POLL: Grading system of your school

[rjgennarelli]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I am just curious about this as the AMCAS includes many different ways of computing GPA according to the school's grading system

Edit: just wanted to note that I left out A-, which would be a 3.7 in the +/- system. Sorry

 

[Shredder]

unbelievable, you guys with the + or +- systems are so lucky, base grades are horrible. can you imagine getting an 89 and being placed on the same level as someone who gets an 80? im sure this wont even be taken into consideration in apps either. well no im not sure but i suspect. no wonder everyones gpa is so high.

 

[beatla19]

Shredder, are you serious? It goes both ways. All your 90% 4.0's become 3.7's for us. I would LOVE to have a base system.

 

[dr.z]

I guess all systems have ups and downs. I've always had +/- at any school I attended.

 

[DrBowtie]

The only downfall to the +/- system at my school is that an A+ is a 4.0 not a 4.3. Granted few make A+'s but there still should be incentive to go that extra step.

 

[Shredder]

Shredder, are you serious? It goes both ways. All your 90% 4.0's become 3.7's for us. I would LOVE to have a base system.

yeah i originally thought only an A+ would be a 4.0 and a 90 would be a high 3. but according to the poll its not like that, so thats why i was shocked and appalled. it wouldnt seem fair at all. someone else is mentioning a 4.3 now. why werent these things made better known when i was deciding on which undergrad to attend?

 

[riceman04]

unbelievable, you guys with the + or +- systems are so lucky, base grades are horrible. can you imagine getting an 89 and being placed on the same level as someone who gets an 80? im sure this wont even be taken into consideration in apps either. well no im not sure but i suspect. no wonder everyones gpa is so high.

You can also say that to get a 3.0 all you need is an 80 (at those other schools that only use base grades), or a 90 for 4.0
-it works both ways longhorn!!!!!!

We had A+ 's at my alma mater (GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OWLS!!!! TUCK FEXAS), but it does not help on the AMCAS app. b/c you have to recalculate your grades according to their standards.

 

[Kazema]

I love base grades. It lets you appear perfect when you are actually not.

 

[tomorrowgirl99]

We have the +/- grading system, but only certain professors use it. Most just use the base grading system. What sucks is that we have a+, but it doesn't count for anything. An A and A+ still are both 4.0.

 

[DarkFark]

I feel sorry for anyone with the + only system, since AMCAS recognizes all your hard earned 3.5s as 3.3s. That stinks- for many, I imagine that lops up to .1 strait off your GPA, and all because your school calls an intermediate grate bewteen an A and a B a B+. If only your school used the A/AB/B/BC system- then you'd get to keep that .2, even though its effectively the same thing.

 

[wetlightning]

I feel sorry for anyone with the + only system, since AMCAS recognizes all your hard earned 3.5s as 3.3s. That stinks- for many, I imagine that lops up to .1 strait off your GPA, and all because your school calls an intermediate grate bewteen an A and a B a B+. If only your school used the A/AB/B/BC system- then you'd get to keep that .2, even though its effectively the same thing.

weird....how different is the amcas gpa from your actual one, typically?

i'm on the +/- system, and quite a few A-'s and B+'s have buffered my gpa --- how are those figured in with amcas?

you guys are so much better informed!!!

 

[gujuDoc]

Frankly, even if a school has a +/- system, there is the fact that you must take into account that not all teachers will use the system. For instance, some classes use the system, and others have had base grades only. Some classes have had 85 as an A, and others have strict 10 point cut off's where only 90 or above is an A.

It is really subjective and depends on the class and teacher.

Some classes use a bell curve in which only 10% of the class affords an A, based on competition with each others, and others have a straight scale. Some have extra credit opportunities, while others don't. We have a lot to take into account with GPA related matters. Some make classes super easy to get an A in, and others make it a very challenging course, i.e. multiple choice vs. essay tests. open book vs. true tests. Different things to take into account when considering how gpa factors in overall. So don't assume that a school that uses +/- necessarily means that every single class uses the system.

 

[tigress]

Frankly, even if a school has a +/- system, there is the fact that you must take into account that not all teachers will use the system. For instance, some classes use the system, and others have had base grades only. Some classes have had 85 as an A, and others have strict 10 point cut off's where only 90 or above is an A.

It is really subjective and depends on the class and teacher.

Some classes use a bell curve in which only 10% of the class affords an A, based on competition with each others, and others have a straight scale. Some have extra credit opportunities, while others don't. We have a lot to take into account with GPA related matters. Some make classes super easy to get an A in, and others make it a very challenging course, i.e. multiple choice vs. essay tests. open book vs. true tests. Different things to take into account when considering how gpa factors in overall. So don't assume that a school that uses +/- necessarily means that every single class uses the system.

