<p>I'm not sure if I should drop organic chemistry. I got 5 pts above average on the first exam and 20 below the average for the second exam. Everyone hates our current professor and he''s getting fired for it. A lot of my peers are going to drop and take it next year with a different professor, but I'm not sure if that's a smart choice; since we are already more than half way through the semester and that professor for next year could be a lot worse. Please give me some advice. Thanks</p>
<p>Is the professor really getting fired? Also, isn’t it already past the drop date? Anyway, you should finish the class and get it over with. If anything, you can always take it over for a better grade. Good luck!</p>
<p>Hi lml:</p>
<p>I’m going to respond to your question because my daughter found herself in this very position last semester. Maybe what she chose to do and why can help you.</p>
<p>She needs 2 semesters of Organic Chemistry. Yes- 2. And- there is only (1) O-Chem professor as you know. As for whether he is being let go… I would not count on that. He is tenured and has been there a long time.
My daughter made it through the first semester and passed although whether or not you are actualling passing is very tough to tell from the actual grades you are getting from my understanding. She spent loads of time in very constant contact with the professor- that way he was assured that she was doing everything she could to pass. She showed up for EVERYTHING. I’m not sure that any of her grades were what you would consider “passing” but she passed with a C- I think. It was a semester of hell. For the amount of time she spent on that class alone she should have had an A+. Material wise she swears she feels like she knows the material. Her other classes definitely suffered for it . Would it have been better for her to drop it- maybe. I know she resisted because of the time she put in but my concern was the time that class pulled away from everything else and then to not get the return for it.</p>
<p>For O-Chem II she is taking it at a local college over the summer. The problem is that the professor at RPI is so inconsistent and so unpredictable in grading. If you end up with a D or worse the only option you have to replace that grade is to re-take the class at RPI and that means retaking it with the SAME professor. If you take the class elsewhere it’s true that the grade will not count but the course credit will. She decided that is the better option. Even the advisors in her dept. recommend taking the class at Hudson Valley Community College. (not where she’s taking it since she will be home over the summer but she was trying to fit it in there during the Spring). So - that would be another option.</p>
<p>As far as the drop date. The learning center can help you regarding that if you get in there and talk with them. They have a lot of flexability. They seem to really understanding when it comes to these issues and it’s definitely worth a visit. Again- my daughter was resistant to stop there but it was a good thing that she did. They made some good points and offered her some good options even though there was only a few weeks left in the semester.</p>
<p>Wish you good luck-
kgrmom</p>
<p>Just wanted to add in that I found it hilarious how one of my professors also recommended students to take it at HVCC because of the current prof (although this was during lecture or any class time). Don’t know why the administration allows it if the professor is truly that bad.</p>