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The prof did not mention his grading scale in this syllabus. I got A- with 94. The School usually set the A scale to be at 93. But the professors always have the right to set his own standards (e.g. curves).

I am currently writing for a better grade. Shall I attach a university's recommended grading scale as attachment? Is it a good idea to mention that some big companys are only looking at straight A average?

Could you please let me know how to ask for a better grade?

Thank you so much. You are always helpful. Any comments are welcome.

High GPA
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    You must not ask for a better grade. – Massimo Ortolano May 23 '17 at 05:26
  • Of course I am merely asking for "review" the grade. Everyone know what does this mean, though. – High GPA May 23 '17 at 05:39
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    Mentioning what big companies are looking at will not come across as a request for a review, but as a request for a grade that you didn't earn. It will not be received well. – Nate Eldredge May 23 '17 at 05:42
  • From the professors point of view there is no difference between "asking for a better grade" and "asking for a grade review". As you said "everyone knows what this means". Hence, @MassimoOrtolano's comment applies. – Dirk May 23 '17 at 05:43
  • Maybe politely asking about his grading scale? – High GPA May 23 '17 at 05:43
  • Have a look also at this answer and the last point of this one. – Massimo Ortolano May 23 '17 at 06:38
  • Is there anything you would have done differently during the course if the syllabus had shown the actual percentage to letter mapping? – Patricia Shanahan May 23 '17 at 06:54
  • Thanks. Why is my question getting down votes? Other questions in the same kind got upvotes instead. – High GPA May 23 '17 at 11:49
  • @PatriciaShanahan Of course I will work harder if A=95 – High GPA May 23 '17 at 11:50
  • @Low GPA At uni you must earn things, they are not given for free. You have much better chances to get a better grade if you ask for "some extra work to do" or something like that. The question is down voted (I think) for this reason. Also it probably pisses off the professor if you ask for better grade without a major error in grading (e.g. he missed a paragraph). Usually grades are not changed unless there was a major (not minor) error in professors part. – NET_GUY May 23 '17 at 12:30
  • Sit down and figure out what will make you a valuable employee, and focus on those things. I don't think nitpicking about the difference between an A- and an A is one of the qualities and talents that a company would look for in an outstanding employee. – aparente001 May 24 '17 at 06:27

1 Answers1

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There is basically only one way you're likely to get your grade changed, which is if the professor made a mistake. That does happen sometimes - I once corrected a grade under circumstances similar to what you're describing - but it's unusual.

You want to write a short message pointing out that

  1. you think your average is 94
  2. you got an A-

and then ask what the cut-off was for an A in this course.

And - and this is important - that's it. Do not:

  1. Outright ask for a better grade
  2. Talk about how important the grade is to you or to your job prospects
  3. Include the university's recommended scale or otherwise try to convince the professor about what the cut-off should be
  4. Ask for extra work or another way to retroactively improve your grade.
Henry
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  • This would be the right answer if I did not know first hand of examples where doing the "do not"s has resulted in students having their grade improved. – ComptonScattering Sep 21 '21 at 04:03