While it's true that at my school some classes were easy to get an A in and others were incredibly hard or even impossible (and that's almost definitely true everywhere), in my school all professors used the +/- system, and as far as I remember they all used the same cutoffs for grades. So 90-93 was an A-, and 93 and above was an A. I had a few of those 92.5 A- grades, which always sting a little. And I think 87-89 was B+. No A+.

I'm not sure if this is unusual, that all the professors used the same system, but it was good because we always knew what to expect with the grading. I don't think I'd be so happy if different teachers had different systems.

Speaking of impossible courses, how many people had a course at their school that they had to take but was known to never give A's? At my school, speech communication was a required class, and since it's a small school, there are only 2 professors. One of the two teaches exactly one section of the course, and the other teaches like five. So basically everybody takes this one professor, who has been known to give like two A's in her entire career. It was an extra B in my last semester of college that I was pissed about, because for another teacher the work I did would have been worth an A. Of course if I had done less she would have given me a C!

 

[gujuDoc]

While it's true that at my school some classes were easy to get an A in and others were incredibly hard or even impossible (and that's almost definitely true everywhere), in my school all professors used the +/- system, and as far as I remember they all used the same cutoffs for grades. So 90-93 was an A-, and 93 and above was an A. I had a few of those 92.5 A- grades, which always sting a little. And I think 87-89 was B+. No A+.

I'm not sure if this is unusual, that all the professors used the same system, but it was good because we always knew what to expect with the grading. I don't think I'd be so happy if different teachers had different systems.

Speaking of impossible courses, how many people had a course at their school that they had to take but was known to never give A's? At my school, speech communication was a required class, and since it's a small school, there are only 2 professors. One of the two teaches exactly one section of the course, and the other teaches like five. So basically everybody takes this one professor, who has been known to give like two A's in her entire career. It was an extra B in my last semester of college that I was pissed about, because for another teacher the work I did would have been worth an A. Of course if I had done less she would have given me a C!

See I would have preferred it if our school had the same scale in all classes. however, our school loves to leave it up to the professor, so it is pretty subjective.

As per AMCAS GPA, it is different because of a couple of factors:

3.3 = B+ not 3.33
3.7 = A- not 3.67
likewise,
2.3 not 2.33 = C+
2.7 not 2.67 = C-

Secondly, retaken grades = averaged in not any grade forgiveness accounted for.

 

[gujuDoc]

weird....how different is the amcas gpa from your actual one, typically?

i'm on the +/- system, and quite a few A-'s and B+'s have buffered my gpa --- how are those figured in with amcas?

you guys are so much better informed!!!

Read my post above this one.

 

[wetlightning]

Read my post above this one.

thanks! is a B still 3.0?

 

[CanIMakeIt]

thanks! is a B still 3.0?

Yes all the grades without +/- remain as such

A = 4.0
B = 3.0
C = 2.0

and so on....

 

[PMinty44]

I am just curious about this as the AMCAS includes many different ways of computing GPA according to the school's grading system

I chose the first option, although that's not entirely correct. At Brown, we have two grading systems:

(1) A/B/C/NC (no credit) - anything below a C is No Credit....as it should be (in my opinion)...does one really deserve credit for a D? I think not.

(2) the S/NC (Satisfactory/No Credit). If you get the equivalent of a C or above, you get an S. If below, you get an NC.

You can choose to take any or all of your classes S/NC (if you applying to grad schools, you are careful not to do this much). Some classes are actually mandatory S/NC (like lower-level English courses, some of the Theatre courses, etc).

 

[Prophecies]

That sounds the same as a P/F system. I think most colleges offer at least some of the classes as P/F...for example, for our bio degree (yuck...not my major) you have to take Cal II, but instead of receiving a grade you can opt to take it P/F. I believe that is the same as S/NC...regardless, I hate how we have A and A-, but no A+. My undergrad can kiss my @$$.

 

[skiracer90]

We just switched to the +/- system this year. My first 3 years consisted of A, AB, B, BC, C...

It sucked when you got a 93 and that was considered the same grade as an 88. Complete BS.

 

[skiz knot]

Wworsee just switched to the +/- system this year. My first 3 years consisted of A, AB, B, BC, C...

It sucked when you got a 93 and that was considered the same grade as an 88. Complete BS.

Is that any worse than an 90 being "better" than an 89?

 

[skiracer90]

Is that any worse than an 90 being "better" than an 89?

I think so because with the 90 receiving an 'A-', you still get the A. In fact, you have 10 points to get in that 'A' range. However, with the A/AB system, you don't have those 10 points...you have only 7. An AB is a 3.5 whereas an A- is a 3.75. It brings down the student who usually gets 90s-93s for grades.

