Should I retake a course with an easier professor?

[stebgbby]

I have been going through many many forums and taking advice from those who have been in similar situations as myself.
One piece of advice that I am learning is very very true in pre med is how a professor can really make or break your chance of success.
My situation is this:
I have taken 3 years of chem. I am in gen chem, and things were going great. I was making A's on the quizzes, A's on the graded homework, and I understand everything. However on the first exam, I scored a 77. His exams were nothing like the quizzes and did not test on the same material. He even said that he didn't expect most of us to pass... which isn't that bad if he gave a curve, but he does not. Not even with the class average being around a D-.
I know many people might be thinking that a 77 on one exam cannot make or break your chances of an A, but considering there are only 2 exams for the semester and a final--getting a C on an exam (even with good quiz scores and homework scores) is basically dooming me to a B or at best A/B. Hypothetically, if I get high A's on the rest of the exams and quizzes and homeworks, according to his weighting, I will be barely scraping by with an A.
After talking with other gen chem students, I found out that I got stuck with the hardest professor. The other two have 5 exams and a final, are lenient graders and will give credit for setting up the equation right, give practice exams and the averages on the exams are A's. I really got screwed over.
Also, the gen chem lab is a separate class, which I make A's in and has no impact on the lecture class. One of the main reasons I have to get an A in lecture, besides my GPA of course, is because I need an A in lecture to work as a lab assistant and I would love to do that.

Do you think it is a good idea to finish this gen chem class with the possibility of getting a B, then retake it next semester with an easy prof for an A? I would be enrolled in gen chem 2 by that point and I wouldn't have to retake the first lab.

Any other suggestions?

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[seren1051]

Are you within the drop period? B won't break your chance, nor will a single C, but if you reeeeeeeeeeeeeally can't live with a B and within a drop period (that won't leave anything on your transcript), sure, why not. But if it'll give you a W, then don't.

 

[Catalystik]

Are you within the drop period? B won't break your chance, nor will a single C, but if you reeeeeeeeeeeeeally can't live with a B and within a drop period (that won't leave anything on your transcript), sure, why not. But if it'll give you a W, then don't.

Getting a B and then retaking with an A will look very odd on your transcript.

 

[seren1051]

Getting a B and then retaking with an A will look very odd on your transcript.

Apologies if I wasn't clear - I meant that if he's within a drop period, and he foresees getting a B (or worse), and if dropping a course right now won't leave any trace on the transcript, he can drop it and retake it next semester - then transcript will only show a single whatever grade he got next semester. It's not like he already got a B.

 

[Catalystik]

Apologies if I wasn't clear - I meant that if he's within a drop period, and he foresees getting a B (or worse), and if dropping a course right now won't leave any trace on the transcript, he can drop it and retake it next semester - then transcript will only show a single whatever grade he got next semester. It's not like he already got a B.

I agreed with your comment but was expanding on it with the alternative scenario, in light of the OP's statement below.

Do you think it is a good idea to finish this gen chem class with the possibility of getting a B, then retake it next semester with an easy prof for an A?

 

[mk04447]

Don't retake ****. Move forward, do your best, and try harder next time. Are some prof. more difficult than others, sure, but there's a correct answer you failed to find. If you always second guess yourself and continually find the path of least resistance you'll wind up in your parents basement when you're 40 and **** gets truly challenging.

 

[Mr.Monster]

Just adding my two cents to the conversation. One of the most rewarding, and helpful, classes I have taken in undergraduate was taught by one of the most challenging professors in that department. I studied my butt off for the 'B' I received in the class, and it set me up to succeed on that portion of the MCAT. It also laid a solid foundation for a course I am now taking, leading to a deeper understanding and enjoyment of the material.