@CollegeGuruEast I’ve had about 4 or 5 professors between last semester and this semester tell our classes that they’ve gotten an email (some got more than one email) from administrators telling them that they are supposed to restrict the number of A’s and B’s. This happened a lot after midterm grades were submitted last semester so I guess that was how the classes were screened to see if there was enough deflation. I didn’t know that it was enforced so much until my professors brought up the emails and voiced their frustrations with it. Two of the classes where I’ve heard this from professors were sociology classes, too, which surprised me because I definitely thought it was mostly just s thing in the sciences until they told us
@EmB1997 Interesting! I can clearly see the frustration. If a student earns an A based on professors assessment, how can it be deflated to a B? And again, if you have 30 students in the class and there are 20 A’s, I would say it is an “easy A” class. Here goes the registration up through the roof. I think a class should be structured in a way it is tough so the grade is “earned.”
@CollegeGuruEast in one case my professor made it so that the grading scale shifted, so an A was a 97+ instead of 94/95+ and so on. I’m not sure how other professors adjusted grades. The amount of A’s for a class of about 30-32 that I was in last semester was limited to 5-6 according to my professor who was really frustrated with it and was open with us about what he was being told to do by admin. I don’t think theres really any class here, at least none that I’ve taken, where the proportion of A’s has made the class look like an easy A or even an easy B class
I echo what @EmB1997 says. My daughter had a professor tell her the same thing in one of her classes, they had to limit the A’s.
This seems so ridiculous. I realize there are curves, but this situation seems a step more involved with the professors themselves being uncomfortable with the approach they are being asked to take.
Note: I just graduated Fordham LC with a major in Political Science.
First, I will echo what @MomTheChauffer and @EmB1997 have stated in regards to what professors have been told with grades. This is true.
However, outside the sciences, it’s not that hard to get an A. I took computer science courses, and the lowest grade one professor would give is a B. My Political Science courses weren’t easy, but it was possible to get an A. According to the poli sci professor who told us about the grading restriction, it’s supposed to be the top 10% gets As. Also, with the exception of professor, who was super hard, I pretty much got B and As. So, while, it is true, there really isn’t any grade deflation outside the sciences, as far as I can tell.
So, with the exception of the sciences and a few odd courses here and there, it’s really up the student in terms of grades. Most professors clearly outline requirements and point values in their syllabus. Just follow and you’re usually good.
We are grateful to posters on this site who volunteered their difficult experiences with Fordham’s premed advising and problems with out-of-date or inadequate scientific equipment.
You have saved my kid trouble.
We had noticed of course the favoritism shown to Gabelli School of Business students, those excellent facilities, and how that seems to be an elite club on the Rose Hill campus.
Fordham has so much going for it. I hope it addresses the concerns in the science department and premed advising.
@ivygrad09-you hit the nail right on top of the head.
Where did your kid finally decide to attend?
Hi,
Fordham is my top school. I’m planning on applying in the fall. Do I have a better chance of getting into Gabelli if I apply to Rose Hill or Lincoln?
@mngirl17 Im not sure if theres specific statistics on acceptances for gabelli at each campus but try to look more at the resources at rh and lc. Lc just got a new building that opened last fall and it has improved facilities for gabelli so thats something you can keep in mind. Also lc is closer to the financial district which might make it easier to eventually land an internship or a job there