I like to make good grades. Who doesn't, right? I can't think of any college student in their right mind that would purposefully miss an opportunity for extra credit. Especially at my school. The school that I went to last year (Columbus Tech) gave students the opportunity to view their grade averages online at any point during the quarter. We don't have that here at CSU. I try to keep a good handle on my averages from assignments and tests that are returned to me graded. But my Chemistry class is a mystery because he has a built-in curve that he applies after all points are accumulated. So I really have no idea where I am, except that I know the absolute worst I can make. He also adds on points for class participation and attending tutoring sessions. I try to show up for everything that I can as long as I don't have another class. So I'm hoping that at the end, my good outweighs my bad.
My professor announced this morning in Chemistry that attendance at an upcoming seminar would add 5 points to my total grade in the class. This sounded interesting, right? He put a flyer on the screen about this seminar. Apparently it's about yeast. Oh. Snore. Yeah, I'm gonna go. Will I be awake? Not sure about that.
I've been reading some blogs around the internet, and I've discovered that pre-med students are not all that popular. It might even be said that everyone kinda hates them. Now I certainly don't have a complex about running around and making sure everyone likes me. But I don't go out of my way to be a jerk either. Seems that a lot of pre-meds have a reputation for asking questions in class to brown-nose the instructor, always begging for extra credit points, and harassing the professor to bits about missed answers on exams. I will admit to asking questions about missed answers if I cannot arrive at them on my own during review. But I'm always pleasantly surprised when a teacher offers opportunities for extra credit. I don't go around begging for it. And if I ask a question, it's because I really don't know the answer.
I guess some pre-med students might be more affected by the hate flames sent their way by other students, but since I'm a non-traditional student, I just assume that they all really don't notice that I'm around anyway. I don't really get involved in any of the social goings-on here on campus. I come to class, I do my assignments, and I go home to my real job as wife and mom. I don't really know any other pre-meds here on campus to form an opinion.
But give us a break, grades are a big deal as to whether we get into the school we want or not. So me freaking a bit about a C on a Chemistry test is a big deal to me. I'm sorry you failed chemistry, but it probably didn't have the life-altering potential for you that it does for me. I occasionally do feel the desperation welling up in my stomach when I think about how 150 people are competing for my place in medical school. I just remind myself to take it one day at a time. And yes, there are things that I won't do for extra credit. Apparently a seminar on yeast isn't one of those things.
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