Adjusting from high school to college (grading wise)?

[Strudel19]

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Example 1: Didn't really study for an AP Bio test and scored in the upper tier in the class with an 81%. I got an A. I feel like that's major inflation. In college that would be a B-, right? Are introductory classes in college curved?

Example 2: My AP Chem tests are usually only about 20-25 AP questions and we're given 90 minutes to take it. Tests are taken on one chapter at a time, which is usually one test every 3 weeks or so. What are college intro chem tests like? Do you get more questions than just this in that time frame?

Did you guys get any sort of inflation in high school? How did you get used to not having this in college?

Thanks

 

[sliceofbread136]

Haha, there's even more inflation in college. In engineering classes a 60% will be an A.

 

[Ismet]

Haha, there's even more inflation in college. In engineering classes a 60% will be an A.

This x 100000000. I think I got a 55% on my physics 1 final and I got an A+ in the class.

None of my high school classes were curved. Most of my science classes in college have some kind of curve, but it differs greatly depending on department (and it varies greatly between schools, so one person's experience may be completely different from your experience).

As for your Example 1, in the intro bio courses at my university, the class average is set to a 75% and the rest of the grades are distributed from there. So if the class average is a 60% and you get an 81%, you would end up with an A or A+. It works the other way too, so if your whole class does really well on a test, the class is curved down.

Your Example 2 - you go a lot faster than 1 chapter per exam. Every class in every school is going to differ, but I'd say anywhere from 3-7 chapters per exam, depending on the subject.

 

[surfingurlie21]

for as many schools that have inflation, others have deflation. Regardless, if there was one piece of advise to an incoming freshman, it would be to not pay attention to how much people are slacking off around you. You need to do better than everyone starting 1st semester, whether that means just acing the tests if you naturally have high aptitude or increasing studying hours/efficiency if your IQ is average.

 

[railgun]

It all depends on which college and what class. In difficult classes like OChem, there will be a huge curve, but generally in most classes you'll have some curve, depending on the professor and the class's intelligence. I did pretty good on the AP bio too... the first two quarters/1st semester was basically repetition for me @ davis. Same with physics. The big difference b/w high school and college is the number of tests (in college, 3-4 tests make up most of your grade). These tests generally cover at least 3 chapters, and the final is generally cumulative and graded with more emphasis (~30-50%), but you do get more time for them too. You'll be fine if you go to lecture and don't fall asleep 😉

Chem tests were easy for me, so I'm guessing if you did good on the AP, you should be okay, at least for the first chem class. You would most likely have more questions, and be more limited on time, but this depends on the professor... some have multiple choice q's/ T/F, others don't.

 

[Mountaineer12]

I've only had one class that's had a curve and that was an A being an 85 instead of a 90 so even that isn't a big deal. Don't count on inflation because you may be disappointed.

As for gen chem, at my school tests were 20 questions and lasted an hour. I think there were 4 or 5 in a semester, so usually about 3 or 4 chapters a test. It's pretty manageable, but again it will be different everywhere.

 

[sector9]

moving to hSDN

 

[shoehornlettuce]

Man, I wish I was going to college where you guys are. In all my science classes you need a 93% raw for an A. No curve. They don't dumb down the material either. In my Orgo II class, the highest grade in the class was an A-. Not a single person out of 90 kids managed an A. I asked my teacher about it and he said "for an A you have to demonstrate mastery of the material. If you're answering 10% of the problems incorrectly you haven't mastered the material and don't deserve an A".