Currently a rising sophomore in the premed program majoring in biology. I have a 3.5 gpa right now but I really struggled in my science classes so my science gpa is close to a 3.4.
Does anyone know if they classes will get easier so I can get a 3.8 by graduation? With my current gpa, I’m worried this wouldn’t be competitive for medical school.
Would my gpa be the “average” gpa for a STEM major at BC as well?
3.6 with great mcat and solid leadership and committee support. I would ask your advisor. Committee support is crucial. But fist two years are brutal. Hang in there. You can always get an mba or go to law school btw.
People I know are having hard time getting a’s in the core sciences.
Like a gen chem prof who wouldn’t round up an 89.7 final course average to the 90 for the a- Bit of a d move if you ask me. 89.6 and up is a 90. 89.5 and down is a 89. Not that difficult to figure out.
Who says you have to round off? 89.7 is less than 90. If the prof wants to be a hard case about it, so be it, as long as the prof is consistent. A lot of those intro classes are meant to weed students out to make sure only the top ones continue on. That tends to make for very strict grading.
And its clear in the syllabus and expectations are announced in class.
I remember back in the dark ages, I had a well known up-and-coming Prof who basically said just that: ‘a 90+ is a 90+, it does not mean 89.8, so don’t come back and ask me to round up. If you have an issue with the way a problem is graded by the TA, fine, bring it to me. But, I reserve the right to go over the whole test so your final score could go down."’
What’s the chem professor’s name? I have to sign up for classes in a few weeks and have been looking at ratemyprofessor.com for ones to look for and ones to avoid.
No one said he had to do anything lol. Just an observation of what to be prepared for. And if you think there is really a weed out differential between 89.7 and 90 after all of that work and is material you’re just being a d bag. Yes a couple of c’s might get your attention. 3.5 vs 3.75 in one class doesn’t do it. But that 3 tenths of 1 percent on a 100 point scale does have a more dramatic percentage impact at the gpa level.
PB, you raise a perfectly valid point. As a faculty member, I can tell you that you have to draw the line somewhere. And yes, for students on that border, the impact is substantial. And that’s why assigning grades is stressful. The original poster noted some struggles in science classes, but said the science GPA was about a 3.4. That’s quite respectable. If some upper level courses become a real struggle (O-Chem or P-Chem), then some introspection about whether medical school is the right fit may be in order.
Sorry, gotta disagree with you on this one pb. Over four years the difference comes out to (0.011) of a GPA by graduation. Or, perhaps only (~0.022) if half the classes are premed STEM. The Phi Beta Kappa awards team won’t even see it.
No I agree. I just meant the one class @bluebayou
.0033 percent difference of 89.7 %vs 90%
3.75 vs 3.5 is 6% difference. On 4.0 gpa scale
20 times multiple. The two whole number grades are nearly identical. The gpa assigned in the letter grade translation is not comparable.
It won’t be a game changer. I was only commenting on the translation values on letter grades versus numeric actuals.
But it is what it is.
As a current student I think it’s a big deal between B+ and A- especially when you’re not doing well in other classes.
My problem is not with the professors that explicitly state the grade cutoffs but with the ones that don’t. I have a professor that didn’t follow the traditional 87-89 B+, 90-92 A- cutoffs so when I got my grade it was different from the one I had calculated and expected. Upperclassmen have told me this is common but as a freshmen it was a big terrible shock. I think these 100 level classes should state the grade cutoffs to help freshmen ease into college.
@bluebayou what’s phi beta kappa for exactly? Is it different from the cum laude, magna cum etc?
@T20hopeful2023 professor wolfman is tough. He’s good but he is probably the most difficult and tough grader. You’ll learn a ton if you survive, but it’s a risk. Welcome to BC!
@T20hopeful2023 I wouldn’t recommend him
He’s been very sick. Hopefully he’s back for fall.
The grading scale/process for all classes should be clearly stated in the syllabus, imo.
PBK is national organization of liberal arts-focused colleges (e.g., STEM-focused Caltech is not a member) and denotes top ~10% of graduating seniors. It was founded at the College of William and Mary in ~1776. Members include 17 U.S. Presidents, 41 Supreme Court Justices, and more than 140 Nobel Laureates.
Some syllabi will say B+ = 87.00000 to 89.99999 to avoid confusion and whining.
Obviously, every Prof is different. IIR, my D’s Stat professor also refused to round up, but then he did give out extra credit as students were allowed to redo their problem sets for half-credit for the missed problems.
Wouldn’t it be pretty impossible for STEM majors to get PBK? The curves in the science classes are brutal.
What would the cutoff for PBK for BC?
Harder, but definitely not impossible. It’s not just being top 10%, though: you need to have at least an intermediate level of a non-native language, have taken upper level courses across the liberal arts (ie, you can’t be all STEM or all humanities, and specifically have had to take math), and you have to be nominated by your school as a ‘person of good character’. Individual schools set their own specifics when they become members of PBK.
Not sure what the % is, but there are plenty of STEM students who earn pbk honors. Math geeks, chem gurus, etc., but they also have to excel in lit/hume courses. Even classes that have a B-/C+ curve, still have plenty of kids who earn an A.
Top ~10% (aka cutoff) is 3.8+.
Professor Kelly to retire. Hopefully, some of the current BC students had the good fortune to take his class or at least spend time with the Professor. One of the excellent researchers which helped build BC’s Chem department.
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/bcnews/campus-community/faculty/kelly-retirement.html