<p>How is the courseload of Cornell? Are marks inflated or deflated? also, what mark do they consider an A, B, C, etc (i.e. 4, 3, 2, etc)? or is the grading system universal?</p>
<p>thanks! post your questions too!</p>
<p>It's in the course catalog. I believe an A+=4.3, A=4.0, A-=3.7, and so on (B+=3.3...B=3.0...).</p>
<p>Cornell Publishes the median grade and enrollment for every class with more that 10 students enrolled.
heres a link</p>
<p>"Transcripts and grade reports for undergraduate students shall indicate, along with the grade earned, the median grade given in the course and the course enrollment."</p>
<p>You can take a look and judge for yourself.</p>
<p>"More accurate recognition of performance may encourage students to take courses in which the median grade is relatively low."</p>
<p>The idea is to better reflect your performance in relation to the rest of the class.</p>
<p>In the classes at Cornell, how does a numerical average in a class equate to the letter grade you receive. Like if you got a 93 in the class would that be a B+, an A-, an A, or does it depend on teacher and class, thanks.</p>
<p>Welcome to the world of curved classes. The raw scores you receive on prelims and finals really don't mean squat. It's how you do in relation to the mean and what the mean is curved to that will ultimately determine your grade. </p>
<p>There are a few uncurved classes (not many) that will be graded similarly to high school classes.</p>
<p>Thanks norcalguy, so does that mean if my average were an 85 or something like that, but i was still the highest in the class i would get an A, but also if I had a 93, but was one of the lowest in the class it could be a D?</p>
<p>Exactly, but a 93 won't give you a bad grade in any class. Most science and engineering classes are graded on a curve, but most social sciences and humanity classes don't curve the class.</p>
<p>Most of the science courses have their means in the 60s and 70s, so a 93 will surely give you an A. However, it is never easy to score in 90s in any science course.</p>
<p>how is cornell for premeds? extremely cut-throat and low GPAs??</p>
<p>It is extremely cutthroat for pre-med. Well, at least for pre-med biology majors. They are the ones who get the "Look to the left. Look to the right." speech. But if you do make it, it's worth it. Cornell pre med students have an extremely high acceptance rate to the best medical schools in the country.</p>
<p>What's that look to the left and look to the right thing again? I heard about it before, but forgot...</p>
<p>because of Cornell's harsh curving policy, it tends to make students think twice about studying in groups...the biggest factor in giving Cornell it's "cut-throat" reputation. If everything is curved, then student's are more likely to study by themselves...after all, if you understand a concept better than any of your classmates, you are better off not telling them than sharing your info and having your grade thus drop. Curve's suck...</p>
<p>but I hear this is not necessarily true of all majors...the "look left/look right" thing I just explained mostly applies to pre-meds and engineering folks</p>
<p>If you're a biology major, at the beginning of the year, they will tell you to look to your left and then to your right, knowing that one of you will not make it.</p>
<p>I think the term "cutthroat" really gives a false impression of premed at Cornell. I'm premed (a biology major to boot) and, from my experience, I've found that students are extremely willing to help each other. I'm usually an independent studier but for organic chemistry I study with a variety of people. At the review sessions and such, I've see total strangers explaining things to each other all the time. Maybe it's not the norm, but based on my experience, that's what I've seen.</p>
<p>Yea, GPA's for premeds will be low. Intro bio and organic chem are great GPA deflaters.</p>
<p>"Look to your left. Now look to your right. The chances are only one of the three of you will [finish this course, graduate in four years, find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...]"</p>
<p>two word of advice:
1) go to class
2) go to office hours</p>
<p>fyi, you think cornell is tough? my bf's in medical school, and a 74 is FAILING. a 92 is an A but 91 is a B+. There's no curve, so it's all on you. just a little something to think about for all you wanna-be pre-meds (or soon to be)</p>
<p>Keep in mind that other colleges and grad. schools have profiles of colleges that will mention the competition. The fact you're asking this proves Cornell is known as a school w/ sometimes stiff competition in some fields. Colleges will also keep in mind the more likely grade inflation at Harvard and Princeton ;)</p>
<p>Wow, I can't wait to be a bio major next year! haha</p>
<p>YAYYY Bio!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>The whole thing about a 74 being an F in med school...welllll duh! I wouldn't be content with a doc who knew 74% of the procedure for brain surgery. LOL :p</p>