How important is an A+? And if I didn’t even get an A+, do I still have a chance to get a course recommendation letter?
If I only have As on my transcript, without any A+ in upper-level courses, will that be a significant disadvantage when I apply to grad school?
To get an A+ in the core grad course in the branch I want to apply to, I strategically skipped almost every lecture of the other courses I was taking, and only used the minimum amount of time that could ensure I got an A in those courses. I know the professor who teaches that course usually gives one A+ per semester, so I made sure my design hit the record for that course — only because grad students have more important things to do, though — but I still only got an A. (In retrospect, maybe it’s not about giving the best design, but about the scores in every lab?)
Anyway, I’m also very worried about the possible recommendation letter thing. Should I ask for a recommendation letter from a professor who:
- I didn’t have any research cooperation with? I only had some general chats about research during office hours, and they said they didn’t have any available undergrad RA positions.
- Doesn’t even think I’m in the top 5% (the A+ proportion in the past few years) of the students who took that course?
I’m also worried about a broader issue: if I had to focus heavily on one course just to try to get an A+, maybe that itself suggests I’m not as strong as other applicants. Perhaps truly strong candidates can aim for A+ grades in all their courses at once, so even when some courses don’t go perfectly, they still end up with several A+ grades each semester?