definitely agree with this, finals make most people sound like little girls pms-ing… well not too little i guess :rolleyes:</p>
<p>anyways, the curve really depends on the professor, im sure at every university you’ll find professors that curve everything to a B or B+, and you’ll find professor’s that doesn’t curve at all… its not really a matter of UCLA curves to C- while UCSB curves to B+ and everyone gets into better grad schools because of the curve… i think a certain things just shouldn’t be in the choice of college factor list and this would be one of them :D</p>
<p>@whitecadillac I meant my response in a rather humorous way, though I meant every word. You ARE posting a lot of threads, mainly about things that while may be important, I don’t see why it should be the deciding factors in picking a school.</p>
<p>The thing is, you come off looking a bit petty when all you care about is grades. (And before you say anything, yes, I’ve seen and even posted on your other threads relating to happiness and so forth.) I’m answering your questions the best I can, albeit with more commentary than necessary, but it just seems like you care more about having a 4.0 and “getting into grad school” than self-enrichment and actually learning. </p>
<p>(Oh, and please group future questions in one thread. People who have done this in the past, with rather similar questions to yours have been much more well-received.</p>
<p>@yahooo LOL. Probably true, but I actually feel quite relaxed around finals. No homework I can’t seem to do, no more additional material to realize I may be terrible at the things I like. <em>cough</em> <em>cough</em> chem <em>cough</em>.)</p>
<p>Wow. I allowed financial aid to be the deciding factor. It hurts to say that I gave up some top choices, but I’m content with this school. It’s kicking my butt, simple as that, and I like that I’m learning a lot. Self-enrichment for the win, although it does hurt when your first math prof has a difficulty rating of 8.02 on BruinWalk and you need to ask your friends to hold you to calm you down when all seems cold and bleak…</p>
<p>Grad schools know that not all schools are created equal. The grad admission committee know that places like MIT, Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley, etc. are competitive so sometimes you’re not at the top of the class. More importantly, GPA is just a factor of the whole admission package. I’m positive that grad school would take a 3.5 GPA with significant research experience over a 4.0 with mediocre research. You’ll also have to consider the letters of recommendations and statement of purpose. Grad school is not a numbers game like undergraduate. If you’re serious about grad school or professional school then you should take the time to actually Google information on how they determine admissions.</p>
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<p>If you get a 97% in physics class and get a B+ as a final grade then there are two possible scenarios.</p>
<p>Case 1: The class average was too high, which means that the majority of the students got something near a 97%. Also many others may have had 97.5%, 98%, 99% 100%, and maybe even higher than that. It’s possible that someone to get >100% because the professor may change the grading on an exam (i.e. decide to omit an exam problem after the fact) but decide to give the extra credit to the students that actually got that problem and the rest of the exam correct. It has happened here.</p>
<p>Case 2: The professor may only give out a small number of A’s, which means that if your friend was not in that range then he lucked out. </p>
<p>The truth is that it’s hard to know what the curves are like in any class so how do you expect to know what the curve is for a whole school? For example, EE 110 with Prof. A gives 45% A’s where as EE 110 with Prof. B gives only 5% A’s. You also have to consider the difficulty of the exams and your competition. If the exams are too easy then a stupid mistake might just put you in the average, which could end up being 89%.</p>
<p>i couldn’t really care less about whether i get a 3.5 or a 4.0. to people who think i care only about grades…it’s laughable to me. it’s not the grades so much that are important to me but the workload. (i mean yeah grades are fairly important but i’m not fixated on getting a 4.0 by any means). if a class has an extremely harsh curve and i’m having to work endlessly and experiencing a ton of stress just to make a C…yeah that would kinda **** me off. like i’ve said on other threads, i’m not coming to college just to work. i want to learn as much as i can but not to the extent that i want to be someone who goes to college and just is locked up in his room working his ass off every hour of the day. nope, i want to get a full range of things out of my college experience: learning and work but also expansion of my extracurricular activities, developing friendships, getting practical career training or if not at least having time to work on my screenplays in my own free time, making connections in my field, joining student groups, getting involved with the school or community, and actually having some fun too! so yeah i AM gonna be concerned with a school like berkeley where it sounds like one has to work tirelessly and be stressed out all the time! just to get a decent grade. that’s not the experience i’m looking for. </p>
<p>and for those who say “you just have to visit and you’ll know”…that’s ridiculous to me. there are way more factors to consider than just one’s visceral reaction to a school upon visitation. it’s all the details about a place that truly determine one’s fit at a school. many people choose their college fairly arbitrarily (based on rankings or a perfunctory look at what the school offers or yes, a visit) and then realize that the school didn’t fit them, their academic needs, their social needs, or whatever the case may be. i’m so glad that i’ve asked as many questions as i have; they’ve immensely helped me understand better each college i’m applying to and even cross many of them off my list completely. </p>
<p>anyway thanks to those of you who have gave informative replies. every little bit helps. :)</p>
<p>^You aren’t going to be a south campus major, so you probably won’t encounter the “Study so much and get a C” scenario. This semester, my sister worked 3 jobs and is an English major and I think she is going to pull off an A or two and a B. I’m sure if you personally replace the work with EC’s, you could easily do the same and enjoy college. </p>
<p>I have yet to be in a class that had a reverse curve where 95 was the C, 96 was the B, 97 was the A, etc. Curves have helped me more than anything. When you see that you scored 45/100 on your exam and that’s a B+, you are kind of glad a curve exists.</p>
<p>@ OP:
Film or English major? You’re asking this question with genuine concern?
If you honestly thought this question applies to you, it doesn’t…
Chill out man. Two words. NORTH. CAMPUS.</p>
<p>I’m a transfer student trying to get into Berkeley as a Philosophy major, however, I am also fulfilling premed requirements. If I were accepted, would I be part of the north campus or south campus?</p>