Grading and Competitiveness

[redwings54]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Does anyone know about the grading systems installed at schools? I heard UNECOM is pass/fail and PCOM has a ranking system. I would think that pass/fail programs would allow for a less competitive, more cooperative atmosphere in an environment that is already highly stressful. Also, I have a friend at Dartmouth med, which is pass/fail, that says everyone is cutthroat and type A. If this is the case at a school that is pass/fail, how are schools that rank? Any help on this topic would be great. Thanks

 

[Dr JPH]

Here at PCOM there are big differences in the competitiveness from class to class. The grading system has little to do with it.

Although we do have ranks at PCOM, you are ranked in a quintiles (top 20%, top 40%, top 60%, bottom 40%, bottom 20%) and your actual rank is not listed.

Generally your rank means little if you are in the 2nd-4th quintiles. People in the first will get a second look and people in the 5th may get looked over...but there are certainly exceptions.

Again, at PCOM, there are nearly 175 students separated by literally 4 GPA points and they span the middle 3 quintiles.

You are going to find competitive students wherever you go. I found PCOM to be the least competitive of the schools I saw, the opposite end of the spectrum being at a school a farther to the north.

 

[docbill]

I believe UNECOM has Fail/ PAss/ and High Pass.
So a fail is Below a B average. Pass is B and High Pass is an A.

I was told that you get a percentage on your tests. But at the end it is Pass/ High Pass.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Does anyone know about the grading systems installed at schools? I heard UNECOM is pass/fail and PCOM has a ranking system. I would think that pass/fail programs would allow for a less competitive, more cooperative atmosphere in an environment that is already highly stressful. Also, I have a friend at Dartmouth med, which is pass/fail, that says everyone is cutthroat and type A. If this is the case at a school that is pass/fail, how are schools that rank? Any help on this topic would be great. Thanks

OSU-COM is just like a normal college:

A
B
C
D
F

There are very few people that are "cutthroat" here, however, since they will be quickly made fun of and beaten.

 

[LadyDoc]

OSU-COM is just like a normal college:

A
B
C
D
F

There are very few people that are "cutthroat" here, however, since they will be quickly made fun of and beaten.

KCUMB is pretty much the same, but we don't have any "D's" Everything is graded on the class average, with the standard deviation determining the letter grade cutoffs. There are a few gunners, but most everybody helps each other. The 2nd years have been really great too when it comes to helping the first years.

The gunners hide themselves away, so you don’t see or know them anyway.