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IT'S DONE
THE SEMESTER FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL IS DONE
I'M GOING TO SLEEP FOR THREE WEEKS
THE SEMESTER FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL IS DONE
I'M GOING TO SLEEP FOR THREE WEEKS
only needed a 36% to keep my A in the course. #yolo
(not a like like, but a sympathy like... I'm right there with you!)I wish this could be my life. I fight for every damn B on my transcript.
Idk if there is a difference in grading scales etc between American and Canadian schools or if I'm just dumb because I hear about a lot of A's from you all to the South and I'm up here like I would literally cut someone to get an A in a course weighted more than 0.75 of a credit
You're not alone, I've made mostly B's in our core classes (electives tend to be easy A's). For me the amount of studying it would take to go from B's to A's would mean sacrificing my mental health, and I don't plan on specializing, sooo I'm content with being middle of the road (I have no idea what my actual class rank is, but I know some of my classmates do tend to make mostly A's). It really depends on the school and the person, on the other hand I have friends who study really hard and consistently make C's.I wish this could be my life. I fight for every damn B on my transcript.
Idk if there is a difference in grading scales etc between American and Canadian schools or if I'm just dumb because I hear about a lot of A's from you all to the South and I'm up here like I would literally cut someone to get an A in a course weighted more than 0.75 of a credit
I'm fairly certain my only As this semester will be in my three electives (total of 4 credits). With the cores I have a habit of getting As in the 1-2 credit courses and Bs in the 3-4 credit ones. Since I do want to specialize that is...less than ideal. But alas.You're not alone, I've made mostly B's in our core classes (electives tend to be easy A's). For me the amount of studying it would take to go from B's to A's would mean sacrificing my mental health, and I don't plan on specializing, sooo I'm content with being middle of the road (I have no idea what my actual class rank is, but I know some of my classmates do tend to make mostly A's). It really depends on the school and the person, on the other hand I have friends who study really hard and consistently make C's.
SAR and I are classmates. 80 is a B+ at our school.I'm fairly certain my only As this semester will be in my three electives (total of 4 credits). With the cores I have a habit of getting As in the 1-2 credit courses and Bs in the 3-4 credit ones. Since I do want to specialize that is...less than ideal. But alas.
They do aim for the average on every exam to be about an 80.
SAR and I are classmates. 80 is a B+ at our school.
Interesting. That’s a B- here, although we do mainly straight grading after first year (no more +/-) so that turns into a B.
MSU is a bit rough...Yeah our B- is a 70-74 (also a classmate of SAR/Squeaksmom lol). Here's our grading scheme:
View attachment 244353
I feel like our grading scheme is weighted down quite a bit, both in how it's set up and how they write exams, so definitely makes it challenging if you want to pursue a residency afterwards.
I'm curious overall do you feel getting a C is pretty manageable since normally a "standard C" is 70%?Yeah our B- is a 70-74 (also a classmate of SAR/Squeaksmom lol). Here's our grading scheme:
View attachment 244353
I feel like our grading scheme is weighted down quite a bit, both in how it's set up and how they write exams, so definitely makes it challenging if you want to pursue a residency afterwards.
I'm curious overall do you feel getting a C is pretty manageable since normally a "standard C" is 70%?
I feel like our grading scheme is weighted down quite a bit, both in how it's set up and how they write exams
"Well maybe if you came up with something completely novel that even I hadn't thought about I'd consider giving you an A..."The exam part is very true. We have a lot of classes where if the average is high 60s, the profs are happy. Many write fair clinical tests, but there are also a lot who write tests that feel designed to make an A unachievable and they will basically tell you that up front
That’s how it is here in most classes third year and it sucks. So far I think everyone has managed to scrape by, though I know a few have been close.Depends on the course. I have a couple of Cs that I had to fight tooth and nail for. We also have quite a few classes where you have to individually pass every exam to pass the course and if you fail one and rewrite (even if it was only worth 10%) the best grade you can get is a C-
I would have no As hahaMSU is a bit rough...
percentage grade course grade
92.0-100% = 4.0
88.0-91.99% = 3.5
84.0-87.99% = 3.0
80.0-83.99% = 2.5
76.0-79.99% = 2.0
72.0-75.99% = 1.5
68.0-71.99% = 1.0
below 68.0% = 0.0
You don't have minuses?Our scale is pretty standard I think (it's close to what it was at my undergrad anyway) but yeah I would look more at the averages on the exams/in the classes to say whether it's "easier" or "harder". That's what I do to figure out which classes are harder here anyway. Like our average for respiratory was an 85, for cardio an 81, radiology a 79. Doesn't feel like much of a spread, but when you also know that people study their asses off for cario and radiology, it puts it into perspective.
