<p>UVAjoe, how did you get an A in orgo at UVA??? I envy you! hehe</p>
<p>Final grades better than I expected. This is at the University of NH
Intro to American Studies: A-
Intro to Sociology A
Ecology and Values A
Honors Freshman English A</p>
<p>3.91</p>
<p>My final grades were a little better than I expected..</p>
<p>Newswriting One-A
Newswriting One Lab-A
Digital Photography-A
English-A
U.S. History-A</p>
<p>okay, are y'all going to graduate in 4 years? Most seem to be taking 4 classes, which, of course, would tend to lead to a higher GPA. But, c'mon, 4 classes? That's 12-16 hours a semester, depending on the maths, sciences and labs that you have. So how many semesters are y'all planning on spending as an undergrad? At 12 hours per, that is 10 semesters, or 5 years if you don't take summer school, assuming a 120 degree. What am I missing?</p>
<p>Requirements for graduation vary from school to school. While most schools operate on a semester system some operate on a quarter system others operate on a trimester system.</p>
<p>At some schools a student may need approximately 120 credits where 1 class equals three credits. </p>
<p>At some schools some courses are 4 credits each (they may meet for a longer period of time each week). </p>
<p>Still at other schools, you may need to pass a number of classes
(meeting either the core / distribution requirements + major) in order to graduate .</p>
<p>Right, I understand that. Hence the reference to the 4 credit hour classes which generally have a lab requirement. What I am saying is that it is apples and oranges. The difficulty of the load impacts the GPA. USNA Reject is feeling badly with her grades, while she has a 4 hr. calc class, 4 hour Chem class, 2 hour Naval Leadership class, 3 hours each of history and english, adding up to 16 credit hours for her first semester of her Plebe year at the Naval Academy, which requires so much more than just going to school and studying. But the mids do graduate in 4 years. How long are the posters here planning on taking? That was the crux of the question. BTW, USNA Reject (You should really change that name!) is going to take 18 hours next semester and 20 hours the semester after that. HMMMM. These are really high powered kids. Carry on, Emily:)</p>
<p>The previous semester I had 3 4-credit classes and 1 5-credit class. The 5-credit class was a chemistry class with lab, the other three classes were as follows (with no lab):
Differential Equations
Comparative Politics
Intro to Biomedical Engineering
A majority of the classes in my school are in fact 4 credit classes and just because one is taking 16 credits doesn't mean its an easy ride. For example, in my political science class of 75 people, the professor only ended up giving out 7 A-range grades as final grades! In the fall semester next year I have to take a class called BME201 which is one of the hardest courses at the college and that semester I will be taking only 16 credits. Just because its 16 credits doesn't mean its an easy ride...</p>
<p>However I do have to give ALOT of credit to USNA because honestly I do not think I could ever do what she is doing and that it does have a TON of impact on her final reject. I really respect what she is doing and I am definately sure that if she went to another college she would have a higher GPA</p>
<p>momof1:
4 classes is the normal course load at my school. They're each 4 credit courses, although I probably only spend 12 hours per class in the classroom each week. My school has some funny math, but I will definitely be able to graduate in 4 years, provided that I figure out my major soon enough to get all my classes in. I came in with 8 AP credits, which also helped me out. I just finished my first semester and have 24 credits.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your thoughtful responses. I know that the lab classes, such as BME, are really difficult, and I certain applaud everyone's efforts, I was just wondering how that would work out in the long run, especially with some degree programs requiring closer to 140 than 120 hours. Our son was admitted to JHU, etc., for '08, but chose USNA. Also, USNA does not grant AP credit, although they do allow validation. </p>
<p>Well, I have intruded long enough. Sorry.</p>
<p>Edit: Notice, too, that the boxing class was not entered into the credit count. It doesn't get counted as such even though the time is there. Nor do conduct or professional knowledge, even though they take a huge amount ot time, as well.</p>
<p>I took 5 classes twice in the first two years, but with 1 summer course, a bunch of AP credit and one college class during HS, I can take 4 courses for the rest of college and still graduate on time</p>
<p>I take 12 hours each long semester, and 6 hours durring the summer. It doesn't sound like a lot, but the profs at my school enjoy giving lots of homework. Last semester, an avarage weekend for me was a photo project (generally scouting, taking and editing three shots), writing a four to five page paper for english (around 5 pages), and reading over 100 pages for history, on top of taking care of my two dogs, my sister's dog, my mom's dog, doing all my chores, and making sure my work met the high standards me and my parents expect. </p>
<p>Most kids I know who take 15+ hours struggle to make Cs in their classes and end up taking at least 5 years to graduate.</p>
<p>Hopkins, </p>
<p>Yea orgo here at uva does have a dreadful reputation. However, i really didn't find it all that hard.(and i had what some have said to be the most difficult professor)</p>
<p>We have to take a minimum of 3 classes (to be counted as a full time student) and a maximum of 4.5 (0.5=a dance class or something less academic), so we're not allowed to take more than that.</p>
<p>momof1, my S took 4 classes, 2 of them 4 hour credits, but he went into college with 28 hours of AP credit, so he will graduate on time even if he only takes 12 to 15 hours each semester. He started with a light load to get used to the college life, but will probably have to pick it up next year when he is taking more classes in his major.</p>
<p>Here were my predictions for Fall 2005 grades compared to the actual final grades.</p>
<p>Predictions
International Relations- B
Ancient African History- A+
International Political Economy-B
Constitutional Law/Powers of Government- B
Special Topic: African Americans and the Criminial Justice System: Slavery to Present Times- B</p>
<p>Actual Final Grades
International Relations-A+
Ancient African History- A
International Political Economy- A
Constitutional Law/Powers of Government-A
Special Topic-A</p>
<p>What is considered a good GPA, and what is considered an excellent GPA (for top grad schools)?</p>
<p>I've been looking into this myself. It seems 3.5+ cumulative (a 3.4 is still the average at many graduate programs, see the U Chicago IR website) and in many cases 3.7+ in the upper-level/in major GPA.</p>
<p>The importance of GPA is different for graduate school. It seems that graduate schools don't necessarily want the highest GPA- they have other priorities in their applicants, such as scholarship/research, personal statement, personality. If you get very high grades in your concentration, maybe the entire general area of study (humanities, sciences, social sciences), and do fairly well elsewhere, you're in great shape.</p>
<p>I am not sure...I'll have a better idea after the first test. I, of course, hope for all As. Here is what I think may happen though:</p>
<p>Phonology: A-/A
Syntax: B/B+
Italian 4: A/A+
Italian Lit: A-/A
French Poetry: A-/A
Chemistry: B+/A-</p>
<p>.... and posting my predictions for grades this new, spring semester.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>PE-- Well, I'm hoping to pass this one. Haha. </p></li>
<li><p>POL 2XX- Latin American Politics and Gender Studies A-</p></li>
<li><p>ENG 1XX- Religious Literature A</p></li>
<li><p>HIS 3XX- Modern European History A- or B+</p></li>
<li><p>ART 2XX- Architecture and Monuments A-</p></li>
<li><p>PHI 2XX- Philosphy during the Middle Ages A- or B+</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Twenty credits. I might add a one-credit applied music course as well.</p>
<p>As for the grades of the PAST semester-- A let down. I was expecting solid A's in two of my classes but instead got A-'s. And the B+ made me sad inside. 20 Credits.</p>
<p>ENG 2XX- Western Literature to 1700 A
MUS 2XX- Music History A-
HIS 1XX- Survey to Chinese Civilization B+
ART 1XX- Survey to Art History A-
ART 2XX- Art of Greece A-</p>