BeatlesLVR Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 I am having a serious issue with my Bio 101 teacher. I took this class online thinking it would be a flexible alternative since I work full time; however, my experience with the teacher has left me panicking. I have emailed him over seven times regarding wanting to set-up a meeting with him to go over my test and lab scores since I did not do well on my first exam There was a computer glitch during my proctored exam and only SOME of my answers were saved resulting in a "D" on my exam. The proctor advised me to contact my professor as soon as possible to resolve this issue… my professor never got back to me! I emailed him two weeks before our next exam… and he has yet to respond and our next exam is this weekend. My dilemma is that I do not want to get a C grade in this class as I KNOW i can get an A, but I fear that if I stay in this class I may not get my A. The deadline is coming up on whether we can drop a class without grade penalty so I need to make a decision soon as to whether I should stick through or drop the course. I have put A LOT of work and money in to this class, but I'd rather drop it than mess up my GPA. Since this is a BASIC foundational class, would PA schools see it as a bad thing if I got a B or a C? I took this class back in my undergrad years (15 years ago) and got a C. I was hoping to improve and get an A. What to do??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Try to contact him again. If no success, try the department chairman. I think I'd drop it and try again if this isn't resolved within a week or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeatlesLVR Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 @UgoLong, thanks. I've put so much time into this class so I'm upset that I may have to drop it. I've emailed him AGAIN today and will wait for him to get back to me by Friday. I also emailed the Bio Department Chair for a meeting. I hate to escalate this issue but I do not want to get a poor grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patachok Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 You already have a C. You need an A, not a b or c. Make that happen. Bad grade in a low level class does not play in your favor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latina PA Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 It is terrible to have to drop a class after investing a lot of time and money on it, but I think its the best thing to do in your situation. If you already took this class before and already have a C in it, you MUST get an A the second time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 I agree totally with UGoLong. A C in bio 101 is not good at all and too risky in your situation. Maybe better to cut your losses and just take a regular classes. Online classes are a mixed bag from what I've heard, never took one myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeatlesLVR Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 *sigh* I am so sad about this. I have perfect grades in my labs, and it's just that one test so far. I wrote the teacher again, called the number listed for him, put out a public message for him to contact me on our Discussion Board, and even wrote the biology department about the computer issue. The Biology chair stated that I needed to discuss this with my teacher as it was a serious issue, and that she would get in touch with him to contact me… that was two days ago. I have a proctored exam this Saturday which I have been studying for and feel confident in. But I don't think online science classes are for me, it's very important for me to communicate with my teacher, especially if I have serious concerns/questions. I think I will have to bite the bullet and drop this class despite the lack of refund on my books and tuition. I don't want to accept anything less than an A which I know I can get if I physically attend a class and interact with a teacher. Thank you folks for helping me with this concern. I'm pretty bummed by this since this class has been consuming my free time for the last month and a half and I put so much into it… I guess I'll use the rest of this semester to study for my GREs and take those earlier than I had planned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Sorry for this outcome for you. But I think playing it safe is the right thing to do. And when you re-take bio you will definitely have a HUGE heads up. So do not despair too much. There are many, many, many road bumps on the way to PA school. You have to take things in stride and just keep moving and stay focused on your overall goal. That is the most important thing. Those who make it to PA school are not the ones who have it easy or encounter the least obstacles. It's the ones who deal with the obstacles and push forward anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeatlesLVR Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 Thank you as always @winterallsummer! your mentorship has been very helpful to me. I just called the department head and she said SHE hadn't been able to get in touch with him…!? I was a pre-med major when I was an undergrad and I did pretty poorly (2.5 GPA with quite a few Cs, Ds, and a few Fs). Almost 15 years later I know I have the benefit of maturity to get an A, and I know CASPA is cruel in its science GPA calculations… so I can't afford to get anything less than an A. This experience has left a bad taste in my mouth towards online science courses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Yeah that is unfortunate. Some schools may do grade forgiveness. Some people leave old transcripts off CASPA, I'm not sure if this is a great idea, could be a slippery slope. Some schools that don't use CASPA may accept only recent transcript since your old one is 15+ yrs or whatever. I really have no experience with this, and some of it merits ethical decisions, not sure really, 15 years is a long time. I do know some schools state they weigh the last 60 credits most heavily, or last 30 credits most heavily. You can always retake any Ds and Fs and ace them and it will balance you out somewhat, and more importantly show your schools you apply to that you have what it takes. Also your personal statement (PS) is a chance to explain your past. Plenty of people in your situation get in. As you already know, doing well in your current shoes is the most important thing. I have a couple friends back home who got in with 3.0, literally a 3.0, had to take classes just to meet that requirement. One got in 1st cycle, other on 2nd cycle. Some schools actually will take applicants with 2.5 (or let them apply at least). Since that GPA is very old, I think it won't hurt you as much as you may think, if you do well now. Yeah I never took online courses but have heard some horror stories from them. But I have had bad experience in a non-online class that ended me with a C in an upper level science. Meh, what can you do. I don't think the GPA is a fair assessment but it's just the game we gotta play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeatlesLVR Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 So I dropped the course, and found out that I will receive a "W" on my transcript, what effect does this W have on my applications? I've never had one before... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoRyou Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Obstacles are put in your way to see if what you want is really worth fighting for. Yeah that is unfortunate. Some schools may do grade forgiveness. Some people leave old transcripts off CASPA, I'm not sure if this is a great idea, could be a slippery slope. Some schools that don't use CASPA may accept only recent transcript since your old one is 15+ yrs or whatever. I really have no experience with this, and some of it merits ethical decisions, not sure really, 15 years is a long time. I do know some schools state they weigh the last 60 credits most heavily, or last 30 credits most heavily. You can always retake any Ds and Fs and ace them and it will balance you out somewhat, and more importantly show your schools you apply to that you have what it takes. Also your personal statement (PS) is a chance to explain your past. Plenty of people in your situation get in. As you already know, doing well in your current shoes is the most important thing. I have a couple friends back home who got in with 3.0, literally a 3.0, had to take classes just to meet that requirement. One got in 1st cycle, other on 2nd cycle. Some schools actually will take applicants with 2.5 (or let them apply at least). Since that GPA is very old, I think it won't hurt you as much as you may think, if you do well now. Yeah I never took online courses but have heard some horror stories from them. But I have had bad experience in a non-online class that ended me with a C in an upper level science. Meh, what can you do. I don't think the GPA is a fair assessment but it's just the game we gotta play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 A W is no big deal. W just means you withdrew in time. If you have multiple (ie 3+) I believe it looks suspicious. Most applicants have at least one. You may or may not be asked to explain yourself on interviews. Don't sweat it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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