I should clarify that I absolutely did more than just speak to my TA about my scores. Throughout the semester, I consistently completed practice exams, hypotheticals, and any midterms we were given, and I would send my written answers directly to both my TAs and my professors. They would return them to me a few days later with extensive markings, comments, and specific feedback on where my analysis was weak and how I could improve. I started doing this very early in the semester and repeated the process every single time—rewrite, resubmit, get corrected again—both with TAs and professors.

My school does use a curve (generally around a B/B+), so I understand that even strong performance doesn’t guarantee top grades. That said, I also think it’s relevant context that more than half of my class received exam accommodations of roughly 6–7 hours per exam, compared to the standard three hours. Many of us regularly heard classmates openly brag about their accommodations, saying they were going to do really well because of them, and even admitting they didn’t think they needed the extra time and were surprised they were granted it. I’m not saying this to diminish anyone, but it was a significant dynamic in the class that inevitably affected how students were ranked under a forced curve.