I just took my physics finals, and I got a 96%, 1 away from a 100%. That brings my grade up to a C+ but short of a B-. In the class, we have 4 exams, and 2 of them I failed miserably, but the last 2, I’ve gotten 100 and a 96. I’m in ROTC, and I know it’s not an excuse because people have work and whatnot, but I completely overwhelmed myself with STEM classes. Anyways, is there anyway I can tell my teacher I deserve a B-? After ROTC training started to slow down (I’m a 2nd year so we are getting ready for field training so the training is much more intense, I get up at 3AM,) My grade in physics went up like crazy. I started off slow, but I finished really strong.
I am okay with a C+, but I have a scholarship I am trying to keep alive, and I studied so hard for the finals. I should’ve gotten a 100% but I miscalculated one one of them.
I am at a 67, and to get a B- you need a 68, so it’s 1 point average, so essentially if I got 1 more question right, I would’ve gotten a B-. I regret not focusing more on academics towards the beginning because I was so competitive in ROTC for my ranking.
I don’t know…I can’t begin to know the rules of your college or this particular class. You do seem to have a case, however with your strong upward trend…however, I don’t think you should get something (a grade bump, even one point) for nothing. Also, what about the relative fairness to your classmates?
If you’re going to ask your professor, what about proposing to do an extra project related to the earlier coursework that you failed, such as a short research paper or a written review of the earlier material, etc. This might be fair if other students are also given this extra-credit chance to improve grades. Know, however, this creates some extra grading work for the prof, so you must accept it if he/she declines and be incredibly gracious if the opportunity is extended.
My guess is that the professor will not make an exception. Like you said, there are plenty of other people who are working tons of hours outside of class, like people who need to pay college expenses without parental assistance. In the professor’s mind, if they make an exception for you, how is it fair for other students who also have grueling schedules? What’s the point of the grading scale then? Knowing your limits and balancing course load with outside responsibilities was your responsibility to manage well.
I think you can still ask (respectfully), and focus on how much you have improved. Try not to come off as if you are entitled to the B-. I would keep my expectations low, imo.
You can ask your instructor if she ever rounds up to the nearest grade, especially if you did so well at the end, but it is obnoxious to tell your teacher what you DESERVE.
Also, professors need to offer extra credit to everyone if they offer it to one person, and presumably the opportunity would have been mentioned in the syllabus.
Well, quite frankly…you earned a C+. So you can’t tell your teacher you deserve a C+…because that’s not what you earned.
One of the most valuable lessons you can learn in college is about balance, and learning to juggle competing priorities. You learned that lesson in perhaps a harder way - by failing some exams when you realized you were overloaded with STEM classes and ROTC. Having overburdened yourself, however, is unfortunately not a compelling reason for a professor to raise your grade.
So no, I wouldn’t ask for a bump or tell your professor that you deserve a better grade. Frankly, personally I wouldn’t do anything. But if you really want to do something, you can approach the professor for advice on how to perform better in future physics classes.
I would say generally, professors hate it when you ask for extra credit. The prevailing attitude I’ve seen (and had myself, when I was teaching undergrads) was - why should I give you extra credit when you didn’t even perform well on the first material you were given? You (not you, OP, but the general you) had the same opportunity to perform well as everyone else in the class, and you didn’t take it then. Why should I extend you another chance? Often the students who asked for extra credit were students who didn’t even do the originally assigned work.
Even offering it to everyone is not fair, because extra credit inevitably helps out the students who are doing poorly much more than the students who are doing well. If you have an A in the class, the extra credit is not going to bump you up to…a higher A? It may not be worth it to do some extra credit in late December when you’re preparing to go home. It’s mostly the C and D students (and maybe a couple hypercompetitive borderline B/A students) who will take the extra credit.
And given that at this time of year grading is already down to the wire, a professor might resent being expected to do more grading right before the holidays.
So I wouldn’t ask for extra credit. Almost every professor I know is more annoyed by this request than anything else.
Imagine asking your ROTC training officer for a similar exception. If you can imagine the sergeant smiling pleasantly and offering to give you extra credit on your training exercises, then go right ahead and ask your professor for the same courtesy.
@stradmom@juillet@CheddarcheeseMN@inthegarden@silmaril Thanks for your opinions! I e-mailed him explaining to him how I was caught up on rankings for ROTC, and that I have done pretty well on the last 3 tests, and he added a point to my overall grade and gave me a B- and he told me that after seeing my previous tests, it was transparent that I was in some sort of struggle in the beginning, and I deserve this small grade bump. It’s a good day
I just want to add here that you shouldn’t rely on asking for extra credit and receiving it. Sure, this professor went ahead and did it, but I know other instructors (including myself) who would be annoyed and would ask why you weren’t so concerned with your grade/extra credit during the beginning of the course. I had a student do something similar and it really frustrated me because the student didn’t put in the hard work required to get the grade they requested and it felt like they were disrespecting me by asking to get a grade they didn’t earn. (not saying you were disrespectful or didn’t work hard – just saying instructors may have negative experiences with students doing this).
I’m glad it worked out for you, but try not to do this very often because every instructor is different and it may not bode so well in the future. Work hard to get a good grade and know that sometimes you fall short and that can be okay.
I’d try it to not ever do this again. It is rare that a college prof will do what this one did, especially in a STEM class. Don’t take the lesson from this that you can skate close to the edge and get away with it.
Or imagine you’re training for an elite specialization such as flight school…especially for a slot as a fighter/attack pilot.
When my NROTC graduate cousin who was a STEM major(CS), graduated with flying colors, later attended flight school in Pensacola, and spent 7 years as a Naval aviator I recalled him saying one could be washed out at any point of flight school…whether from not performing at the high standards required in practice flights at each training stage or not getting at least a 94% on the academic side written exams required.
Yes, getting a 93% on such exams was one way to immediately wash out of flight school and pleading with the instructors to bump up the grade will not go over very well with one’s instructors or flight school peers.
And this was in the late '80s/early '90s when there were many more slots for aspiring Air Force/Navy aviators than now.
His teacher gave him a B- because the teacher thought he deserved it. There’s no need to lecture him about “pleading” for a grade. I’m pretty sure the kid already learned his lesson, give him a break. Sure, it can be translated to the flight school or whatever, but it’s not. It was a physics class. Let the kid breathe. Enjoy your breaks and stop trynna make a big deal, whether or not you think he deserved it.
@marvin100 the kid scored 96% on his physics final, 100% on the test before that and tremendously picked up his grade after realizing that he had been slacking off. I’m not saying he did or did not deserve a B- because I am not his teacher, and I have not seen the work he has done in class. if he was trying to e-mail all his professors without any improvement as so, then i’d understand the criticism and feedback, but it’s winter break and he/she caught a break
And study extra, extra hard for that teacher…