On a 100 scale they were receiving 35, 54, 62 on the weekly tests over and over. The parents were contacting me because they were horrified and my kid was still hitting 90s. Many switched majors, dropped the class for summer where they heard it was easier, retook it at other instate colleges. Etc. I believe, that year, the average enrolled student was 3.9 GPA and 32 ACT from high school. On about the fifth test my son received a 64 or so and was shocked. He said it had contained nothing remotely to which they had studied. Meanwhile, almost all the kids parents were paying an off campus organization for a tutoring company that worked with the kids nightly to help them through these classes. And yes, thatās a thing. Attending a class nightly to help with the class one is attending daily. And they are not cheap. I was amazed that parents were already paying college tuition for their kids to learn and then have to pay another off campus learning center for their kids to succeed. Remember, many of these kids had dreams of Law School, Med School, Masters and were hitting a road block their freshman year. Their parents were willing to pay any amount to get them through those classes. Honestly, I thought it was criminal. Others thought they were doing the kids a favor by showing them early that they werenāt cut out for Med School etc. How does it affect a kids GPA to be a victim of a true weed out class? How does it affect ones scholarships? I feel certain that UA does not do this. I also know that UA does allow for dropping a class and still the possibility of retaining ones scholarships.
In college, a 35, 54, 62, 64, etc. does not necessarily correspond to an F or D grade like in high school. UMD grade distributions suggest that few students actually get F or D grades in the frosh/soph courses for engineering majors.
College is inherently a weed-out process for medical school, regardless of whether the studentās major is actively practicing weed-out.
We just discussed it again. At UF it was Chem1 and Calc2. He said in retrospect, he wasnāt sure if the process was intentional weeding out or if it was just the results of the process. Either way, its those 2 classes every year at UF. The help group was called Study Edge. Apparently they have years of past tests, mid terms and finals and they specialize in helping kids pass the tests but not in teaching the classes materials. The two classes though result in many changing to majors that dont require those classes.
On the Alabama FB pages, many parents say their kids struggle in Calc 2. The general advice is to take it anywhere but at UA. This comes up on both regular pages and the engineering page. Currently, many are figuring out whether to drop or try to salvage the grade.
My sonās in it now and is doing well without much difficulty. He has said the topics are harder than things heās seen, but he figures it out fine. But definitely others do not. He told me the most recent test had an average of 75 and one sectionās average was 60. So, clearly heās not the only one who is doing well.
Thirty years ago, I thought Calc 2 was the hardest of the calculus classes. I donāt know if itās truly a weed-out class because itās just hard material.
At most schools, it is not intentionally a weed-out class, but it may be hard because most students taking it are in one of the following:
- Taking calculus the first time after completing precalculus in high school.
- Taking calculus 2 after passing the slower paced calculus AB in high school, so the faster pace of the college class is a surprise to them.
- Repeating their AP credit from high school for grade grubbing purposes and not paying as much attention as they should to the class.
Yes. My daughters high school had GPA based on 5.0 scale. I think for scholarships etc. they place more weight on the ACT/SAT scoresā¦ which makes sense because there are so many different grading scales across the US. It would be very tedious trying to normalize every school out there to a 4.0 scale. The reality is to keep the scholarship the student must maintain above a 3.0+ GPA.
My sonās SAT score did not match his GPA ( he forgot his calculator) and got an average score. He received a great scholarship award ( Was a National Recognition award recipient). Not sure SAT score was a factor in his case.
Just rereading this thread and the numbers seemed off. The UA honors college has approximately 7,000 kids and the undergraduate population is approximately 39,000. That translates to about 18% or less than 1/5th.
https://oira.ua.edu/d/sites/all/files/reports23/CDS%202022-23%20FINAL.pdf (section B1) lists degree-seeking undergraduates at 31,360; the 38,644 count includes graduate students and a small number of non-degree-seeking undergraduates.
The 7,260 Honors College students would be about 23.1% of degree-seeking undergraduate enrollment.
Not to quibble, by 23.1% is still not 1/3.
My comment that you quoted was a response to the parent of a UA student who stated the ā1/3ā figure. I was simply responding to his first-hand knowledge of the situation.
That said, I believe a little later in the thread, the UA parent clarified it might have been an overestimation.
My concern was the college creating a two-tiered caste system on campus, and I remain concerned what that means for the non-honors students, whether the honor students number 1/3 or 1/4.
Itās great that some schools want to create an atmosphere that induces a better classroom experience and (in the case of UA and some other schools) a better living experience, but it seems very unfair to other students.
Honor student? Great, you have a very low student/educator class size. Non Honor Student? Go sit in row QQ in your 330-student chemistry class. Honor student? You get a dorm room all to yourself, and it will be newer and more accommodating than other dormsā¦ Non Honor Student? Sorry, but you might end up in a triple because we donāt have enough space for all incoming freshmen. Honor Student? sign up for any class you want and be almost guaranteed to get a seat in it. Non Honor Student? Go to the back of the line and if you donāt get two of the four classes you want/need, try again next semester.
I find that incredibly unjust. I think itās different than a school having a smaller percentage of Honors Students with fewer advantages, such as maybe 5% of a student body. More than 20% and with significant and numerous advantages, and I think it would better behoove a state to create a new discrete campus altogether. Alabama could create Alabama University All-Stars (just kidding on the name) and make the entry requirements high enough to create a self-sustaining academically elite class of students. Kind of like what Virginia has with W&M and UVA, or California has with the UCs.
I find it more unjust when weāre talking about a public university doing this without a cap on OSS, when a public universityās first obligation should be to the tax-paying families whose taxes support land-grant institutions.
Not trying to start a debate. Just felt the need to clear up any misconceptions about my concern over the topic. I want to stress THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION, and not an assault on any particular institution. Just consider me a concerned citizen worrying too much about the plebs. 
It was me who said a third and I later noted I was just throwing out a # later to highlight it seems like itās everyone.
Per the CDS the # of undergrad degree seekers last year was 31,360. 38k includes grads I believe. The figure used prior was from US News and was 2019 and was 8,266 so over 25% but using different sources and years.
That said, while the school population is growing, the school itself reports an Honors population of 7,566 in 2021 and 7,260 in 22 so perhaps itās looking to reduce its Honors pen rate.
The main point I was trying to make is so many want it for the dorm and registration. According to my son, not a ton take advantage of the resources and follow through with the requirements and enrichment offered. He basically did little with it and when he graduates Friday it wonāt be from the Honors College. But as he noted, he never had issues with class registration thanks to the Honors program.
I see Bama listed amongst the top Honors programs in several listings.
But perhaps theyāre a bit liberal in allowing kids to join and remain who arenāt following a minimal path performance wise.
Thanks
Alabama is like many public, large state schoolsā¦ offer lots of different programsā¦ honors, rotc, regular classes, etc. and accept many different levels of kids. However, at Alabama just because a kid may not be honors as a freshman does not mean he/she cannot get a stellar GPA and matriculate to honors the following year. There are lots of groups on campus that have special designationā¦ athletes, band membersā¦ and get priority when registering.
There are a lot of non-honors suite-sryle dorms as well. Many kids will be able to select a suite if they would like.
My son had no honors classes this semester. His largest class was about 90 students.