<p>Alright so during the weekend before the exam (which was on Tuesday), I had to go home for an emergency and had no time to study so I failed the first exam with a 50% (which is a C). The average was about 67%. I don't understand how the curves work for this class. Is it still impossible for me to even hope for an A-? I also am a part of this program with the university and am stuck with the most negative and condescending advisor ever as part of my contract and cannot switch her for someone else. She is trying to meet with me about the exam. She gives me more anxiety about myself failing than the exam does. The last time we talked (which was a week before the exam) she told me that I was going to fail the class because I got a 12/15 on the team homework assignment (which has nothing to do with our grades). Mind you, the 12 out of a 15 was a lot higher than the 8s and 9s other people got. So how have the curves worked in the past? What should I do about meeting this advisor this week? I can't stop thinking about how she told me I wasn't going to succeed and it's preventing me from focusing on improvement. She refuses to take my side of the argument into consideration. Thank you!</p>
<p>You need to relax. You’re sitting at a C right now in the class. That’s not failing. The letter grades with regards to the test just let you know how you did with respect to the rest of the class. The number grades for everyone will be determined at the end of the semester and the actual course curve will be based off of that. I wouldn’t say an A- is completely out the window, but you need to crush the next midterm and final if you want to make that a reality. </p>
<p>It was your first math exam here so don’t stress that you didn’t do as well as you had hoped. Try to see what can you change to better your preparation for the next exam and good luck. Calc here at Michigan is rough for a lot of people, myself included.</p>
<p>I don’t know what to tell you about your advisor…maybe try to talk to her boss?? </p>
<p>C is definately not failing. Keep your head up! A- is gonna be hard though; like Fatquirrel said, you need to do really well on the upcoming tests. What program are you in? </p>
<p>The old mantra at Michigan is everyone is pre-med/pre-Ross at the start of the semester, and most are political science and econ majors after the first midterm.</p>
<p>I failed my first calc exam too! I got a C+ and I was told I need an A in the class but I don’t know how I can recover. We both should have taken this class at a community college instead of at Michigan!</p>