<p>Hey Guys,</p>
<p>I have been asking around some freshman I know that are at UT Austin and most of them say its really really tough. The introductory "gpa killer" classes such as Calculus and Biology are not just the ones that are killing them but others as well. What makes the core curriculum so hard and why so? How hard exactly is it to get A's at UT? Do professors even care about the individual students?</p>
<p>Any insight is much appreciated</p>
<p>What do you mean it’s hard to get an A? I find it fairly easy to get an A if you put in the time and effort to learn the information.</p>
<p>Your grade really depends on your professor. In some classes a large number of students receive A’s while in others only a small number do. In most of the classes I have taken, your final grade letter grade is determined by how well you did compared to the rest of the class. For example, your final grade could be an 84, but if the class average is a 65, then you would likely receive an A in the class.</p>
<p>The core curriculum isn’t really hard. It’s more that students weren’t properly prepared in high school. For example, if you struggled with a basic concept in high school calculus such as anti-derivatives, then the chance of you doing well in M408D is slim…</p>
<p>The professors care or at least most of them do. If you go during office hours, then I’m sure they’ll be happy to help you. At least that’s what I’ve heard. I’ve never actually gone to officer hours lol. However, my chem teacher always mentions how lonely he is when only seven kids out of over two hundred visit office hours over the course of the entire semester…</p>
<p>I hope UT is academically rigorous, otherwise its time and money wasted! My S loves to learn new things. A repeat of material he has already seen would be a major drag!</p>
<p>Your grade depends on you. Are you prepared for the class? Do you do the work? Do you get help when its is needed? If you are accustomed to taking care of your own schedule and preparatory work, you will do fine in college. If not, your parent(s) have failed to adequately prepare you for life, much less UT Austin.</p>
<p>Freshmen weed out classes, 10-15% of the grades are As. How difficult it is to get an A is pretty relative. It depends on your academic capacity. Some people need to put in a lot of effort, others don’t.</p>
<p>Definitely hard overall since a lot of professors have implemented the +/- system. A 93 in physics/Ochem/Biochem in order to get an A sucks. :/</p>
<p>I’m gonna go with the non-PC answer here and say it depends more on the major than the individual.
From my experience, getting A’s in the College of Natural Sciences is challenging.
Some students will love this challenge. I don’t. >.<</p>
<p>A’s in McCombs is piece of cake. Most people will disagree with what I said because they don’t want to accept the facts. 20-40% get As.</p>
<p>A’s in Natural Sciences is a bit harder, again depends on the person, but perfectly doable. Calculus (K,L): 15% get As . Calculus (M): 30% get As.</p>
<p>It depends…</p>
<p>Lots of people on CC in this area will argue that earning As depends on how hard you work, going to class, etc etc. However, I found out that some coruses with certain professors, it is harder to earn an A than it is with others.</p>
<p>Example: I took an Intro. to Microeconomics course with Prof. Hammermesh and found it to be one of the toughest classes I have ever taken. I worked my butt off in that class, sat in the library until I got kicked out, and never missed an SI session or class and despite this…</p>
<p>I did not do so well at the end…</p>
<p>Your ability to make an A depends on what class you’re enrolled in and who is your professor. Had I taken Dr. Trejo for Microecon, I have no doubt I would have made an A. My friends took him and I would help them study, go over midterms, etc and I found them to be MUCH easier than Hammermesh’s.</p>
<p>You will find some courses at UT where you can work from sunrise until the wee hours of the mornings and still fall short of an A due to a bell curve, brain farts on exams, etc.</p>
<p>I know I am rambiling at this point but here is the deal. Its okay to make a B+ or an A-, just set realistic goals and truely work hard and stay on top of things and even with this, if you fall short of an A, at least you tried and learned (or attempted to) learn something rather than take a class and slack off and make an A.</p>
<p>I like what most other people say. I think the hardest part in getting A’s, for me, as a freshman, is that you don’t have a really great sense of how you’re doing. Some classes like calculus give you instant grades, but even then, you’re not aware of the curve. Other classes have funky grading systems so you don’t really know you’re doing until your final grade comes in.</p>
<p>So you always have to be on alert and do your best.</p>
<p>In addition, as a freshman, I personally required a lot of adjusting in time management and studying, so doing that in addition to studying is why it can difficult to get As.</p>
<p>It really, really depends on your classes and major. If you’re a engineering major, do not even consider having a 4.0, unless you’re a super genius. Comm and liberal arts majors… eh, I’d say it’s fairly easy to make A’s in those majors, although I’ve heard some of the RTF and advertising classes (especially ADV 318J) can be killer! This is all through hearsay, though.</p>
<p>I was able to maintain a 4.0 GPA my freshman year, but it dropped down to a 3.83 after last semester. A lot of it had to do with the fact that I was taking two nursing weed-out classes (Intro to Pharm and Anatomy) at the same time. Also, I had health and family issues going on. Making all A’s is possible, though. You just have to put in the effort. Don’t expect to coast by at UT.</p>
<p>I hear a lot of “your grades depend on your professor/TA/major/classes,” etc, but those are minor influences compared to YOU. Yes, some professors give out more A’s than others, and in some courses getting an A is as easy as getting an STD at a frat party. But in every case the only way to get the best grade you can is to put in the time and effort.</p>
<p>Don’t wait until the night before to do the assignments. Do SOMETHING for every class every day, even if it’s just 15 minutes of skimming over something you’ve already read. I’ve never seen such widespread lousy study habits as I have at UT.</p>
<p>how hard is it to make a 3.5+ generally? As hard as you make it or what? This goes specifically for McCombs students…</p>
<p>@Ace6904 Says the ■■■■■■ 1st year McCombs kid that hasn’t even taken a McCombs course besides BA 101.</p>
<p>It depends 100% on the professor you get</p>
<p>In the weed out accounting courses between 24-32% get As (6-16% A-). In the weed out calculus courses 37% get As (4% A-). This is strange to me because I’ve taken both intro to accounting courses and they were the easiest courses I’ve ever taken in my life. I think it’s due to the fact that the intro accounting courses will bore most people to tears and business students seem to party a lot more than engineering and science students (generalization, but most will agree there’s some truth to it).</p>
<p>Source: Official UT grade record via myedu.com</p>
<p>Extremely hard. I’ve gotten deans list for the past two semesters but I’ve had to work my butt off…I’m majoring in government and business. Just prepared to be lonely/stressed all the time and ill see you in the Pcl.</p>