<p>I feel like such a grade grubber just for writing this, but I have heard some horror stories of people's GPAs being slaughtered by studying abroad. I am a neuroscience major who is looking to studying abroad in the UK for my spring semester junior year (england, ireland, scotland, etc) but I am scared of how it will affect my GPA (I'm applying to medical school) if my credits do transfer as more than pass/fail. </p>
<p>My study abroad office says that it really depends with the program. I've been trying to do research on schools and am interested to what everyone's experiences were. I was looking at Kings, Leeds, Uni. Sussex, Uni. of Edinburgh just to name a few. Obviously I am not going to choose a college just for a GPA boost, but I want to know what I am getting myself into!</p>
<p>So, anyone who has studied abroad in the UK: Where did you go? How was your GPA affected? Was it easy to manage your time wisely? How did the class difficulty compared to your UG in the states?</p>
<p>My D is a Junior double neuroscience/psychology major who did a study abroad fall semester at UCL. In her case, the courses she took were counted towards her neuro/psych degree as transferred credits but they did not change the GPA she had before she left. In other words, the GPA she had after the UK studies remained the same as before her studies, regardless of the grades she received (as long as they we passing grades). This is the policy of her school, and may be because the UK schools grade differently (at least UCL). One receives a 1st level, an upper 2nd, lower second, 3rd, or a fail. A top 1st level is a grade is above 75 IIRC, and difficult and impressive to achieve. It’s not a percentage…I think it was out of 80 or so. There are no letter grades.</p>
<p>You may want to inquire about how they deal with the GPA at your school.
Also, in her program courses, there were no exams, but the grade in each course was based on two research papers (one about 5000/6000 words , the other about 8000 words). There was great deal of independent reading and from those readings, the paper topics were chosen based one’s particular interest gleaned from those readings, and further reading of articles was then expected in that specialty. The papers were then evaluated by two sets of evaluators. Also, there was not just one instructor, but various profs who were specialized in particular areas of each course.</p>
<p>As far as managing time wisely, one needs to be very self motivated and independent to do the readings, and prepare for the papers. </p>
<p>Hope this helps. D had a wonderful and very rewarding semester.</p>
<p>This question is impossible to answer as it depends on how your US school interprets any grades you receive in the UK. As Sequoia has already detailed above, the UK has an utterly different grading system. Direct translation of UK percentages into US GPA would definitely ruins your GPA. So I wouldn’t go for a program which did that. There are several ways of “grade translation”. You might take your UK grades back to the US where they apply some kind of formula to “translate” them, or you might be given US style grades in the UK (wouldn’t recommend. Grading is considerably harsher here).</p>
<p>Class difficulty depends on your year of entry really. Remember that UK students only study one subject. So if you take 3rd year psychology, the other students will likely have been concentrating solely on psychology for 2 years already, plus before that they will have done 2 years of A-level psychology. In which case you will almost certainly be very far behind the class. However, it is my experience that most study abroad programs place students in a first year (freshman) class, which would be easier.</p>
<p>Again already explained by Sequoia, in the UK you have to do a lot more independent study. Also a lot of writing. UK style essays are very different from US style. The same with exams. In essay exams you get a blank piece of paper and 3-4 hours to write about one question. It is unusual for study abroad students to have to take these exams, but if you do, I advise you to do a lot of past papers and get some guidance from tutors beforehand if you can.</p>
<p>I get PMs all the time from people telling me study abroad has ruined their GPA. It’s great that you are researching this now. But it is 100% dependent on your program.</p>
<p>^ Agree with everything cupcake says, except to note that the 3/4 hours to do one question exam is now rather rare in the UK. Only at Cambridge?</p>
<p>3 questions in 3 hours is still very common though.</p>
<p>Keepittoyourself never heard of doing one question in an exam anywhere, cupcake may be confused here 'tis usually three hours for two three or four questions.</p>
<p>Another note is that in the UK, much more of your grade is going to come from your final exam. For example, I’m doing 3rd year maths and physics at Edinburgh. In my maths courses, three of them are 95% exam, and 5% coursework, one is 100% exam, one is 85% exam, and on is 75% exam. In physics, 4 of my courses are 90% exam, and the other two are 100% exam. You have to make sure you do all the tutorial work and study outside of your courses, because if you screw up the exam, you don’t have a lot to fall back on.</p>
<p>That said, if you’re willing to work hard, you should easily be able to keep up your grades.</p>
<p>I think I know the Cambridge system, I have some excellent sources of information at Cambridge, and I have been informed that such an option, while a technical possibility is, in reality for those for **** up their dissertation, which in reality, nearly all philosophers do…perhaps you were NOT aware of this reality. Nonetheless congratulations you found a single, minor, unusual example to prove your ‘point’, while showing limited knowledge of the practical way in which the rules are put into effect. From your claim of ‘many’ humanities, to a single, minor example is something of a comedown. The exam system at Cambridge, is, I am sure, based around three hour multi question papers</p>
<p>Azarimanka, you seem to be a positive wealth of “information” about the UK on these boards. It’s a shame that most of what you say seems to be utterly invented. I wonder how you can be so sure you know so much about the UK?</p>
<p>Keepittoyourself, I had not heard of one and still have not - I acknowledge it is a possibility, but one rarely exercised, a, as it were, last resort. </p>
<p>Dreaming: What have I made up, I rest assured I know a little more than you of the UK, where I have resided a fair time.</p>
<p>My dear, how charming, sadly, I have lived in London for twenty years…so, you can retract your comment, tell me where,as you claimed I invented stuff, and tell me what you know of the UK education system given your profile states ‘uva 14’
Doubt not that which you know not.</p>
<p>I think we can all agree that such exams may or may not exists. As none of us have sat one of them (except possibly Cupcake) it is very silly to argue about it, since no one has been to every university in the UK and can definitely say they don’t exists.</p>
<p>I will admit that in this situation I don’t know the right answer. But in terms of general knowledge of the UK education system including applying to both UK and US universities, I know a LOT more than you.</p>
<p>Right. Because I have never been through UCAS (did so, five offers, currently at Cambridge) nor have I ever applied to the US, OK. Again, doubt not what you know not. I’m sure, being at an American university, you indeed know more about the practicalities concerning attendance at such an institution. Yet, you will note, that I have, and intend to, confine myself to this particular sub forum answering questions where, I suspect, my expertise is greater. Now kindly keep your ignorance to yourself, Dreaming92.</p>
<p>Well, I certainly hope you are enjoying studying at an English institution. Note how I do not say British. Because you are in neither Scotland nor Wales nor N. Ireland.</p>
<p>But nonetheless it remains British. Fact of the matter is that whilst English, it is also British, and I would, were I asked, refer to it as British rather than English, because I believe, as should people in Britain, in a United Kingdom.</p>