<p>You can change as many times as you like before you officially enroll. After that, you get one free change before you reach the 60 hour mark. After that change, or after sixty hours, you must petition individual schools to admit you, which isn’t usually a problem if you have a decent GPA.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It obviously isn’t a written policy. You’ve never seen a professors grade distribution just tank after several semesters of favorable grading? This happens in engineering.</p>
<p>My son is taking physics at GA tech and just got his grade on his first quiz today. In spite of studying a lot, he got a 56 (the class average was 60)! I am really worried that he will fail the course if he gets grades like this. Is this normal for GA tech and do they curve the grades any? If so, how much do they curve? Do you experienced Techies have any advice on what he can do to improve (besides studying hard, which doesn’t seem to have done the trick this time)?</p>
<p>He can’t fail the average student, now can he? So the professor will have to curve. How much he’ll curve depends on the professor and the distribution of grades, but with a 56 and an average of 60 in 2211, I’d say he’s probably around a C.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>First, if he stopped referring to people as “Techies”, he’d probably be invited to more study groups. Second, he needs to develop a more fundamental understanding of the topic. He can study his brains out, but unless he’s studying efficiently, it’s useless. Has he gone to office hours? Does he really understand the homework? Is he reading the book?</p>
<p>After reading this thread and the comments about curves and grades, I did a little Google search on Physics 2211 and found this website called KNETWIT. The link below takes you directly to KNETWIT’s location for GT’s Physics 2211 and notes from one of the professors. </p>
<p>The site appears to offer a lot of study options such as making flash cards, online study groups, generating quizzes. </p>
<p>I would be interested in feedback regarding the accuracy of the material presented as part of the downloadable lectures and if this fits into the “honor code” of GT.</p>
<p>[Get</a> Notes for 2211 at Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus on Knetwit.com](<a href=“http://www.knetwit.com/courses/4701]Get”>http://www.knetwit.com/courses/4701)</p>
<p>Agree with GP, he probably isn’t studying as hard or effectively as you think. One of the hardest things to do when studying fresh out of high school is to realize when you are only gaining a superficial understanding of the topics. “Oh, I’ll remember how to do that on a test” won’t suffice.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I can’t see the notes without registering, but it looks like it’s just a student that scanned his class notes, in which case I assume it’s accurate.</p>
<p>This sort of activity is not against GT’s honor code. In fact, it’s so common it has a name (“word”). The fraternities, sororities, and some organizations (especially the international student organizations and honor societies) have decades worth of word from past members. In those organizations, it’s expected that you copy (or these days scan) your work at the end of each semester. Faculty know that these things are out there, so to prevent an unfair situation, most faculty freely distribute notes, homeworks, and exams from previous semesters.</p>
<p>The advantage to the students is that they have more resources from which to study, they have an idea of how professors write exams before walking in (this is especially important for the first exam), and students have a way to self-assess their knowledge (the idea of superficial understanding vs. fundamental understanding mentioned by gthopeful).</p>
<p>What is a violation of the GT honor code is if the professor specifically tells students that he or she isn’t releasing an exam, and a student smuggles one out of the room.</p>