<p>How easy is it to get an A? a B? BTW, I am a molec.bio major (preparing for med.or pharm.school)
How generous are the courses to be curved?</p>
<p>It's not generous. Most pre med classes are curved to b-/c+. You have to work and I mean work to get a's/a-'s</p>
<p>As are usually reserved for the top 10%-25%, depending on the professor and the class. In classes filled with Pre-Med students, you can be sure getting an A or A- will be very tough. Bs are usually given the the next 25%-40% of the students, again, depending on the professor and the class. In general, most professors I had at Michigan graded on a 20-30-40-10 curve, where 20% got As, 30% got Bs, 40% got Cs and 10% got Ds and Fs.</p>
<p>So, even if you get a 93% on a course but as the top 40%, you get a C?</p>
<p>You won't get a C with a 93%.... He just means that typically 40% of the people in the class will get a C. If 40% of the students end up with a 93% in the class, then they will all get an A / it just means the class is "easier" than most other classes...Basically, if you're at the top of the curve and everyone is doing worse than you, its not going to affect you and if everyone is doing just about as good as you are, it still won't affect you.</p>
<p>Not quite, but when I took Differential Equations, the mean was like 94%, and anything under an 87 or 88 was indeed a C.</p>
<p>The mean was 94%? I'd say that's an easy class then... If the mean is that high - the only drawback is a very unforgiving curve but I've never worried about curves too much. (I can't ever remember a curve hurting my grade... or helping it out that much either). The main thing I've learned so far is that you just have to pay careful attention to the Professor's syllabus... cause its usually all up to the professor on how the grading scale will be determined.</p>
<p>DFQs are indeed not that difficult. It was not an easy class per se, but most of the students in that class knew their stuff. At that level, most students are pretty serious about the subject and there are very limited naswers to each question. Another class I took, Economics of Japan with professor Saxonhouse, was the opposite. The mean was around 40% and anything over a 48% was an A! LOL</p>
<p>in my orgo i class, the curve is set regardless of the mean. 80-100 is some kind of a, 60-79 is some kind of b, etc. Our class mean is 63 or something like that. I'm barely hanging on with an 81 lol so I hope to keep my a- which would be sweet.</p>
<p>This might be a stupid Q, but what's an orgo?</p>
<p>Organic Chemistry...one of the toughest intro classes at Michigan and a major weeder course. That's one of the classes that readjusts pre-med students' expectations. </p>
<p>Keep it up Nirvana. I will be pulling for you bro...even though you are not good at QB talent evaluation! LOL</p>
<p>Yeah orgo isn't that bad, like i like the material, but they are not nice when grading tests-i.e. very little opportunity for partial credit. Peyton Manning will always be superior to that biatch tom brady who will NOT win the superbowl. GO COLTS! GO PACERS ALSO! REGGIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>How hard are the orgo tests in Michigan? In my school, it is also known as the hardest intro course. The tests in orgo 1 in my univ. are all multiple choice, but a lot of times you have to choose from 8 choices. And the problems are lot harder than the ones in textbook. How is it like in Michigan?</p>
<p>LOL You are a funny guy Nirvana! Anyway, keep up the good work with Orgo. An A or A- in that class is something to be proud of.</p>
<p>The orgo tests are hard. There are only a couple of multiple choice questions per test (like 3 at the most), and they can be kind of tricky. Most of the problems are taken from recent research published in chemistry journals-so it's all application of concepts. They're extremely picky about drawings, like for chair conformations, i didn't make my equitorial postions slanted enough and missed points. Also, if you argue your grade they will regrade, but they regrade the whole test and specifically look to take off more points. This is only orgo I with good professors. Orgo II the professor is much worse and the class is so much harder.</p>
<p>Nirvana, don't scare me! I hate chemistry! I need happy thoughts-not evil ones!</p>
<p>For upper division biology/biochem and orgo courses, are the finals cumulative? And generally, in Michigan, are the finals cumulative?</p>