<p>Hello, all. I'm attending UNC in the Fall as a Biology major and just wanted to get a little information.</p>
<p>As a straight A student, I am definitely worried about the frightening possibility of flunking out of UNC (the good student who cannot cope or succeed for whatever reason...that whole charade). I know that, as a very selective top school, UNC's academics must be difficult. My main worry is not that I will not strive to do my best, but that professors may hold the bar so high that an A or even a B is not possible. Obviously, professors possess free reign, whereas high school teachers do not. Can one make excellent grades in college simply by trying or is there more to it?</p>
<p>I may just have "cold feet" regarding college, but if this is true, how can I overcome it?</p>
<p>No worries. College is harder for some easier for others. The major issue is that three tests basically decide your grade in every class, which can be problematic if you bomb one.</p>
<p>The good news? Sciences at UNC are hard enough that profs usually curve at the end, which can be helpful. This happens less in the humanities.</p>
<p>I am also concerned about the difficulty of unc blairb. I am a transfer student and am hoping that unc is not outrageously hard compared to my current school where I have been able to maintain a very high gpa.</p>
<p>You know the good old days when you didn’t study for tests until the night before, or even the period before, and still managed to get an A? Forget about those days.</p>
<p>You will have to do work to get good grades in college. If I had to give you advice, I would say don’t get behind. Especially in science classes. Now that I gave it, I know you will get behind, because everyone does. In that case, you have to prioritize. </p>
<p>I wish I could say you can make good grades just by trying, but I don’t think you can. Sometimes, you just will not understand something. Or there will too much material to now all of. My organic teacher was blunt and told us that there was no way that we could learn all the material in time for the third midterm. Sometimes you’ll just have a crappy night before a test. And you won’t get the grade you want. But you can still get through all of this. You might have to deal with the horror of a B+ or an A-, but if you put the effort in, you can get through it. </p>
<p>And yes, curves will be your best friend. It can be a little hard wrapping your head around the fact that the grade you see on your test is not your real grade. I completely failed a test last semester in Physics 116, but still ended up with an A-.</p>
<p>If I scared the crap out of you, let me know and I’ll try to fix the damage. Getting good grades in college is possible, and doable. It just will take more effort than you what you have put forth before.</p>
<p>I’m just a possible transfer student, but I’ll just give you what I’ve learned at Bryn Mawr. Coming to Bryn Mawr, named by Princeton Review as part of the lists of “schools where students study the most” and as a “stone cold sober school”, I was quite scared of simply going to college and failing. </p>
<p>However, I’ve found that it is easy enough to balance work and play as long as you are aware of your courseload. You should keep track of where you are in respect to other students, but still understand that you are an independent student and only have control or should care about how you yourself do. If it’s too much, there are always counselors at any school and worst case scenario, you drop the class or take it credit/no credit. </p>
<p>My most important tip however is that you need to understand that Profs are people too. If something happens you can talk to them and more than likely they will be willing to help you out. I don’t feel comfortable with doing it personally, but I know a lot of people who have gotten extensions because they’ve felt overwhelmed. Profs will usually go out of their way to help you out if you need. Also, there may be TA sessions or study groups that will give you support. Plus, if teachers understand that you’ve been constantly improving or have been actively seeking help, they may just give you an extra bump in your overall grade (like rounding that 3.45 up to a 3.7 rather than a 3.3). Also, it is untrue that Profs have all the power. If you have any problems with a prof that you think is treating you unfairly or too harshly, you should talk to someone. Their job security depends upon what the university thinks of their teaching, which usually depends on what students think of their teaching. </p>
<p>Again, I’m not fully sure how accurate this info is to a UNC since it does differ from the small, private institution that I’m attending. But I’m pretty sure a lot of it is universal.</p>
<p>Well, at least at my college there is no such thing as a 3.5 only a 4.0, 3.7, 3.3, 3.0, etc. So a 3.45 would possibly round up to a 3.5 which could round up to a 3.7. I’m not saying that profs can make up grades. They just do their best to determine a fair grade for a student. If a student hasn’t been in class a lot of the time, they probably are not as likely to give you the benefit of the doubt about what grade you deserve.</p>