Higher than class average, but...

[Ragtime]

Has anyone ever taken a class in which you were top ranked but still have a C in the class? For example, I got a C on a test 72 and I was very disappointed; however, when I checked the class averages, it was 50. So I have one of the highest grades in my class but this is going to kill my GPA. This sucks!

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[Dreamstoo]

Has anyone ever taken a class in which you were top ranked but still have a C in the class? For example, I got a C on a test 72 and I was very disappointed; however, when I checked the class averages, it was 50. So I have one of the highest grades in my class but this is going to kill my GPA. This sucks!

Yes it happened to me in a DO nonscience course. Studied about 60 hours a week on top of the class. I was top 50% of my class easily but our professor gave out a B+ to only tow students and lower grades to everyone else. I believe only two people got Bs and everyone got lower. It was a shame. Took a huge hit on my GPA but by graduation it will be smaller. However the class counted towards MD science which hurt me quite a lot. But I learned from my lessons and got solid grades the two advanced courses that were after it.

Hey dude I also read some of your previous threads. I really hope everything works out with you. I'm also been frustrated lately cause I had more Bs than usual last term.

 

[Ragtime]

Yes it happened to me in a DO nonscience course. Studied about 60 hours a week on top of the class. I was top 50% of my class easily but our professor gave out a B+ to only tow students and lower grades to everyone else. I believe only two people got Bs and everyone got lower. It was a shame. Took a huge hit on my GPA but by graduation it will be smaller. However the class counted towards MD science which hurt me quite a lot. But I learned from my lessons and got solid grades the two advanced courses that were after it.

Hey dude I also read some of your previous threads. I really hope everything works out with you. I'm also been frustrated lately cause I had more Bs than usual last term.

Your professor graded on a curve?? I wish my professor does that. I think it's crazy that in my class, the average is a D. I guess my professor has high expectations for us, so I need to work harder than I already do it seems.

Thank you man. I'm just doing the best that I can all the time, and I try not to beat myself up too much about it anymore. I used to get discouraged but now I look at it as a learning experience. We just need to keep working hard and we will get somewhere in life. Best of luck to you 🙂

 

[Mehd School]

I got the highest grade in a class of 50 in Cell Bio, an 89. Still got a B. He was a prick about it, too.

 

[manders31]

All my profs in undergrad graded on a curve except for one! He refused to and only 2 people in the whole class got an A. (I got a C+). So, I feel for you 🙂

 

[DrEnderW]

Yup. Went to a liberal arts schools that "didn't care about grades" in the chemistry department. Averages on exams were high Ds with no curve. You could be 10 points above the mean and have a C+ still. It was absolute agony.

 

[Mehd School]

Yup. Went to a liberal arts schools that "didn't care about grades" in the chemistry department. Averages on exams were high Ds with no curve. You could be 10 points above the mean and have a C+ still. It was absolute agony.

My chemistry department has a no curve policy. It was brutal. Especially when the university up the road 20 miles has kids getting A's in organic with 75%. People from my school started going to the easier school for organic and physics. The pre-med committee released a statement that they will refuse to write a letter for you if you went elsewhere for any science classes.

 

[Buckeye1992]

My orgos were curved slightly. I was top in my class and was getting like high 80s and was given A's. My gen chem was even more so, but that is because I was in Chem majors gen chem which is apparently a lot harder than regular gen chem. Other than that only one of my upper level bios ever curved and it was slight. Usually avgs at my school are low 70s in science classes

 

[WingsFan]

My school has a fair number of classes like this (most of the chem/biochem departments for some reason). When I talked to reps from a few schools about it, they mostly told me "we know your school does that and we expect applicants from there to have slightly lower gpas". So from what I hear med schools will give you a small break if it is a common thing at your school.

 

[Roxas]

Story of my life in O-chem. I was ranked 4th in my class of 60, ended up with a B+. I don't think there was ever a test average higher than 65%.

 

[mouster]

No curves here either. Strange, considering I went to a really small public school, but we had no curves while the bigger state schools had HUGE curves for orgo and physics. What I ended up doing was just living in the professor's office for the semester, haha.

 

[MPHOrtho13]

Yes... My undergrad's chem dept was brutal. If you did everything right on a page-long stoichiometry problem, but then you accidentally forgot to round your final answer into sig figs, the prof would give you 1 point out of 17 on that problem. I got a whopping 7% on my first quiz (average was 12%)-- I didn't even know it was possible to score that low. I eventually climbed up into the top 30% in the class and walked away with a D. When I asked the prof about it, he said that I should be grateful for my score and that I should drop pre-med. Gee, thanks.

I retook it at another prestigious institution. I didn't work nearly as hard and got an A in the class... And ironically, I learned a lot more in this "easier" class. Go figure.

Don't let difficult classes or harsh grading curves bring you down. It used to make me want to quit pre-med, but it's just part of the struggle. Just keep your eye on the prize, study wisely, join a study group, find a tutor, and don't be afraid to ask the prof for help. If you get a bad grade, you can always retake-- there are lots of affordable course opportunities out there. With persistence and hard work, you will achieve your goal. 🙂