Should I talk about this 1% to 2%?

[reinhard]

I went to my prof yesterday to see my final exam and after a small discussion, he screwed up and forgot to mark one of the question so he marked it on the spot and bumped my grade to 95%.

 

I went home to redo my grade calculation and found that I actually got 96%. So today I checked my grade on the university portal and I found that I only got 94% and I don't know what happened...

 

Anyone got an idea how i should approach this without looking like a grade grubber...?

Edited May 2, 2014 by reinhard

[fuzzylogician]

Does it matter for anything?

[reinhard]

Does it matter for anything?

It will boost my overall GPA...and I think it's fair right..?

[Eigen]

Your GPA will get boosted for a 96% over a 94%?

 

That's an interesting grading system. 

[reinhard]

No, I meant to say my overall GPA will get boosted. I don't know how much, but I am at 89.something right now and it might boost it to a 90. I don't know the "something" because my university don't display those for some reason.

 

I should mention in my university, a 90 is a cutoff for A+

Edited May 2, 2014 by reinhard

[bsharpe269]

If it will change your final grade (A- vs A etc) then I think you should mention it. If it will not make a letter difference then I would let it go.

[Eigen]

If it's the difference between an A and an A+, I'd make sure your grading system differentiates between the two. I've been at two schools that award A+, but it's the same for GPA calculations as an A. 

[danieleWrites]

If it makes a difference on your transcript, then yes, approach the professor. If it doesn't make a difference on the transcript, let it go.

You can approach the professor without seeming like a grade-grubber simply by being confused. Bring the appropriate, relevant stuff with you (graded exams, essays, whatever), if there is any, be casual and smile. Hey, Dr. X, I'm kind of confused. I was looking at my grade and I thought I had a 96 but it says it's a 94. Did I make a mistake somewhere?

Now, if there is no difference between the grade on the transcript, then don't bother the professor because, no matter how you phrase it, you'll look like a perfectionistic grade-grubber. In my university (and most that I'm aware of the in USA), there are only letters. There are no pluses or minuses on the transcript. An A- has the same value as an A+ because the only listed grade is an A. Other universities are different, of course!

[TakeruK]

In Canada, there is almost always a difference between A+ and A. And many Canadian schools do not use the US GPA system and instead report all grades and thus all averages as a percentage out of 100 (usually with a letter grade attached but the real important value is the number out of 100). So a 96 vs. a 94 can make a difference in our GPA, even though it might be small. 

 

The 90% cutoff for A+ is only for individual grades, not for GPA, in general. So even if this pushes your average from 89.9 to 90.0, it will not change your GPA from 4.0 to 4.3 (or whatever system you use). When grades are converted from percentages to a 4.0/4.3 GPA system, they are done one course at a time. So this single course will count as a A+ in the GPA conversion no matter if it's 94 or 96.

 

I think you said you are already in graduate school? If so, then the grades really do not matter!

 

Ultimately, if you really think you need the two additional percentages then ask about it. If you are just doing this to have a higher number because you like higher numbers, then it's not really worth it.

Edited May 3, 2014 by TakeruK