Guest Filledunord Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 "imemyselfi" I completely agree with you. I find it quite appalling that students actually beg/coerce, etc their profs/TAs into giving them higher marks. Unless there was a glaring error with the addition of marks, I have always accepted the grade given to me, (or more succintly put, "that I deserved"). Of course, grading will always have an element of subjectivity, but looking at your work and deciding you deserve better than an A- (since when is an A- a poor grade?!!!) is beyond subjective: obviously the vision of your own aptitude is clouded by your fears of not getting a high enough grade, translating into a lower cGPA, and impeding your chances at getting into a competitive program. However, what bugs me most about this entire thread is that it has nothing to do with actual merit! There's something to say about the personality of someone who thinks they somehow deserve a higher grade because they are vying for med school...hopefully such sense of entitlement is noticeable at the interview and these people are weeded out. I hate to be so harsh, but this is a pet peeve of mine. (and by the way, my cGPA would be considered below average by most for med school competitiveness, so this is not coming from someone who's always had perfect marks or anything). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RoseSmurfette Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 I appreciate that some people feel they have a lower cGPA because they don't argue with profs/TA's about their marks. But I just wanted to point out (especially for the students early in their university career) that just because you don't argue with your marks doesn't mean you won't be competitive or that you won't get good grades. Sometimes people feel that "you have to do what everyone else does just to stay competitive". This isn't true. I've never argued with profs about my marks or asked for special treatment and I think that I have a cGPA (over 3.9) that will still be competitive (despite taking a reasonnably challenging courseload). I once bombed a midterm worth 25% (got a mark in the high 50's). I worked like crazy for the rest of the term and did really well on the other midterm (99%) and the final (100%) and managed to end up with an A+ on my own accord. I think the onus is on the student to make up for their own mistakes - not the prof! What happened to the old-fashioned way of working hard and doing well! I don't have a problem with profs tweaking marks at their discretion, but abusing this by badgering them to do it for you is something entirely different. I've actually seen students tell profs "I'm an A+ student so I deserve an A+ in this course" or "How come I only got an A? I'm an A+ student." Revolting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Filledunord Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 Clarification- I don't think my cGPA is low because I never argued with my profs to heighten my mark. It had more to do with a completely bombed third year due to a severe medical health issue....which I did have to petition to hand in some course work later...though this did not result in any grade improvement. Sigh! It's just the way the cookie crumbles...I may require a graduate degree (if the news on May 15th is not good), or a second undergrad attempt, but meds is what I want to do, so like Rose Smurfette wisely said, it all comes down to working hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TimmyMax Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 Hey, I agree with the above. I'm proud to say that unless there was an addition error, I never whined for marks, unlike a lot of other people in my classes! If that was a problem back then, I can only imagine what it must be like now, especially at the more pre-med factory schools (ie: Queen's, Mac, UT, UWO)! I can't fathom the idea of a parent phoning up a prof demanding to know why their kid isn't getting an A+ in their class! Next thing you know, there'll be irate parents phoning up consultants in the hospitals demanding to know why their kid didn't get perfect on his clerkship evaluation! Then again, maybe whining for marks is all the rage nowadays (it sounds like it is) and I'm just behind the times... Best of luck! Timmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marxkarkis Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 i was offered an A- from the skool of hard knox when i knew i was good for an A+. but the prof made me earn it. thank gad for percocet,,, ahhhhh :\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bioboy2007 Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 Well, to the agreement of many of the members of this forum, I decided to keep quiet about my mark and 'take what I got.' I must admit there is a wide collection of thoughts on this topic, many of which are highly emotionally charged and almost accusatory. I almost find it amusing how some have insinuated that I made 'back room shady deals' with my professor, 'whined about my marks' or have done something 'unethical' to the detriment of all fellow pre-meds across Canada (well, maybe I bit be going a bit overboard)! Looking back at my first post, I'm not sure how people formed these impressions, either (you know what they say about assumptions)! However, I do agree with many of the opinions. Bullying a professor for a mark is wrong, and something I did not do. In fact, this has been the first class where I have even considered approaching a prof (but, again I didn't). Just my two cents. By no means am I acting to villianize this thread. I was lucky to get a prof who believed in me and though a perfect score would be nice, an 'almost perfect' mark will do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NurseNathalie Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 bioboy, re: Bullying a professor for a mark is wrong, and something I did not do., I hope you didn't get the feeling that I was refering to your case - because, I was making a general comment ! sorry if it has offended you, it wasn't my intent at all. I think (as it happens with many posts) that many people comment on the 'themes' generated by a post, rather than the actual questions from the initial post .... it's sometimes interesting to see though, how ppl view certain topics and situations so differently .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Filledunord Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 I was certainly on the same wavelength as Nathalie, and considering the topic on a general level, rather than specific to bioboy's predicament. My criticism is primarily aimed at repeat offenders!!! -Fille Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dopetown Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Go ask for the extra mark. You have nothing to lose. Who knows if it might help you get that interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest treehuggingbiologist Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 I think we all got overwhelmed by the big picture. Lets face it - medical school is super competitive and if the cutoff is 3.76, and you have a 3.74, you prolly won't get an interview (atleast thats my understanding). A lot of premeds i know will stoop to pretty low levels to try and gain that extra mark that might push them over the edge. Hell, i've seen all sorts of students drop to cheating, writing answers on the backs of calculators, stuffing paper in their pockets, writing equations on the inside sleeve of erasers. It happens. And its incredibly frustrating for people who genuinely work hard. No offence was meant by anyone here BioBoy. I still think you should see the prof - go over your exam and see where you lost marks. Its the only way you learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest arjuna83 Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 i've seen all sorts of students drop to cheating, writing answers on the backs of calculators, stuffing paper in their pockets, writing equations on the inside sleeve of erasers. Interesting observation. How do you handle these situations TGB ? I'm asking this because I try my best to encourage a clean and ethical environment among my peers. Unfortunately, this causes me to lose a few friends once in a while. It would be interesting to see how other pre-meds handle these scenarios. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest treehuggingbiologist Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 arjuna83 Actually, I haven't done anything. Partially due to the fear of telling the prof about said activities, and then having them turn to me and accuse me of the same. On the other hand, I'm a huge believer in karma - eventually this person would get their comeuppance in my ideal world. Say what you will - I regret not going to the prof about it. There was one course in particular where I slaved my ass off and barely passed where she walked in with an A- (I think I mentioned in in a previous post where she came to the prof asking for an A, and I wanted to fry her with my heat vision). In that case, nothing would have satisfied me more than seeing her fail that course. But vengeance never was my thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paulchemguy Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 the idea of a parent phoning up a prof demanding to know why their kid isn't getting an A+ in their class! haha with such a large first-years population every year, the chance of this happening isn't slim! :rollin anyone got any stories to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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