Meeting with a Professor Can Improve Your Grade : Tips from a Professor's Wife

Disclaimer: I need to say right up front that I can't guarantee you'll get an A. That's up to you and your professor. What I can do, however, is help you avoid making some screwups when you meet with your professor.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about 3 ways to get a better grade on your paper. Today I'm sharing again from my insider position as the wife of a professor.

If you're trying to improve your grade on a paper or test, one of the best ways to do it is schedule a meeting with your professor. You can go over the reasons why you think you should have gotten a better grade. Some profs are tough, but many are willing to listen to your point of view. Even if it doesn't get you an A, meeting with a prof can get your grade improved a bit or at least make them look kindly at your next work.

My husband is a very lenient professor. If you present your case well, you may get some extra points. But here's a few ways students screw up their chance.

First, show up.

If you make an appointment, the worst thing you can do is not show up. Even a sucky meeting is better than standing up your professor. My husband goes out of his way to meet up with his students. He'll come to appointments outside of office hours, if that's what's convenient for them.

Yet on multiple occasions students have scheduled an appointment outside office hours and then not shown up. They haven't called ahead, e-mailed, or even (sometimes) even gotten back to him with excuses.

He'll meet with them again, but I can tell you he's feeling less charitable towards his students. If they're not responsible enough to keep appointments, are they really responsible students whose work didn't reflect their knowledge of the material? Or are they students who don't care about the class?

You may be a responsible student, but it's important that you prove it to the professor. Office visits are the way they get to know who you are.

Second, plan your arguments ahead of time and bring them with you.