea had already been published in some obscure European journal-- and a 95 on the final exam.

At the end of the semester, my professor said she thought someone should actually do the study I proposed and asked if she could use my proposal as the template for an actual NIH proposal, and would list me as an author.

I ended up with a B+.
 
nabilesmail said:
I had a Neurobiology test covering the first 1/3 of the semester. Pretty dense stuff and I didn't have any previous neuro knowledge. As usual, I hadn't gone to class, and for some reason 😛, I decided to go to vegas on the weekend (test on Monday). I got back Sunday 11:00 PM and had the test at 10 AM (1 hour drive to school as well) the next day having looked at NOTHING, and knowing absolutely NOTHING on the exam. I ended up only looking through HALF the lectures ( and not even really studying those half, just reading it a couple of times). I felt SO LOST come test-time, I didn't know Sh about the eye or ears or anything else that was being tested. I didnt even open those lectures (which were 100+ slide lectures each!) I ended up scoring average on the midterm (it was multiple choice and I became an awesome guesser after studying for the MCAT). Hahah, best academic achievement to date!
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Aw man but if it was with who I think it was, that was the only easy test of that Neurobio course at SC

Anyways I have a couple "clutch" moments.

1) Senior year, I'm taking a GE that I had been acing test-wise and getting B's on the papers. I needed a 98% exactly on the final to get an A. So the teacher sends us the essay questions (~15 total, 5 will be on the final) for our final. I studied like crazy, even had a fb group for it and literally taught half the class what was important. i walk in the final, feeling good, walk out and feel 99% sure I got a 100..........until I realized I made one VERY VERY small mistake on the final regarding what kind of farming technique some king implemented did to help the peasants in a tiny part of Medieval Europe. I was scared I would get a 97 or 96% and make A- instead of A and later that week......I found out I made 98% on the final exactly!! I was so happy.

2) Finals/Summer 2013. I have a GPA ~3.6 and MCAT first take was 27, second take was 30 right after finals but 7 in VR. I meet my research PI and he flat out tells me I'm not cut for med school and I should hit the Carrib esp since I'm ORM or find some job in research and accept my fate. Also at this point, I also learned that our abstract was not accepted and he wouldn't put me on other papers I had helped in writing and lab stuff. The doctor I shadowed also told me MD was a long shot and my extended family told me to give it up (you know Asian families are hyper-competitive). My parents were losing faith in me and wanted me to go into another health profession.

So I decided to take a gamble...and go for MCAT ROUND 3 for 9/11 date! Almost everyone including my friends & family thought I was insane and crazy since I already submitted my AMCAS and I knew being completed late was going to kill my chances but I had to do it. I just felt....like it was something that I NEEDED to do. It was like a burning desire for those 1.5 months I studied for round 3 of endless VR practice--tunnel vision you could say.

Well I ended up with a 32 & 9 in VR! And while I wish I could say I was into an MD school, but I interviewed at 2 MD schools, waitlisted at one, and pending answer the other. One of them is a Reach school that everyone told me I have no chance of interviewing. I know that there's a good chance I might have to reapply but I learned that I certainly came a long way from even a year ago & I have a good chance of a more successful cycle (I hope) should reapplication be necessary.
 
got an 89.51 in a class, emailed the prof to bump it up to a 90 which is an A and he replied with "There is no curve in qualitative analysis." 🙁 not clutch
 
Calc-based physics class (E&M) set up to be either 40/60 midterms/final or 100% final.
I went into to the final having a C+ (at average, which was like 40% raw). I was one of the last students still taking the 3-hour final. I went home can couldn't even verify if I got any of it wrong/right through additional reasoning. Could have easily gotten an F. Ended up with a 96% on the final and walked out with an A as if I didn't screw up the first 10 weeks of class. Technically I didn't even have to show up for the class until those three hours 😎
 
93 on my physics II final. That was my weakest class and I ended with an A. Up from a B in physics I.
I aced my ochem ACS final and pulled a high B. Up from a C in ochem I. A's in everything else. Not "clutch" but definitely the start of a true upward trend. 😀
 
I was lazy and rarely went to my Calculus class in college that I missed taking the final exam (had the wrong date in my head). I panicked and rushed to my prof and he offered a make-up test in his office but warned me it would be a tougher one.

When I got my final class grade, it was an A
 
This semester I didn't study 3 out of the 11 chapters in my orgo 2 class; didn't look at them AT ALL, and the final was cumulative. Still made an A in the class; I don't know how I BS'd some mechanisms on the final, but I suppose MCAT studying helped


Tariqd said:
got an 89.51 in a class, emailed the prof to bump it up to a 90 which is an A and he replied with "There is no curve in qualitative analysis." 🙁 not clutch
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On another note, I once made an 86.3 in a class, where and 86.5 was an A, and the whole semester the professor was adamant on how he does not round up, do not email him etc. I still emailed him with a long plea and begged for an A. But he emailed me back and said "I had already made your grade an A; good luck in your future."

I almost cried out of happiness. #nerdpressure
 
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I'll let you know in two weeks (quarters), need to have a clutch comeback
 
Got a 79 on the first Gen Bio Test because I didn't study as much as I wanted to. Next four tests I got a 95+ and pulled off the A.
 
I got really good grades on all of our calculus midterms (95,91,98). Heading into final I was teaching several students the material. Final I got a freaking 68%. Grade drops to a high borderline B+/A- .The professor emails me and says he heard I was the best student in my smaller recitation class. Gives me an A. Greatest feeling ever. Going and visiting my professor and my TA really paid off.
 
Honestly I envy those of you who have a 90 being an A at your school. my classes range from 93-95, with most requiring a 95 for an A, which I feel is a ridiculous standard. but oh well lol vent over.

I pulled off a huge comeback in Genetics this semester. class was on the back burner for a lot of the semester and it was a cumulative final. I was sitting in B+ range, needed a 96 on the final and to do some impossible 5 point extra credit assignment (rare to get extra credit too). took me 10 hours to do the extra credit, and pulled off a 98 on the final. got the A thank goodness
 
msquaredb said:
Never had a comeback from finals. I usually worked incredibly hard during the semester so that I could slack on finals. I usually had a high A going into the final and coasted in to a comfortable A or A- after not doing as well on the final.
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Same here. Except this semester i slacked through the second month and landed to A-'s....missed an A by 1 point in each. course. Fml
 
TexasSurgeon said:
Same here. Except this semester i slacked through the second month and landed to A-'s....missed an A by 1 point in each. course. Fml
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Coming that close is tough. Its kinda like pulling your parachute too late and hitting hard on the landing. Once pulled mine way to late and broke my leg (B).
 
I'm really jealous of people with grading scales. In high school I would always calculate what I needed on exams.
 
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