I suspect this is specific to your college. The liberal arts profs seem to make it much harder to get an A if you are not a lib arts major.
Just read through this whole thread. Looks like a lot of intentional disagreement, and insistence on disagreement even with clarifications that disagreement was based on a presumptuous and incorrect reading of a post. And then pretty blatant arrogance calling others arrogant.
My two cents…
A lot of red herrings and/or everyone is partially right.
There are many examples of humanities types fulfilling area requirements for graduation by taking “science for non-science majors” or “math for non-STEM students.” There is no question that organic chem, some high level math class, or high level engineering course would trip up many a bright humanities student.
On the other hand, there are folks for whom those “extremely tough” STEM classes are relatively easy for them, and who avoid humanities classes like the plague because, while snagging a B or B+ might seem routine, getting an A or A- is not. For lack of better words, the humanities stuff can seem vaguer and fuzzier and some will have more trouble meandering in that ambiguity/ambivalence. A kid who absolutely loves philosophy may not grasp why some STEM kids avoid such areas vigorously.
And alas, there are kids (not my kids) who can ace orgo and the toughest courses for biomedical or electrical engineering AND write a stellar thesis on Foucault or Infinite Jest (AND win first chair in the symphony orchestra). And to those, I can only tip my cap.
What a dumb thread.
Maybe Marietta because of it’s Petroleum Engineering
Post #62, you are taking this thread too seriously.
Ehmm. What is STEM?
STEM =
Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics
With statistics, we can make pretty good predictions for a group, but it is inadequate at the individual level.
Here is an interesting study from Wellesley on grading inequalities. Take a look at figure 1 on p 191:
http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.28.3.189
Seems to confirm what the Duke study is saying.
We don’t have a common denominator- an objective and transparent admissions policy- then or now, to realistically answer that question.
" The liberal arts profs seem to make it much harder to get an A if you are not a lib arts major. "
How would they even know the majors of students in their classes?
Depending on the course registration system that the school uses, the student’s major (or undeclared) may be listed on the student roster for the course or the waitlist for the course. This may be useful when there are departmental policies on registration for the course or letting students into the course from the waitlist that depend on the student’s major (e.g. the department may choose to prioritize those whose majors require the course over all other students).
Whether instructors would actually apply different grading standards by major is entirely different, and probably uncommon.
I only heard grading standards apply to undergraduate level or graduate level, not majors.
Presidents??? Those bufoons!!!
There is a widespread and commonly accepted idea that any high achieving high school senior will find their best educational future at an Ivy League Institution. However, often overlooked are small, private Liberal Arts colleges that can provide an equal (if not morevaluable) education for nearly the same price. The top Liberal Arts Colleges include Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Claremont Mckenna, Harvey Mudd, Haverford, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Williams Colleges.
Enjoyed the article, the stats and some of the discussion.
Love that Washington and Lee is on the list since this is where my youngest is starting in the Fall.
Would like to see Babson College considered for the list, but, like US News and World Report and Forbes, this study also leaves the powerhouse entrepreneurial college off the list due to the school being focused on just one major: Business Management (with several concentrations available). My oldest is a rising senior at Babson. Last summer she worked directly for a VP at Marriott Corporate HQ, this summer she has a consulting internship where she is getting real face time with clients, and in the Fall, through Babson’s MCFE program, she is doing consulting for a major Boston company. Oh, and Babson is ranked #1 in ROI and I think 3rd for their career services office and, of course, #1 in Entrepreneurial studies (20+ years)! (Also, if memory serves, an average $62k first year salary!) Babson’s 1 major blows away the ivy’s and many other highly ranked schools on so many levels!!!
This study, like the Payscale one of a few years back, makes numerous assumptions and projections. Payscale if I recall, was SELF-REPORTED income (gee, had I gone to Harvard, wonder if I’d inflate my actual pay?!). Researchers tend to be over-educated products of elite colleges - has anyone studied the predisposition of researchers? Most state schools are poor, several in the mid-Atlantic and New England notwithstanding, but I’ve seen no statistically-relevant study that suggests an excellent state school - Penn State for example (WSJ survey - #1 school in the US for recruiters) - produces a career with less total income than a $60k Ivy. Does a second-grade teacher from Columbia earn a lot more than a second-grade teacher from AZ State, ten years into his career? My guess is heck no.
Once Sally Student takes her first job - and the Harvard sheepskin may help her start at a slightly higher level - her second employer really only wants to know what she accomplished with her first, not where she went to college. Save your money, go to a high grad-rate state university (see ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ for rates) and kick-butt at your first job. Less debt, more happiness.
Sure, you can see it when the students first register for the class. But they’re not going to remember it when they’re grading students’ papers. Many professors grade students’ papers blind anyway - you put your name on a cover sheet that the professor flips over when they stack it.