what do you do if...
 

you really haven't gone to this one class much all semester so you have no lecture notes. and you haven't really kept up on your reading as well as you should have...

do you try and read all of the assigned readings for the final in 2 days?

do you email the professor for mercy ;)

do you say screw it and do your studying at the bar?

I'd be at the bar. :D Unless you are really good in that subject and can grasp and retain the information, I say hit the bar.

Do you need it to graduate? If no (and sometimes, even yes!) HIT THE BAR!

You email the prof and let him know some sort of situation (a nice excuse always helps).

Work your booty off and study as much as you can before the final. Try to find someone you know in the lecture so you can get their notes.


There's nothing like that "one class" that becomes the gpa killer.....blah

As is such, I just emailed my Financial Statement Analysis prof to let him know that my project would be turned in late. I'm sorry but how did he expect us to put a good 20 hours worth of work into it and study the nine chapters that are going to be covered on the final, whcih both the project due date and final are on the same day (today).

Yeah i should add that my grade is currently a low C - so I need to at least pass the test to get a decent grade in the class :)

I definately agree with damasa.. try your best to get mercy from the prof :D Whenever I need to do that, I always email and then have an office visit so the prof remembers your name (hey, it might come in handy when they are putting in the final grades ;) )

Last minute cramming can actually be done.. one of my friends never went to class, never read the book.. and was failing the class. We decided to switch notes and study together for the final.

I had all the lecture notes and she did all the reading & took notes. It worked out quite nicely.. we both did pretty decent in the class :)

Re: what do you do if...
 

Speaking from the professor standpoint - if you haven't been to class, AND, the instructor knows you haven't been to class - there isn't much point in asking for mercy. I wouldn't give it, unless I knew the student had been attending, and participating in class.

If it's one of the "lecture mill" 200+ students, you might be OK.

See, attendance is one of the "intangibles" that professors can use for "borderline" grades.

And by the way, it's better to ask for mercy face to face, not in an anonymous email...

Re: what do you do if...
 

Don't ask your prof for mercy, it won't happen.
I'd try to skim some of those readings if you can

Sorry! :(

Seriously speaking, this happened to me last spring, but I was having some issues. I did all the work for the class, took all tests, even wrote the final paper. Because I missed more than the alotted amount of absences, my professor wanted a doctor's excuse, but I couldn't get it to him in time. The nerd failed me!!!!! :mad: I will be re-taking the class this fall WITH HIM and will make an A!!!

OUCH-

tough predicament


I would say I would do the best you can...get some notes from a friend...try and search the net for info on your class ,etc. so that you can learn what its about in the most condensed way...good luck

Sorry, you probably won't like my advice but I suggest it's time for you to hit the books.

:)


.....Kelly :)

yeah... i kinda figured i'd need to hit the books :) looks like a few all-nighters are coming my way!! (the test is wednesday at 7pm)

and he professor definitely knows i've missed a few classes - he told me i could be an A student if i just showed up! ouch :o

You're in a tough spot. I like to believe I'm fair with the classes I teach - I have attendance and assignment policies written in the syllabus, so, when that 15%-of-your-final-grade paper is due there are no lates. Period.

At least that is what I state in the syllabus. And, if I haven't seen someone in class for the two weeks prior (where we meet as a class in the library so I can help), and asks for an extension - it's not hard to say no. However, the student that has been there, done their best, asked good questions...if they suddenly need an extension - I'm much more flexible and understanding.

Last semester I was confronted by a student who said someone that had had my class before said I never give out A's. I told her it's true. I never give out A's. However, that said, at least 60% of my students have EARNED A's.

{AXO Alum stepping up on the old soap box}}

Iowa - not intended to "bash" you or anything, but this topic is such a peeve for me!

I admit it -- I was always a good student. I was definitely my own worst critic (I ended up arguing over a 96 grade with a prof because I went back and checked the answer in the book which stated the same as my answer - she said "no" it was based on class lecture (which I was at by the way) which really ticked me off....and YES it was a 96 and I can hear you all bitching at me now) ... anyway -- I showed up to class most of the time and took notes (which was more to help stay awake in some classes than about the studying later). My projects were in early if not on time...hey, I may have been a teachers pet, but by golly I earned my A's!

So when I hear about some slacker who just doesn't bother showing up for class (medical exceptions just require a doctor's note -- work is NOT an excuse for an already scheduled class) and then ends up begging for and GETTING an extension -- that just sucks! What was the point of me busting my buns to get it finished if all it took was some whining on my part to have an extra few days?! I have never agreed with this policy.

When I started grad school I was also a GA. Those people did not play. I used to die laughing because they would have "speaker phone" parties where they would all gather in one office to listen to voicemails from the "gravely ill" students -- it was so much fun (especially when they would be seen later around campus and the profs were NOT afraid to yell across campus -- "HEY JANE, did you have that 24 MINUTE bug??" ) One GA was a total loser and tried to say that she was at the health center during class - she couldn't produce a receipt and when the prof asked her if she could call the HC to verify her visit, the GA told her "ummm, no because they ended up entering the wrong SS# for me when I went there" -- okay, that was too much! The girl ended up being kicked OUT of the program (now that's what I'm talkin' bout!)

So, Iowa, this is the bed that you have made for yourself, so have a nice nap. Please don't bother the prof with an excuse at this late point. Go ahead and try to cram, or just go to the bar and say screw it. But be fair to your fellow classmates who have worked hard -- and better luck next time.

(you know I love you Iowa -- this hurts me more than it hurts you ;))

Re: what do you do if...
 

Well I say hit the books, ask for mercy and at the end of the final hit the bar. Just do the best you can in your current situation.

P.S If you weren't going to class why didn't you just drop it?

Whining doesn't work, just for clarification. However, if something (illness, death in the family, etc....) unexpected happens, AND CAN BE DOCUMENTED, then I'm willing to consider an exception.

I've had very angry (also non-attendees, slackers, rolled into one) get mad because of a death in the family a day before the due date, where I said NO extension. "Where were you the two weeks before this happened?" If I can't get a reasonable explanation, then I have no pity, and no mercy.

What really gets me are some of the hard-core, no exceptions for any circumstances professors - "they won't get that kind of consideration in the working world" mindsets. Um, yes they do, because I've BEEN in the working world and seen it, whereas the full-time professor, teaching ever since PhD time, has not been in the "real working world." Ugh.

Asking for an extension never even crossed my mind... i know he'd never do it :)

But version of "mercy" was stoppingh by his office hours and possibly seeing if he'd direct me in the right direction for the final... maybe what he'd focus more of the test on :)

I've crammed before and done well on the tests.. this professor just scares me b/c he's random (it's public opinion) and half of the readings for class are his... great! :(

less procrastinating... more studying

Get those lecture notes lol!

I always found that a great deal of personal charm helped with those one on one situations with proffessors :) .

However, I never faulted one that wouldn't let me have my way, I just cherished the ones that did.

My advice is to literally study at the bar ;o) When I lived half a block from the bar I was at the bar on a regular basis with a text book on 59 cent cheeseburger night . . . it seemed to work for me!

Hit the books, take the exam, do your best, then hit the bar (one way or the other :) )

Good luck!

Hit your chapter's test file. Many professor's recycle test questions from one year to another. GOOD LUCK!!! :)