So here's the deal. My final exam didn't go to well. I look to find my final grade is a 79.4 percent. I'm going into his office tommorow to talk with the man. Has anyone had experience with Professor's bumping grades? Tips are appreciated. And oh yeah, my teacher is a tool.
if it's a science course, be interested in their research and talk about working in their lab.
Talk to him politely, ask if there is any extra credit. I've had a Professor bump me from a 79.0 to a B. Good Luck
If there was any work that was subjectively graded - like papers - bring them in and try to prove why you think you got shorted. I had a TA give me a D on a paper once and I brought it back to him and he gave me a B. He said he saw the papers the Prof graded and realized he was being far too critical.
Some teachers are very firm with their grades. And 79.4 doesn't round up to an 80; they've gotta draw the line somewhere. Doesn't hurt to try.
Of course, someone who complains about something like this will be probably yammering about the evils of "grade inflation" in the future. You had a choice to work harder and it sounds like you didn't live up to your end of the bargain. if you wear the handle "procrastinator" with pride. (might want to learn how to spell, too, if you're trying to fool people into thinking that you're well-educated).
If you showed improvement on stuff in the later end of the course bring that up.
Explain to him that if a race time is 4:59.01, it rounds up to 5:00 in the books. Ergo, a 79.4 should become an 80.
You need to have a reason for him to change the grade. If you just ask for special treatment, the professor cannot bump your grade up. If you have a reason (something wrong with the grade calculations, homework that you did turn in but they didn't count, you deserve better on a paper etc) then he can bump you up. Otherwise you just sound like you want free points.
If you think your teacher is a tool, chances are he/she thinks you're a dipshit. Better luck next time.
procrastinater wrote:
So here's the deal. My final exam didn't go to well. I look to find my final grade is a 79.4 percent. I'm going into his office tommorow to talk with the man. Has anyone had experience with Professor's bumping grades? Tips are appreciated. And oh yeah, my teacher is a tool.
Beg...if that fails....BJ
Try Harder wrote:
If you think your teacher is a tool, chances are he/she thinks you're a dipshit. Better luck next time.
Actually he's not a tool, as much as socially akward. One who struggles to communicate with individuals in an efficient manner. And i'm not a girl, so none of that.
I once worried about grades like that, it's just not worth it...think to yourself..."will I still care about this in 5 years? 1 year? 6 weeks?" yea it sucks but you need to get over it and move on, ultimitly what is the difference between a 79.4 and an 80...nothing, no one cares. in reality all that matters is that you know your shit when you graduate.
last quarter I failed a class with a 59.8...wtf the teacher had no soul, so i spent the next quarter retaking it and got a B.
I will never argue for another grade again, I refuse to waste my time worrying about/begging for a grade, I have more important things to do.
Stroke his ego. duh.
I teach HS and I have to honestly admit that grading is not always objective once you get to know the kids. For example, I might be more lenient with the girl whose father just died in a drive by shooting than I do with the kid who is just a jackass in my class (unfortunately true). I know you probably aren't talking HS grades, but understand that your teachers/professors are human. Most have a concept of human compassion and be very respectful about your request and for once, accept 'no' for an answer, otherwise you'll just piss them off. And next time...do your work, on time, complete and correct, young man.
do you feel better now?
By the way...this is great advice.
I don't really understand why people care about things like this. Maybe I was a bit too proud to beg, but I never asked for a grade change. Well, I once pointed out a clerical error in summing up answers in a test, but I don't think that counts.
In some courses, I even deliberately gave up points. This was often in courses where homework was a lot of busy work but a low percentage of the final grade, say 10-15%, and the final grade was determined on a class curve. I would learn the material, but skip turning in most of the homework, and planned to do well on the tests.
On the other hand, depending on how the tests and graded materials were designed, there is no reason that grade cutoffs need to be exactly 90%, 80%, 70%, etc. A 50% on a hard (or time restricted) test might be equivalent to a 100% on an easier test that covers the same material. I remember taking difficult college course where I was getting 60s on all the tests, but ended up with As or Bs.
Did he already give you the grade on your transcript or do you just think you'll get a c+? If not, wait to see what happens. Teachers tend to give you the benefit of the doubt.
Are you in my MWF 11am class? I told you in an email just today that I round from .5 but not from .4. It's a difference of a 2.7 (B-) and a 2.3 (C+). If you took 4 classes this term, it'll affect your semester GPA by .1. If you take 120 units towards your degree, it'll affect your cumulative GPA by 0.0133. Now get over it and stop being a procrastinator.
And I'm not a tool.
As Jimmy Buffett would say..."breathe in, breathe out, move on"....
Yeah when I was a sophomore I ended the Semester with a 90.9% and you needed 91 for an A, my teacher was also my track coach, so I thought he'd round it up for me and he didn't. I talked to him about it and he said if I did this huge extra credit porject he would bump my grade up the extra .1 percent. It worked for me, but the project sucked!
Pathetic. I really hope your professor laughs in your face and kicks you out.
Why did you wait until the very last week or two of the semester to ask for extra credit? I'm curious- did you miss any small quizzes or homework assignments? If you did, you have no reason to ask for extra credit.