True Story #3: How to turn an 'F' into a 'B'

Bianca had followed her boyfriend from Columbia while he did a year of studies for his doctorate.  Since tourist visas were only valid for three months at a time and she was planning on staying in Paris for a year, she decided to study French at a university that would also give her a student work visa instead of taking a chance and working in France illegally.  Having paid 1200€ for the first semester in tuition + accommodation for the first few months + the price of the round trip ticket, Bianca and her boyfriend arrived in Paris and shortly thereafter she began school.

Class was early in the morning, from 8:15 – 10:15, and although a student visa allowed her to work only 18 hours/week maximum, she found a Colombian business owner that didn't mind letting her work full-time as his secretary and pay her under the table.  Unfortunately this meant that student visa related meetings would have to be scheduled in the morning during class hours before work.  But missing a few days of class is understandable when one is meeting with the government, isn't it?

Despite studying at such a prestigious university, she was unimpressed with the large class size and inadequate structure of the lessons.

"The professor's competency test each Friday was even pointless because while the professor was out of the room, everyone cheated. So the professor would assume that because everyone scored so well on the exam, they understood the lessons so he kept teaching at the same pace, while my grades kept struggling."

To renew a student visa from one semester to the next, you need an official letter from the school stating that you successfully completed the requirements for the class, and did not miss too many days.  Without this letter, her visa renewal would be rejected and she would risk losing her job, and may even have to return to Columbia while her boyfriend stayed in Paris.

Bianca approached the professor after the second test and was brushed off.  When she complained about the cheating again after the third test, the professor wouldn't even listen to her.  The following Monday when she the got the results of her test back, not only did she fail, but the test also included a note from the teacher:

"I am not unaware that many of the other students in class are cheating, and that doesn't concern you.  You concentrate on the lessons and let me do my job."

The professor did comment about the cheating, however took no action to prevent it, so the cheating remained consistent.  With each week that past she continued struggling through the grammar lessons, borderline between passing and failure.  To make matters worse she had missed six days of class because of meetings for her student visa, and her professor always made sure to point out that she was absent.

The week before her final exam, and two weeks before her meeting with the government to renew her student visa, she approached the professor to find out what her GPA was, and what her score would need to pass the class.

"The professor, without any remorse, told me that even if I scored perfect on the final exam, that she did not feel right about passing me, and suggested I re-take the course.  And then she pointed out that I had missed six days of class, which was one day above the limit."

But Bianca wasn't about to lose a year in Paris and throw away thousands of euros because of some inconsiderate language teacher, so she, on the advice of an Irish student in her class, enrolled at a school that was half the price of her current school, had smaller class sizes, and also offered student work visas.  All that she had to do now was figure out how to get the official letter from the university to renew her visa.

After the final exam Bianca defiantly walked into the professor's office, removed her test from week three from her backpack, the test with the teacher's stern note on it, and bluffed:

"Since our last conversation I've talked to a lawyer, another professor, and two administrators at this university about this unprofessional note you wrote me, and if I do not pass, I swear to God I will sue you and make sure you lose your teaching license."

The following Wednesday, two days before her student visa meeting, the results of the semester were waiting for her in her mailbox when she returned home from work:  she passed with a "B".

True Story.