Grade Grubbing -- Is it worth it?

11/01/2011 09:57

Not familiar with grade-grubbing? I'm sure you've seen it in action. Just think back to the last time one of your professors returned a graded assignment. After class, you probably noticed a handful of students circling vulture-like around the teacher with their papers in hand -- these are grade-grubbers. Some have legitimate complaints, but most are just looking for a handout, a retest, an extension, extra credit, or anything else that might raise their grade.

Grade-grubbers breakdown into three main types:

1. The Criers
The criers consist almost exclusively of attractive females. They create a trifecta of good looks, tears, and sob-stories that many (mostly male) professors can't turn down. They have tales of dead relatives, huge workloads, and a myriad of other excuses meant to explain their poor performance. They try to make the teachers feel incredibly guilty by whining about how they might lose their scholarships or not get into grad school.

2. The Ghost Grade-Grubbers
These are the grade-grubbers you never see. They usually conduct their begging via email and use many of the same techniques as the criers, but they are too intimidated to do their groveling in person. This group usually has less success than the criers, as it is easier for a professor to turn someone down in an email, however a great many of them are actually getting extra credit and other grade-boosting accommodations.

3. The Nitpickers
Without fail, the nitpickers will find something on every single assignment graded incorrectly. Every week you see them debating their answers and you wonder how the teacher could mess up exclusively on their papers. Usually their arguments are weak such as "well, that's how you explained it in class," or "your question didn't make sense." Most of the time they are able to argue their way to a few more points (mostly because the teacher just wants them to go away).

If you witness this behavior long enough, you may start to wonder if you should do some grade-grubbing of your own, after all, it seems to be working for others. And it doesn't seem fair for someone else to get the same grade as you when they've obviously gotten special treatment.
However, begging for grades does have some negative repercussions. Many teachers have a hard time telling students no, but they don't have any problem griping about these same students to other professors. Thus, word quickly spreads about which students are notorious grubbers.

This label can come back to bite you in the butt when you are looking for recommendations or when you actually have a legitimate excuse and no one believes you (like the boy who cried wolf).

Not to mention you will tick a lot of your classmates off if the teacher is constantly doing you favors.

And if you annoy your teachers and your fellow students -- who's left to talk to?

Bottom line: Nobody likes a grade-grubber. Stop thinking your special and just do your work and study like everybody else.