 

[rjgennarelli]

in my opinion, the +/- system is the most accurate representation of one's performance. It provides a grade breakdown that is more "continuous" than that of the + system, and the base grades system.

 

[QofQuimica]

My undergrad was completely sat/unsat, no letter grade option. Best part is, if you ever unsat a class, it doesn't even show up on your transcript. 😛 Those of you who attend large universities for undergrad, you have my serious sympathy. Wow, it's a real mill, especially for the first two years.

 

[tigress]

My undergrad was completely sat/unsat, no letter grade option. Best part is, if you ever unsat a class, it doesn't even show up on your transcript. 😛 Those of you who attend large universities for undergrad, you have my serious sympathy. Wow, it's a real mill, especially for the first two years.

So do you even have an undergrad GPA? I've heard of a few schools like that. Sounds cool to me. But do you think you worked as hard as you would have with letter grades? As much as I like to be an idealist and think that I liked to learn in my college courses, at some point it just becomes about getting through the course, and I know I worked harder because I wanted to get the grade. If I just had to pass, I probably would have slacked off on some courses.

 

[QofQuimica]

So do you even have an undergrad GPA? I've heard of a few schools like that. Sounds cool to me. But do you think you worked as hard as you would have with letter grades? As much as I like to be an idealist and think that I liked to learn in my college courses, at some point it just becomes about getting through the course, and I know I worked harder because I wanted to get the grade. If I just had to pass, I probably would have slacked off on some courses.

Nope. I have an undergrad GPA of 0.00, and I'm proud of it. 😛 In all seriousness, yes, I worked my butt off. Because the profs had really high expectations of us, and many would unsat you for C-level work. But you are right, there is a big danger that people will slack off, and you get plenty of rope to hang yourself if you do slack. The attrition rate was 50%; a lot of people ended up dropping out of school because of too many unsats. (Even though the unsatted classes don't show up on your transcript, if you unsat too many classes, you'll unsat your academic contract, which means that you flunk for the entire SEMESTER, even if you did sat some classes. 😱 ) The program is one where students are expected to study independently and have a large hand in designing their own curriculum and educational experience. It's kind of like being in grad school, or also, Yale's med school program is pretty analogous to it, actually.

 

[tigress]

Nope. I have an undergrad GPA of 0.00, and I'm proud of it. 😛 In all seriousness, yes, I worked my butt off. Because the profs had really high expectations of us, and many would unsat you for C-level work. But you are right, there is a big danger that people will slack off, and you get plenty of rope to hang yourself if you do slack. The attrition rate was 50%; a lot of people ended up dropping out of school because of too many unsats. (Even though the unsatted classes don't show up on your transcript, if you unsat too many classes, you'll unsat your academic contract, which means that you flunk for the entire SEMESTER, even if you did sat some classes. 😱 ) The program is one where students are expected to study independently and have a large hand in designing their own curriculum and educational experience. It's kind of like being in grad school, or also, Yale's med school program is pretty analogous to it, actually.

New College? I remember considering applying there when I was in high school. Sounds like a cool program.

 

[QofQuimica]

New College? I remember considering applying there when I was in high school. Sounds like a cool program.

Yes. I really loved going there, although I have to say that the lack of grades, GPA, credit hours, and distribution requirements does make applying to medical school more complicated.

 

[tacrum43]

unbelievable, you guys with the + or +- systems are so lucky, base grades are horrible. can you imagine getting an 89 and being placed on the same level as someone who gets an 80? im sure this wont even be taken into consideration in apps either. well no im not sure but i suspect. no wonder everyones gpa is so high.

 

[NiteOwl]

The college I go to has base grades and I love it. I probably wouldn't go to an undergrad school that had +/-, because a lot of my A's are the lower 90 range and I want 4 points for it not 3.7. I mean I would be pissed if I got a 90 and recieved less than 4 points for it. Of course I also have B's that were in the high 80 range, so I would have gotten more than 3 points for that which would be great. I guess all the grades systems have a drawback.

 

[Shredder]

haha take your fiddle and shove it

 

[reddyroo]

University of Washington's standard grading system.

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

 

[tacrum43]

haha take your fiddle and shove it

It's a violin. Biotch.

 

[emusibay]

It's a violin. Biotch.

 

[willthatsall]

I think we with the + system have the best of both worlds. I get 4.0 with a 90, but I can still get 3.5 with an 85. Although that does vary widely between classes. A lot of teachers don't like that we don't have A-'s, so they set A at 93 and B+'s are like 88-92. Which means C's also start in the 80's. So whether the system helps or hurts really depends on how the teachers set them up. But for most of my science courses, A's start at 90, which is nice.