What would you do?

[Hum]

Hey everyone,

I just found out that I have a choice in my Calculus 2 class to either take the final, or not take it and receive either an A- or an A in the class depending on how the rest of the class performs on it. My professor said that if I take it and get an A, I'll receive a straight A in the class, but if I don't it seems like it'll be more likely I'll receive the A- with a chance to receive a straight A.

I've been so busy with my other classes that I haven't really reviewed the material much, and this would be my first final, so if I don't take it I'll get a chance to gear up for my Biology 2 and Organic 1 finals earlier.

So, what would you guys do in this situation?

Thanks for the advice!

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[lmaozedong1]

Personally, I'd take it. For example, when I was punching my grades into AADSAS, I can't begin to tell you how many times I said: "Man, I really wish that grade was an A."

 

[coolrunner]

I wouln't take it, A- in calc 2 is very good, plus it is nto required for most DS but organic and bio are required for all and it it more important that you do well in those. SO I would take that time to prepare for those classes

 

[NotPennysBoat]

I would take the final also. I'm sure you are a smart kid and it sounds like you have had a good grasp on the material up until this point. Just look over the material for a small period of time and I bet you will be surprised how much you remember when test time comes.

 

[doc toothache]

A single - will not make a significant dent in your gpa.

 

[darkwalk]

Is I possible to get a worse grade if you take it?

 

[Hum]

Thanks for the help so far everyone, I'm going to ask and see if I could possibly get a lower grade if I take the final and don't do well, and I'll let you guys know!

 

[ugapharm]

Honestly, unless you are really confident you could get the A, I would just take the A-. An A in organic/bio would look stronger and if you had to sacrifice those grades to get the A in calc, I'd just gear up for those and kill them. If you have the time to prepare adequately for all of them though do that for sure. Like someone else said, you'll look back at your borderline B+/A- and A-/A grades and be frustrated when you see how they'd help your GPA. I'm still pissed because I got a B in freshman English when the only thing that kept me from an A was not participating in class enough. (I did well on all the papers and didn't realize participation was that important until the very end.)

 

[PhoebeAZ]

If you take the final and bomb it, you could end up with a B (though since you currently have an A that probably won't happen). Are you absolutely guaranteed to get an A- if you don't take the final or could you get a B if the class does really well? Also just to clarify: does your school take + or - into account for GPA? My doesn't, thank god so a 90% is the same as 100% (at least on my transcript).

So basically, if you are absolutely getting an A if you don't take the final, then don't take it.