<p>I have gotten scores above the mean on every Chem exam thus far, all my grades being in the B+ to A- range. The final, which was worth 40% of my grade, seemed difficult but not impossible. The general consensus was that it was difficult as well.</p>
<p>I just checked my grade, and I apparently got a C+ first semester in General Chem.</p>
<p>I felt confident that this class would end up, at the very least, in the B to B+ range. I have absolutely no idea how this happened. I was so confident in this class, and I know my gen chem...</p>
<p>1) How screwed am I? What can I do to remedy this?</p>
<p>2) Before this, whenever I effed up a class, I was aware that I effed up. I was expecting a low grade. However, this just came out of nowhere. How common is this? By this, I mean being super confident in your grade in a course, having decent scores beforehand, then getting owned anyway?</p>
<p>1) Not at all screwed so long as it doesn’t happen again. One C+ is not fatal.</p>
<p>2) Unlike high school, college courses place very heavy emphasis on a one or two exams. Do less than wonderful on one exam----BINGO you got a C (or worse). Pretty easy to do. Homework and quizzes pretty much count for diddly in terms of your final grade.</p>
<p>3) How did it happen? Probably you were on the downslope side of the curve. It was a difficult exam and your classmates did much better on the exam than you did. It happens. (Or as I tell my kids–the curve cuts both ways…)</p>
<p>Since you have a final grade, go into Blackboard and look at all your grades. At many schools, profs will list your individual grades, the relative weighting of each grade, and the class mean for each exam. See where you stand w/r/t the mean for ALL of your grades. You ought to be able to see why you got a C+</p>
<p>For the record, if it’s coming from that for out in left field, you might consider asking the professor about it. Sometimes profs will crack and push you over the edge if you’re right on the cusp and you ask about it. Don’t be direspectful.</p>
<p>In any event, one C+ won’t kill you, but you should really bounce back from it and crush second semester to show how it was a one time thing.</p>
<p>OP, johnisles made a very good point. I know of several cases where someone had a grade changed from a “+” to the next higher grade “-”. You may be the highest C+ and so your prof might do it.</p>
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<p>It could be that you felt “too good” about how you thought the class was going. When finals are approaching, I tend to force my mindset into that of a near “panic”. I study as if I were behind, even though I never really am. By doing this, I have always scored BETTER on finals than my grade average up to that point. In fact, I just came from my chem profs office where I was checking on my final. He told me I scored “well above” anyone else in the class. Hey, it works for me :)</p>
<p>Make sure to seek help before you get to this point. You need to get help in every concept that you are not sure if you got it right. There is plenty of help available at colleges, use it, you are paying for it, for prof’s office hours, for all SI sessions. B+ is NOT your goal, A- is not your goal, your goal is A.</p>
<p>How far “above” the mean? And what is the grade for your prof’s mean? C+? B-?</p>
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<p>To safely be in the A range, you need to be ~one SD above the mean (depending on the prof’s generosity with A’s). Were your earlier tests that high?</p>
<p>When the professor did not publish SD, some premeds at DS’s school originally thought 10 points (out of the maximum 100 points) above the average might be enough to be in the A range. (assuming here the average is 70 out of 100, i.e., the test is not that hard. I heard that at one time, for one class, the class average dropped down to 47 or somthing like that when it was really hard.) It turned out it is often not enough. It requires almost 15 points above the average.</p>
<p>Sometimes, there are just a little too many studtents who get the scores that are close to the highest score due to their preparation before the class. (e.g., some of those who had taken orgo at their local college when they were still in high school, and therefore it is a re-take or review for them when they take this class in college.) But this phenomenon is more common in a language or math class than in a typical non-math premed class.</p>