A 4.0
87-89 B+ 3.5
80-86 B 3.0
77-79 C+ 2.5
70-76 C 2.0
67-69 D+ 1.5
60-66 D 1.0
<60 F 0.0
And it is definitely never a thing here that professors would try to make an A unachievable. In most classes there's a typical bell curve.
Nope!You don't have minuses?
Woah, I didn’t know places did GPAs by o.5!Our scale is pretty standard I think (it's close to what it was at my undergrad anyway) but yeah I would look more at the averages on the exams/in the classes to say whether it's "easier" or "harder". That's what I do to figure out which classes are harder here anyway. Like our average for respiratory was an 85, for cardio an 81, radiology a 79. Doesn't feel like much of a spread, but when you also know that people study their asses off for cario and radiology, it puts it into perspective.
A 4.0
87-89 B+ 3.5
80-86 B 3.0
77-79 C+ 2.5
70-76 C 2.0
67-69 D+ 1.5
60-66 D 1.0
<60 F 0.0
And it is definitely never a thing here that professors would try to make an A unachievable. In most classes there's a typical bell curve.
I think my undergrad had a slightly different scale if I remember correctly. So a B was a 3.0, B+ was 3.3, A- was 3.7Woah, I didn’t know places did GPAs by o.5!
My undergrad was weird and did things by 0.1 increments. An A- was a 3.7 to 3.5. This explains why VMCAS didn’t believe me when I said my 3.5s were an A- and wouldn’t convert them to a 3.7 when they calculated by GPA haha
For us a 4.0 was a 99-100, 3.9 98-96, etc. so you could have an A grade and be from a 4-3.5, B 3.4-2.8, Cs 2.7-2.0.I think my undergrad had a slightly different scale if I remember correctly. So a B was a 3.0, B+ was 3.3, A- was 3.7
Interesting to have a range for it lol
Ohhhhh gotchaFor us a 4.0 was a 99-100, 3.9 98-96, etc. so you could have an A grade and be from a 4-3.5, B 3.4-2.8, Cs 2.7-2.0.
My undergrad was really competitive so I think they did by o.1 because it was better for separating grades out.
I live at the 91% line, so it kills me.MSU is a bit rough...
percentage grade course grade
92.0-100% = 4.0
88.0-91.99% = 3.5
84.0-87.99% = 3.0
80.0-83.99% = 2.5
76.0-79.99% = 2.0
72.0-75.99% = 1.5
68.0-71.99% = 1.0
below 68.0% = 0.0
I agree! I think it's interesting. Just highlights how subjective these "objective" measures can be.All the weird variety here kinda proves that grades are a little bit bunk anyway. But mine weren’t great so maybe I’m biased!
As a solid B student hoping to specialize, I'm right there with you....All the weird variety here kinda proves that grades are a little bit bunk anyway. But mine weren’t great so maybe I’m biased!
I agree! I think it's interesting. Just highlights how subjective these "objective" measures can be.
Generally class rank does factor in to some extent. Your letters of recommendation are a huge part of it though, and just having people who are willing to vouch for you and say you're great to work with and all that.Makes me wonder how schools compare between people when making selections for residencies, etc Canadian schools don't really do class ranks unless specifically requested, so everything is on a GPA basis up here! Guess it's all in your interview and who you know haha
Meanwhile, I'm over here with my gpa steadily dropping over time...I should have expected this, it's exactly what happened in undergrad
It really isn't everything. The amount it factors in depends on the specialty and the program though. Some will take it into consideration a bit more, especially if their board exam is particularly difficult, because they want to know that their residents are going to pass boards.I'm hoping the GPA isn't everything statement is true for residencies!
It isn't. At least for this program, there was a minimum GPA cutoff and then we mostly looked at class rank because the grading is so different at the various schools.I'm hoping the GPA isn't everything statement is true for residencies!
we mostly looked at class rank because the grading is so different at the various schools.
At least for me its more of a where you fall with the classmates. So like top 50% vs bottom 10% or what have you. Also holy crap you have a tiny class!Class rank confuses me too. Like we have 33 people in my class. If I'm 25/33 (which is approx where I am - had to request it for a scholarship last year) does that make me a better or worse applicant compared to someone who was 50/200?
What I have learned from this thread is that there is no consistency and I'm glad I don't go to American schools based on where my numerical grades sit - unless our profs just like to watch us suffer
We don’t even have GPAs here and students have no problem matching. So GPA definitely isn’t everything
With class rank it's typically based more on the percentage than your actual number.Class rank confuses me too. Like we have 33 people in my class. If I'm 25/33 (which is approx where I am - had to request it for a scholarship last year) does that make me a better or worse applicant compared to someone who was 50/200?
What I have learned from this thread is that there is no consistency and I'm glad I don't go to American schools based on where my numerical grades sit - unless our profs just like to watch us suffer
It isn't. At least for this program, there was a minimum GPA cutoff and then we mostly looked at class rank because the grading is so different at the various schools.