Fucked by curve, Will letter from prof help Forum

[Anonymous User]

Basically I was the highest B+ in the class. Prof offered to mention this in LoR and say I deserved a higher grade. Is that going to take away some of the sting for transfer purposes?

Stats are prob top 25%-30% at CCN. Getting an A- in the class prob would have moved me up to top 20-15%. Targeting Stanford and Cal.

[Traynor Brah]

I doubt it would make any difference, nor do I think attaching a letter from a prof explaining why you should have gotten an A- instead of a B+ but couldn't because of a technicality would be a good look/good use of your/their/the professor's time.

You're obviously in at Berk no matter what, though. Curious to hear why this is a thing, too

[Anonymous User]

I doubt it would make any difference, nor do I think attaching a letter from a prof explaining why you should have gotten an A- instead of a B+ but couldn't because of a technicality would be a good look/good use of your/their/the professor's time.

You're obviously in at Berk no matter what, though. Curious to hear why this is a thing, too

prof was writing me a letter anyway. She actually offered to add it in.

Take a look at Where Cal and Stanford are in the country and you have your answer to the second one.

[lavarman84]

If you deserved a higher grade, why didn't you get it?

[nick417]

If you deserved a higher grade, why didn't you get it?

Captain obvious here: law school curve + his or her score on curve= B+. That is why he or she didn't get a higher grade.

But, as OP said, "highest B+" meaning the highest score not to get an A-.

Also, you are not F'd by the curve. Your score was lower than others, deal with it and stop blaming things. There are always cut-offs, being the top B+ or the lowest B+ is irrelevant.

This begs the question, can professors send letters informing schools or employers that you received the lowest A in the class? Is this a thing now?

[banjo]

Just using common sense here, but I think it's fine for the professor to mention that in a longer letter of recommendation, especially if he already offered to do so.

[eyeofvigilence]

Basically I was the highest B+ in the class. Prof offered to mention this in LoR and say I deserved a higher grade. Is that going to take away some of the sting for transfer purposes?

Stats are prob top 25%-30% at CCN. Getting an A- in the class prob would have moved me up to top 20-15%. Targeting Stanford and Cal.

It's unlikely to hurt you, so I would say go for it. It's not going to make schools believe that you deserved a higher grade, but it may help them see that you were close. If you were the one writing it, it might seem like you are whining or blaming others. Because it's the professor writing it, I don't see why not.

[BigZuck]

If your prof says you deserve a higher grade why not just ask your prof to stop being such a law prof and give you the grade you deserve? "He got an B+, but he deserved an A-" sounds kind of ridiculous to me. Very law prof-y.

...are you sure you didn't deserve a B+? I mean, if what you got in relation to the class is a B+ then it sounds like you got exactly what you earned.

[psu2016]

Please someone tell me this is not a thing now...I want to chuck my computer out a window.

You got a B+ because all the people who earned an 'A' or an 'A-' got more points than you. Isn't the entire point of having a curve to retain what little honesty there is in academia and NOT have professors just inflate their grades (if only through the backdoor) to help their school/students?

What a joke.

[Anonymous User]

To the people who actually answered the question: thank you.

lol the amount of jimmies rustled in the thread is hilarious. I didn't say I deserved a higher grade, but the professor went out of the way to suggest it and offered to write it when I went to office hours to go over the exam. Do you really think I would settle for a letter of recommendation if I were shameless enough to go to office hours to beg for a better grade? Nobody is blaming anybody.

And yes, I know of at least one other professor who will write letters if the curve is tight enough.

[lavarman84]

If you deserved a higher grade, why didn't you get it?

Captain obvious here: law school curve + his or her score on curve= B+. That is why he or she didn't get a higher grade.

But, as OP said, "highest B+" meaning the highest score not to get an A-.

Also, you are not F'd by the curve. Your score was lower than others, deal with it and stop blaming things. There are always cut-offs, being the top B+ or the lowest B+ is irrelevant.

This begs the question, can professors send letters informing schools or employers that you received the lowest A in the class? Is this a thing now?

That's where I was going with it. It's a curve. People are graded relative to their peers. It sucks but that's law school.

But yea, I don't think the Professor saying it will hurt you, OP.

[Nebby]

You're still in at Berkeley. Probably not Stanford.

[HonestAdvice]

It's still getting fucked by the curve. People's gpas could fluctuate by .2 or more based on who happens to be in their section. Just because it's fair doesn't mean you can't get fucked. Look at sports - teams always get fucked based on unfavorable match ups.

[ScottRiqui]

If the prof wants to say something to the effect of "Hey, the curve was hella tight this year - in the past, this student's performance would typically have earned him an A-", I don't see the harm in letting him.

[BIG dawg]

morning after pill might help. not sure if a letter from a prof will help at this point

[ClubberLang]

Why don't you just get a letter from a prof who's class you got a good grade in? I doubt that it matters at all, but a letter saying "this student got a high B+" isn't all that compelling.

[Arad]

Unfortunately, there will always be border grades, and kids on the border will always complain. The way you are approaching this gives me the impression that you are incapable of accepting your shortcomings and are the type of person who blames others whenever things don't go to plan. Nobody likes that guy, and if you are on the "acceptance border" at the schools you apply to, this probably will hurt you more than it will help you. Be an adult, accept the fact that you aren't an A- student and move on with your life.

[run26.2]

How many credits was the class? Seems like that difference would be insufficient to move you up 10% in the class. It should be something like .02x-.04x difference in GPA.