Hard Class vs GPA : Admissions

[usi]

On the Hard Class Spirit of this week...
Does anybody know if Admission Committees look at GPA in the context of how hard are the classes one takes?
A hypothetical example, a student with a 3.5 GPA in a good university, taking hard science classes as electives should look better that a 4.0 at a community college, taking easy electives, like pottery?


Your thoughts?

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[bananaface]

Most places would go for the hard science at a 3.5. They may or may not care about community college vs. university.

 

[usi]

Most places would go for the hard science at a 3.5. They may or may not care about community college vs. university.

Thank you Bananface. I am honored you answered me, since you are kinda celebrity around here....

 

[voskoboy]

That is actually the opposite at NSU. They seem to accept more students from the community colleges nearby than their OWN UNDERGRADUATE DEPT! This may seem odd but we have yet to find out the underlying reason....

 

[DHG]

On the Hard Class Spirit of this week...
Does anybody know if Admission Committees look at GPA in the context of how hard are the classes one takes?
A hypothetical example, a student with a 3.5 GPA in a good university, taking hard science classes as electives should look better that a 4.0 at a community college, taking easy electives, like pottery?


Your thoughts?

I was interviewing at UT Memphis last week... the dean there specifically said that they value (for example) a B at a 4-year college over an A at a community college. He went on to say, though, that he was not knocking community colleges, just that the statistics they had access to showed that students who did relatively well in science courses at 4-year institutions did better at Pharmacy school than those that took the credits at community colleges. So, yes. I think AdComs do take notice of this sort of thing.

 

[Smilescali]

I was interviewing at UT Memphis last week... the dean there specifically said that they value (for example) a B at a 4-year college over an A at a community college. He went on to say, though, that he was not knocking community colleges, just that the statistics they had access to showed that students who did relatively well in science courses at 4-year institutions did better at Pharmacy school than those that took the credits at community colleges. So, yes. I think AdComs do take notice of this sort of thing.

I agree with you that most classes are harder at a 4 -year university, but they also have a curve right? Most community colleges that I have attended do not believe in grading curves. When I went to USC (right out of high school), I thought that the grading was easier, but the tests were harder. Now I am taking Organic Chemistry at a community college and the grading is much harder (what you get on a test is what you get for a grade). Only two people are in the "A" bracket while most are in the low C or D range. The funny thing is that about half of our class is from UCSD/ Cal State and they thought that taking O-Chem at a community college would be the easy way out. The weird thing is that majority of those students are barely passing the class, in theory they should be doing much better than the average community college student, but that is far from reality. Maybe Organic chemistry is the exception.

 

[ButlerPharm.D.]

As my Organic Chem professor once said, "It's Organic, anything that can happen will and it will mess up your life." Those are definitely words to live by in terms of Organic Chemistry!

 

[ultracet]

I agree with you that most classes are harder at a 4 -year university, but they also have a curve right? Most community colleges that I have attended do not believe in grading curves. When I went to USC (right out of high school), I thought that the grading was easier, but the tests were harder. Now I am taking Organic Chemistry at a community college and the grading is much harder (what you get on a test is what you get for a grade). Only two people are in the "A" bracket while most are in the low C or D range. The funny thing is that about half of our class is from UCSD/ Cal State and they thought that taking O-Chem at a community college would be the easy way out. The weird thing is that majority of those students are barely passing the class, in theory they should be doing much better than the average community college student, but that is far from reality. Maybe Organic chemistry is the exception.

they didn't tell my professors that there was supposed to be a curve when i was in undergrad......

 

[Smilescali]

they didn't tell my professors that there was supposed to be a curve when i was in undergrad......

I am not sure, that is why I was asking if a curve is the norm at 4-year universities. When I was at USC majority of my classes were curved and according to my classmates ( and my cousin who is a professor at UCSD) a curve is the norm at UCSD especially in the sciences. Maybe these schools are the exception and not the rule.

 

[bananaface]

Thank you Bananface. I am honored you answered me, since you are kinda celebrity around here....

LOL. Thanks.

I am going to start answering more of the prepharm threads when I have time. I was on burnout for awhile. Now I kind of feel like I have gotten out of touch with some of the students arount here.

 

[usi]

LOL. Thanks.

I am going to start answering more of the prepharm threads when I have time. I was on burnout for awhile. Now I kind of feel like I have gotten out of touch with some of the students arount here.

Welcome back!
I am kinda new and already fighting the SDN addiction!