rant, need to vent.

[SymmetryOfImperfection]

[rant]

great news. i do well the entire semester and have a 87% in the assignments. the last assignment had a single more problem than the other assignments. it came on the heels of a huge test for another class that i simply did not have time to focus on it, so i didn't do one problem out of many on this single assignment.

looks like the one single problem i didn't do was worth half the assignment. and this single assignment? worth more than 2 past assignments put together. usually each assignment is worth 15-25 points; this one was worth 50 points with half the points on a single problem. not doing this problem was worse than not turning in an entire assignment from the past.

because of the extraordinarily disproportionate weight assigned to this assignment and the problem i didn't do my assignments grade dropped from 87% to 73%. my grade just dropped from contending for an A to nearing the B-C border. now that's just horse sh* for being punished so badly due to a single problem on a single assignment.

i don't even know if i can speak to the professor about this. i think its totally unfair and wrong to assign such incredible weight to a single problem on a single assignment that it can literally make or break someone's stay in a graduate program.

if that wasn't enough my rent just went up and I'm probably going to be forced to move over break. what a nice Christmas present.[/rant]

Edited December 10, 2012 by SymmetryOfImperfection

[Eigen]

I completely understand the frustration, but don't think it's out of line to have a problem worth that much, depending on the problem.

Were the point values not identified/the value of the overall assignment relative to the others? In that case, you might have an argument to make.

Otherwise, sorry to hear about the rent situation- but at least you get to move over break rather than the semester! Much less stressful.

[fuzzylogician]

I say it's definitely worth going to the professor and talking this out. If the point values weren't known in advance then this is indeed an unfair situation. If it's at all possible, maybe you could ask to submit the missing problem late or to do something to replace it. I think that if you show how your grade was affected by this one poor circumstance, most professors would be willing to hear you out and help you correct the situation. At least, it's worth a try.

[SymmetryOfImperfection]

I completely understand the frustration, but don't think it's out of line to have a problem worth that much, depending on the problem.

Were the point values not identified/the value of the overall assignment relative to the others? In that case, you might have an argument to make.

Otherwise, sorry to hear about the rent situation- but at least you get to move over break rather than the semester! Much less stressful.

yep that's the problem; point values for each problem are not known in advanced, neither are homework total points. In fact we haven't had 2 homeworks with the same point value this entire semester, so it was basically a random number. In the past the lowest was 15 points for a 3 problem assignment, 30 points for a 5 problem assignment; seems fair, 5-6 points per problem.

However this time it had 5 problems for a 50 point assignment, nearly double the points per problem of before. There was only one other case of 5 problems per assignment, most assignments were 4 problems.

now that I think about it, the rent situation could've been much worse.

thanks alot i feel better now.

I say it's definitely worth going to the professor and talking this out. If the point values weren't known in advance then this is indeed an unfair situation. If it's at all possible, maybe you could ask to submit the missing problem late or to do something to replace it. I think that if you show how your grade was affected by this one poor circumstance, most professors would be willing to hear you out and help you correct the situation. At least, it's worth a try.

thank you so much, it gives me the confidence to ask. i mean, it won't lower my grade by asking, so might as well.

Edited December 10, 2012 by SymmetryOfImperfection

[Eigen]

If the point values weren't know in advance, definitely ask.

[bamafan]

Was the question substantially longer/harder? If it's roughly the same as others, then you really have a case. However, if it was like a huge 10-part beast, it could one of those "use your judgment" situations where it would obvously be worth more.

[SymmetryOfImperfection]

Was the question substantially longer/harder? If it's roughly the same as others, then you really have a case. However, if it was like a huge 10-part beast, it could one of those "use your judgment" situations where it would obvously be worth more.

most questions were 4-5 parts so there's no way I could tell.

well I asked and it turns out that he's going to make every assignment worth the same amount of points and go by percentage; the points for each individual assignment are just for reference. what a relief.

[Eigen]

Glad you asked, and glad it worked out. Hope the moving situation works out as well!