Is My UG School That Weird?

[Temerit]

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I've been lurking around SDN for several months now and I just wondering about a couple things. I go to the University of Washington in Seattle and I've noticed that there are two things that are completely different here it seems than almost anywhere else.

- We have a quarter system (I thought more schools had quarters, but it seems like almost all posters here go to schools that are on the semester system)
- We receive grades on a 4.0 scale rather than letter grades (meaning you can get a 3.6 or a 3.2 in a class and then we have a chart that roughly equates these into letter grades)

The scale goes as follows:

A 4.0-3.9
A- 3.8-3.5
B+ 3.4-3.2
B 3.1-2.9
B- 2.8-2.5
C+ 2.4-2.2
C 2.1-1.9
C- 1.8-1.5
D+ 1.4-1.2
D 1.1-0.9
D- 0.8-0.7 Lowest passing grade.
E 0.0 Academic failure.
No credit earned.

Do these letter grade correspondents seem normal? I suppose so, because a B normally = 3.0 and C = 2.0 right?

Regardless these differences make it a bit harder to really understand what it means to get a 'B' or a 'C'

Also, how do curves commonly work at other schools?

Here in general Chemistry the average is set at a 2.6 and your grade is determined by your 'z score' which deals with how many standard deviations you are below or above the mean on assignments. In General Biology, Math, Physics, and General Chemistry I know the averages are set at around a 2.6 as well. Is this normal? Only 5% of the class gets a 4.0 and I think around only 15% gets a 3.6 or above.

Also, do people tend to get lower grades their freshman year than later on in college, or is there no way to generalize at all?

I think this might have ended up a bit long and with a ton of questions, but thanks in advance for any responses.

 

[235788]

lucky for you, this doesn't matter.


AMCAS corrects all letter grades to the appropriate grade point (A-=3.7, B+=3.3.. so on)

 

[Stumpyman]

I hate that grading scale, but that's why AMCAS has a standardized grading system. And it's not unusual to be on the quarter sytem.

 

[NickNaylor]

1) As Holy mentioned, the various academic schedule/grading schemes will be corrected by AMCAS when you put your transcript in your app. This isn't anything you need to worry about, but you can read about their conversion system online in the AMCAS manual if you're curious.

2) Your description of a curve is pretty common (unfortunately, IMO).

3) There's no way to generalize your performance. That said, all things being equal (i.e., no increases in effort) I would expect your grades to get worse as you progress through undergrad. Your courses get more difficult depending on your major. However, you'll adjust, so unless you intentionally slack off you should be fine.

 

[Oxygen206]

I went to UW...pm me if you have questions.

 

[Bro Dude]

I went to UW...pm me if you have questions.

Congrats on making it out of waitlist hell! 👍