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So for a class I just took, I went to my TA's office hours to ask what my grade was (to help me determine if I should take the optional final or not) and she told me I had a 93, and although she hadn't determined the A-/A cutoff, she said she would probably have it be a 93 (I've never seen it different here so I don't know why she would do it any other way) and advised me to not take the final. Now grades were just posted and she gave me an A- for the course. So I'm peeved for two reasons: she apparently made the cutoff a 94 even though it wasn't specified in the syllabus and she said likely wouldn't, and I've never taken a course at my college where the cutoff was a 94, never even heard of one. And secondly she told me not to do the optional final, which could have raised my grade. Should I talk to the professor, or how can I work this out?

Let me get this straight - she didn't prevent you from taking the final, you just chose not to take it, right?

She didn't prevent me, she just said I shouldn't do it (because I'd probably get an A).

And taking the final could have raised your grade?

Yes definitely.

And you chose not to take it knowing that a 93 might result in an A-.

If your professor had suggested that you not bother with the final because you'd probably be above the A/A- cutoff, that would be one thing - even if she later decided to make the cutoff 94, she'd probably change your grade if you reminded her of your conversation.

But that's not the case here - basically, you took the advice of the TA and got burned.

heywatchitbuddy wrote:Should I talk to the professor, or how can I work this out?

Professor first. Explain the situation. In a lot of schools, profs can change grades even after they have been posted.

Your appeals will all have to be at your school, however, as there's absolutely no way LSAC would touch that.

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ScottRiqui wrote:If your professor had suggested that you not bother with the final because you'd probably be above the A/A- cutoff, that would be one thing - even if she later decided to make the cutoff 94, she'd probably change your grade if you reminded her of your conversation.

But that's not the case here - basically, you took the advice of the TA and got burned.

Well the TA set the cutoff and was in charge of everything related to the grades.

dingbat wrote:--ImageRemoved--

You are correct my butt is devastated.

.

As a person who has been a T.A. and a professor, this is very little chance of getting the grade changed. For starters, its a pain in the ass to change a grade. The system is in place basically to protect the student, but usually you have to get a dean involved. It sucks. Also, as a professor, I would say that you knew the risks. You were on the borderline between two grades. If you had taken the final and it had somehow lowered your grade, I might take pity. You chose not to take the final and thus decided to accept where your grade stood at that time: probably an A, but maybe an A-. Sorry, but that's the way to cookie crumbles. Finally, professors spend a lot of time working out how their class grading is going to work. Nobody wants to be told that they did it wrong, especially by and undergrad. You might ask if the grade is correct, but it probably is. My advice is just to drop the issue since you did not take the final. You're just going to end up sounding whiney.

DocHawkeye wrote:You're just going to end up sounding whiney.

Who cares, though? If this is someone who is going to wite you a rec letter, then maybe let it slide, but otherwise I would try hard to get this fixed. It was really easy at my undergrad for teachers to fix grades after they had been submitted. To to the ta first and if they. Can't help you then lay it out for the professor.

might as well try, however even in your story you note the she said it would "probably" be an A. So you did know that there was a chance that you would be bumped down to an A-.

You're really going to quibble over an A- vs an A? How much could this possibly impact your GPA?

heywatchitbuddy wrote:I went to my TA's office hours to ask what my grade was and she told me I had a 93, and although she hadn't determined the A-/A cutoff, she said she would probably have it be a 93

Your fault. Move on.

But if you really want that grade changed, consider asking your TA out for dinner, drinks, and a special "dessert." PM DaRascal for more advice on this strategy.

Your professor didn't provide a syllabus with the grading scale?

Ludovico Technique wrote:You're really going to quibble over an A- vs an A? How much could this possibly impact your GPA?

Yes.

He/she should be over it in a few weeks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill

OP I would try to get it changed (prof then dean) but I highly doubt it will happen.

...

I would talk to the TA first but it's really not their problem. She didn't put it in writing she was going to give you an A, she simply suggested not to take the final. I don't think the prof is going to change the grade, if its a big class why is he going to listen to one student that's complaining. Btw this has happened to me and it sucks and I have complained and got nowhere.

The cutoff for an A is always a 95, I've never heard otherwise.

,,,

yoshikart wrote:he nodded sternly @ me when I said happy holidays even though he smiled @ everyone else

This is the best quote ever.

yoshikart wrote:Worth challenging (going to dean etc.)?

That sounds like a "no." What would you challenge with? "My professor didn't like me" is not a challenge. You have to be able to demonstrate objectively that he reduced your grade specifically because he didn't like you. A B+ is not a bad grade for a paper (in general), so I doubt you'll be able to demonstrate that.