Chemistry is easy when you do the homework because you can use your book or look at youtube to see how other people teach the topic. Chemistry is hard when you’re taking the test and people like me I get nervous change the answer at the last second. You see If people were to say “How do you define easy” instead of bringing my grades into the conversation…
I’m not even supposed to even take more chemistry classes. Meteorology only required ONE (General Chemistry). I chose to take more because I enjoyed it. To me is easy, but hard at the same time.
》》 To me is easy, but hard at the same time.《《
I think that sums up this whole thread.
D’s first semester was all A’s except for the B she sweated out in chemistry, a class she poured more into than all of the others combined. This was the class she wasn’t even sure she was going to PASS (based on her scores and the averages), so curving at the end definitely helped. As @albert69 has pointed out, curves do not automatically equal grade inflation - Cal is not known for being overly generous with its grading.
I have heard from parents of kids at several different colleges who all reported that their freshman chemistry is super tough and a definitely a weeder class. The problem is, it’s required for all kinds of majors, not just pre-med or pre-dental. If you have found chemistry to be an enjoyable subject matter, good for you. For others, it’s just an obstacle to climb over so they can move on. While a medical-based major may want to think twice about their choice if he/she fails this class, I don’t think it’s a death knell for other STEM kids that are required to take it. If D had not passed it, she would have retaken it.
OP: does getting a C vs. an A mean you are dumb? No. But if you don’t figure out how to pull yourself into the 2.0+ range, you either lack the intelligence to master the subject matter or refuse (consciously or unconsciously) to put in the time and effort to apply your smarts in a measurable way. D is not a genius, but she is willing to go to the lectures, discussions, study sessions, and camp out in the library in order to make the grades. Grinding: it’s not fun, but it is sometimes necessary. Smart people figure that out sooner than later.
Son finished his first semester in college. He said the exams average was about 50%. The class was definitely hard. Some of his friends thought they didn’t pass but the curve helped.
@albert69 "
Now, a response regarding the grades - curves do not equal grade inflation. Curves are used if the class is taught in a way where it virtually impossible to have a reasonable grade distribution. "
what does this mean? why would a class be taught so that it’s virtually impossible to get a reasonable grade distribution? whenever i take a class and get a B or A due to a curve i almost feel a bit cheated… as if i didn’t truly earn my grade because the hard average would have been lower…it’s knocked my self-confidence at times because i can’t tell if im actually decent, good, or if im just getting a pas because the average was so low.
and ive heard that cal is really known for grade deflation…how does that work exactly? do they just make the class harder or ? what are actual examples of grade deflation and inflation?
If you are getting weeded out in Chem and Orgo at a community college, sorry but med school is not in your future. At all.
I think OP was putting themselves in the “chem majors” category, not pre-med, though I could be wrong.
Relevant worries might still include transferring, graduating, and graduate school.
I just took post #2 to assume he or she may be pre med. Still…there were posts 6 and 7.
Re read post 12, and I think you may be right @bodangles. The OP thinks premed students go to easy schools for grade inflation.
Sure.
@otoribashi Sometime courses (like the engineering class I mentioned) are taught in a way to overload the students with information, so that they have to “sink or swim.” Getting a decent handle on say, 70% of the material may well put you at the top of the class, so getting an A or B isn’t at all undeserved.
@albert69 then shouldn’t you get a C because you only understood 70% of the material? not 80% or 90%? it feels like we’re learning to settle for less instead of doing our best
@otoribashi Not if it’s unreasonable to expect anyone in the class to understand 80% or 90% of the material. If you’ve got several people getting As, some more getting Bs, and some others getting Cs, then yes, curving might be unnecessary. But in the experience I had with an extensive curve, the highest person in the class had perhaps an 80%, barely. The tests in the class were far too long; no one could finish them. But many of the the people who did their absolute best, tried as hard as they could, and got at least some of the material (even though it was hard) generally did okay in the class. It takes a certain skill to teach a class so that it’s possible to get an A with a decent amount of effort, without making it too easy or hard. And it varies greatly by the student what they need to do to get an A. Don’t worry about it - I’m sure your grades are well deserved! 
@albert69 I also wonder sometimes if some profs load their tests with stuff to challenge the outlier students (those who are light years past the basic smart kid). Otherwise, those tippy top-end kids would be blowing through every test without a sweat.
@otoribashi There are studies with regard to the amount of A’s that are handed out by different colleges over time. Cal’s upward trend is not nearly as steep as some other top-end schools. I get it: it’s difficult to feel like you’ve mastered most of the material with a 70%. However, if the 1/3 of the test is stuff that was never gone over in lecture/discussion or in the reading material (IT HAPPENS - in college, high school), that 70% seems much more reasonable. If you are at an academically challenging college without rampant grade inflation, don’t beat yourself up - the curve is your friend.
^ Sometimes it isn’t totally stuff never gone over; it’s entirely possible to make a test with fair content, but far too long for the class period. That was the case for the most part in my class - hardly anyone finished the tests because they were so long. And yes, it did challenge the geniuses who skated through high school - I knew two of those.