to email or not to email my instructor about my grade...

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ok guys i recently just made a post about how i was 2 points away from passing my anatomy class. long story short i did put a lot of effort into the class i just had a hard time with my teachers tests their very tricky and the final was very hard. i am in my universitys nursing program all i need is this a&pII class to for sure be in for the fall (i took this class at my local community college). my question is should i email my teacher pretty much begging her to give me the 2 points? i know its pathetic but i dont know what else to do right now cause there arent any classes i can take during the summer.

Should i email her?

what should i say? ( i dont want to sound like im truely begging)

Absolutely not, you failed and should accept your grade, why should the teacher give you extra points and not the other students?

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Specializes in NICU.

I have mixed feelings on this. On one hand, you failed by two points. Rounding doesn't help much in that case. On the other hand, you won't know unless you try. I would however, suggest against 'begging' for the grade, or placing the blame on the test being tricky. Other people were able to pass it, so this excuse really is, well, just that, an excuse, and a childish one at that (sorry, I know that sounds harsh). Take responsibility for your learning and semester, and come up with a realistic plan on how you can master the information to a degree that would satisfactorily demonstrate that you earn the extra two points. Share that with the teacher and they may be more receptive than to begging.

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.

calling your professor is a good idea. be honest, don't grovel or beg, try your best not to cry and it will help if you're not so upset that you screech at him/her. if something happened to a family member, or if you got a bug mid-semester, or if you tend to panic on test days, tell her.

my husband is a professor and tends to be pretty reasonable when a student is honest, upfront, doesn't invent or embroider excessively, and keeps him updated throughout the semester. i think he's pretty typical. it also helps him if when students call or stop by his office, if they follow up with an email that

summarizes the conversation. one year, he had seven jennifers in the same class. when you do the follow up email, please sign it as "jane doe" instead of just "jane."

it never hurts to try. as was mentioned above, could you retake a&p at a community college over the summer, if all else fails? oh, do not have a parent call and yell or beg. that never works, although students always think it will.

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If you knew the tests were hard and you had trouble with them, did you ever approach the professor earlier in the semester to see what you could do to improve your scores on the tests/ in the class? I distinctly remember my physiology professor who was consistently amazed by students who did not do very well the entire semester but would only approach him either right before or right after the final- their failure in the class was not a surprise and failing/ doing poorly on the final really just kept along the trend they had been on the whole time.

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You did not just fail by two points, your average was likely teetering on the edge close to failure. If you had, say, a 6 average, failing a final would not cause you to fail the class.

You have to know where you messed up and make corrections so this does not occur again. Did you not study enough? Did you CRAM instead of taking 2-3-4 hours each day to slowly absorb the info? Those mistakes can be rectified.

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I wouldn't call or email, I would go in person to talk to your professor. You will have a better chance presenting your case this way. But be prepared to be told no, you failed by two points and did nothing during the semester to correct the fact that the tests were not making sense to you. For future reference if you are having trouble with the way a teacher tests you need to get help at the start of the semester not after the final grades are figured. Most professors hard to feeling sympathy for someone who waits till after the fact to get help.

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Specializes in LTC.

For the future it is also good to review each exam whether you fail or pass. It is always good to know why you got something wrong.

I agree with an above poster, you should always get help in the beginning.

I guess it will not hurt to try but I also think you should be accountable and know that some nursing schools do not round whatsoever.

Its harsh but there have to be a cut off at some point.

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thanks everyone! all your advice was great. i did email her( she always tells us email her because she isn never in her office and checks her email all the time from home and at school and i think she was out of town this week if i remember corectly from what she told us), i started off by telling her i did learn a lot from her class (i truely did) i didnt beg at all i just explained my situation and how that was the only thing holding me back from going to nursing school this fall and asked her to please email me back to talk about it and to see if there is any possiable way i could get thoes extra points. im just hoping she emails me back and understands (fingers crossed). I know i cant do this on my NCLEX and i for sure dont plan on ever doing this again i am just in a really though spot right now. I cant take it at another community college either because this is the only one close to my area where i live the others are really far away and no other schools classes will transferr to this university =/ i took this class at my community college and during the summer theres only about 3 a&pII classes and their all filled. Im hopign she understands and gives me a shot do to anything to get these few points. I was actually doing pretty good in that class not GREAT but i wasnt doing bad i got 80's on most of my stuff but then i had a few quizes on certain systems that really brought me down in my grade and our final was worth almost half our grade and it was tricky, pretty much all my classmates said it was too. I did study a lot for it it seems like on a lot of the parts i just went blank, i knew the answers but just couldnt think of them. I dont want her to feel sorry for me or just give me the points i would be more than willing to do extra credit, papers, show her the questions i was really stumped on, ill honestly do anything. I dont ever expect a teacher to just give me the grade i was just hoping by talking to her i would be able to figure something out. I have never had a D in any class during college which i have been in for 3 years so this is tough for me and i do realize it was my fault that i didnt get the 2 extra points and it is defifnatly a life lesson i will always remember throughout school and work. I have realized my flaws from this when it comes to taking hard tests like this and i will bring this life lesson with me when i am in nursing school.

thank you everyone for your input!

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Wow... you need to learn accountability. There is no room for 'negotiation' in a well run program. Why should you get to earn 2 points over any other pupil? Oh and for what it's worth ... if you are begging for charity to pass AP then you will be eaten alive by any decent nursing course.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

I know a guy who failed by ONE POINT, and he told me he practically begged on his knees to be passed, but it was to no avail. He was very bitter and wanted to drop out, mind you, he blamed everything else for him not passing his course, except himself.

It's probably not a good thing to do I would say. Points are points, and if you fail, you fail. There's only black & white at university. You will have to do what I did when I failed one subject: devote ALL your time to study, get in there and just pass it.

Life sucks but it wasn't meant to be easy unfortunately. Set up a good study plan and you MUST stick to it and UNDERSTAND what & why you are studying something. Limit distractions, set only certain days for exercise, time with friends, etc and I'm sure you will pass next time. Get friends to help tutor you as well.

Good luck.

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Specializes in CVICU.

Good luck, but like a lot of people said before me, you didn't pass. Bottom line. What would you think if you hired a contractor and he asked you to pay him for only completing 99% of the job?

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Specializes in Intermediate care.

I don't know...its tough love my dear.

A&P is a tough class, but its easy compared to the ones you will be taking in nursing school. It's not that they don't want you to pass, but you NEED to know A&P to further your knowledge in your other classes.

This isnt high school where you can "squeak by", Even if your teacher did give you the 2 pts, i would suggest taking A&P over again. Its really important to have a good understanding of it.

In nursing you are taking care of REAL people, REAL patients.

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