Maybe you're about to fail; maybe you're just one point away from an A. I'm not here to judge. Here are a few pieces of advice on how to convince your professor to raise your grade. These methods have a 2/3 success rate in my personal experience.

1. Go to class, participate, and attend office hours.

So maybe at this point in the semester, it's too late, but remember this gut-wrenching feeling and set yourself up for success next semester. Especially if the class has a reputation for being difficult, make sure you attend regularly and get to know the professor. The easiest way to do this is to speak up in class and go to office hours if you have specific questions. My philosophy is: "If they're not going to raise my grade, they're going to feel really bad about it."

2. "But how do I ask questions?"

You ask. There's a delicate balance. No one wants to be "that guy" who is annoying about asking tons of questions. Most professors welcome some classroom interaction, but they also don't want you to get them too off topic. Listen to what the professor is teaching, and if you have a question, ask it. Just read ahead in the slides and make sure you're not asking something that will be answered later in the lecture. Your professor will likely note that you are engaged during class time. (Boring I know, but you can multi-task and just perk up to ask a question every once in awhile.)

3. "Why would I go to office hours?"

The idea of office hours used to terrify me. I often wondered what I would even ask, but the bottom line is that professors wouldn't have office hours if they didn't expect you to come. If this is a class with homework, take a stab at it and ask specific questions about problems that are troubling you. If you've got an assignment, work it all the way through then ask the professor to review it for you. No matter what you ask, it shows the teacher you took an initiative to be there. Most will appreciate your efforts.

4. Study hard for the final.

This is real dirty work. You gotta give it your best effort though. Say you failed the first test of the semester. The rest of the semester you've made mediocre grades. You've calculated the minimum score you need to make what you want. You can go to office hours for study help, and maybe you do well enough on the final that you don't need to read the rest of the article. Maybe you make 4 points lower than what you need, so here's what to do next...

5. Email your professor.

I've heard tales of professors that admire blatant requests and reward bravery by raising grades after the first request, but this has never happened to me. If you didn't do steps 1-4 and this is a last ditch effort, your email should go something like this: thank the professor for a great semester. Mention the things you learned. Then present them your request. Good luck.

If you did steps 1-4, you're in good shape. Email your professor. Thank them for helping you throughout the semester. Explain what you did to study for the final. State what score you needed and what score you earned. If you did much better on the final than you did on other tests, bring this to the professor's attention. Ask nicely if they can raise your grade a point or two. Good luck.

6. Email your professor again.

These methods have worked for me twice. One time the professor responded to my first email and gave me a bonus assignment. I did the bonus assignment and it raised my grade. The other time, the professor responded with a stern "no" to my first email. One might be tempted to give up there, but I weighed my options. I'd never see this professor again, and there were 4 days left before grades were due. I resolved to continue sending emails until grades were due or the professor caved.

Will this professor not raising your grade cause you to have to retake this class? Tell them in your email. Will retaking this class put you off schedule to graduate? Tell them in the email. How much will your tuition be to retake the class? Let them know the exact dollar amount. Remember to be polite and also be prepared to graciously accept if the professor decides not to raise your grade.

7. Thank-you email.

Congratulations if this worked for you. Make sure to thank your professor for their help throughout the semester and for making an exception for you.

Happy grade grubbing!