Quote:
Originally Posted by MaxillofacialMN
That's what I mean! Law schools tricks the heck out of their students!
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My dad used to tell me about that. He said he had a prof that, in a class of 150 students, gave out 15 As to the top grades, 45 Bs, and some other distribution for the rest. Doesn't matter if you get a 97.5 if 15 students get 100s...
What made it worse was he said the class was easier than other classes as far as scoring high on a test, but still ended up being most students worst grade that quarter. I don't really think that's a fair system, as it does little to describe how well a student performed in a class, and doesn't translate well to overall GPA unless every single class worked that way (and then it would actually be a pretty magnificent way to grade...the difference in professors and how hard they test would disappear, and your GPA would be a close representation of how you /compared/ to other students).
GPAs have always been a touchy subject for me, as i recall going to a class in undergrad that required a ridiculous amount of studying only to walk away with a B, and had a friend take the class with an easy prof, studied minimally, and got an A. I suppose that's why I always just kind of nod and say, "yeah, okay *wink*" when someone talks up their GPA. Too easy to manipulate, too hard to get a good reading of how much work they put into it.
It is a pretty good move by the schools. It's not unfair, though the difficulty in maintaining it sure seems that way. It's not really the school's fault or problem, it's just a problem in explaining to students how much more effort grad school is, and I don't think that's something someone can really understand till they get here.
It sucks. All it takes is one class (for me it was anatomy, 6.5 hours) that drops you out of scholarship range, and it's not easy to get back into it.