<p>^^^ yeah my school has luckily decided not to punish us for stupid homework assignments the last couple of years. it’s called “formative assessment” the only things that matter are tests/quizzes.
I suppose thats like college, you get your grade based on exams</p>
<p>katyx3, I was the same way in high school. So yes, in short, you will have to put a little more effort to maintain your good grades in college courses.</p>
<p>XU, i figured it would be that way. Good to hear someone else was in the same boat.</p>
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<p>You don’t mess up. How did you not mess up on the SAT? It’s the same thing–you don’t blow off a final when it’s worth 40% of your grade. Also, many classes (especially STEM classes) are curved , so a 50% is usually a C. Perfection is not expected, so you don’t really “mess up” unless you didn’t understand the fundamentals. </p>
<p>Also, your GPA isn’t really relevant in college unless you are pre-law (!) or pre-med (sort of important). Otherwise, your goal should be to maintain a 3.5+, your requirement is to maintain a 3.0+ (for many jobs), and the rest is just you learning for fun. No one will reject your job application if you have a 3.5. No one will hire you if you have a 4.0 and nothing else.</p>
<p>To answer the original question: my GPA jumped over half a point, but I went to a top boarding school and I slacked in hs.</p>
<p>Usually if there are only a couple exams in a class per semester, there are big projects or papers to add more grades. Besides, even if you do terrible on one test, most professors are willing to negotiate your grade and give you opportunities to raise it as long as you can show them that you really are trying, and they are usually willing to help you adjust how you study for their tests in order to do better on the next one.</p>
<p>^Where do you go to college?? Grades aren’t negotiable if you go to a school where grade inflation isn’t rampant.</p>
<p>Most of the more difficult courses at least at my school allows you to replace one of your bad midterm grades with your final’s grade, but it is not common for someone to pull this off unless they try quite hard.</p>
<p>I did much better freshman yr of college than high school but I did go to a community college so i don’t know if that’s easier than a university. </p>
<p>I graduated high school with like a 3.0, which is so embarrassing to think about now. First semester of college i had a 3.6 and second semester i got 3.2. My cumulative was 3.4 i think. I could have done much better second semester but i didn’t try hard and had my goal set at 3.0 or better for that semester cause i was transferring schools anyway. </p>
<p>I’m going to MSU this fall and hopefully i can do just as well or better than how i did at the CC</p>
<p>I go to Xavier, and our professors acknowledge when we are trying and want to help us succeed. So if you discuss it with the professor, usually some type of extra credit can be negotiated, or at the very least they will help you study more efficiently for their next test, or help you improve on your writing for their next paper. My sister has had a similar experience at Kent State.</p>
<p>^I go to a big state school (wisconsin) and have a very different experience. Obviously, most professors will help you if you’re struggling. But grades are based on merit, not effort. You can’t boost grades inexplicably, at least as far as I know.</p>
<p>Our professors are pretty personally invested in the success of their students as individuals. It was the same way at my high school too; no one wanted you to fail, so long as you were really trying and something was just not clicking. In my experience, given the resources and time, most teachers and professors truly want to help their students suceed, and want to get the information to click and actually mean something. It means their class was worth something, and that someone actually got something out of it.</p>
<p>I’m not saying professors will just change your grade to a C to a B just because you tried, but if you talk to them, most of them are willing to help you excell in the rest of their tests and assignments for the semester and bring your grad up on your own. Again, it may simply be that you don’t understand the material or how to go about studying, but it is their job to help you understand the material and be able to be tested on it…though it is not their job to seek you out to do so.</p>
<p>^^No one doubts that many profs care about their students and will help set them on the right track if they’re struggling (for non-research lecturers in particular, salaries often depend on student evaluations)…But that means reviewing the material in office hours or holding extra review sessions for students; not offering them an opportunity to improve their grade through trivialities.</p>
<p>I understand that certain students don’t excel in exam situations, and a professor or school may accommodate them. That’s great. But if you have no unique disability or disadvantage, then a good exam will identify if you know the material or not. If you can’t answer an exam question, then you probably just don’t know the material. Review it.</p>
<p>It’s especially nonsensical to change student grades in a curved class.</p>