<p>I'm from Asia and have been appointed to the USMMA's Class Of 2012.My major would be Marine Engineering(although I do have M.E systems at the back of my mind).</p>
<p>I'm really curious as to how our grades for the Plebe Year will be calculated.Will we be having tests every week ? Do grades of the homework count ?</p>
<p>Can anyone please let me know the usual schedule of classes for the first 2-3 months ? I'm looking for something like this---</p>
<p>Mon : 08:00-10:00-Cal I, 10:00-12:00-Physics I ...............03:00-04:00Chem I</p>
<p>Tue :</p>
<p>Wed:</p>
<p>Thu :</p>
<p>Fri:</p>
<p>Nobody knows the schedule of the classes for the Class Of 2012 but I suppose it wouldn't be very much different than the schedule of the previous years' plebes.Please guys chip in with whatever you can remember of your first few months at Kings Point,this is really important for me.</p>
<p>In Chess theirs a saying - "Well begun is half done ". I just want to plan everything beforehand so that I can maximise my chances of coping up with the enormous plebe year curriculum of the Academy.</p>
<p>If they do it the same as this year, there are seven "periods" in a day. Each is an hour long with ten minutes in between to travel from class to class.</p>
<p>Seventh period almost never has a class scheduled for it unless you take a "lag class" (which is a make-up class from a previous trimester if you failed it). You won't be in class every period, either. For first trimester of my plebe year, I had eight free periods (not including seventh period).</p>
<p>You'll be assigned to what is called a "section," which is just a group of students from 2012 (but not necessarily from your company) that you will take your classes with (so the same group travels from classroom to classroom). This section may or may not change each trimester, and usually consists of people from the same major. Hopefully you received a short, wide blue book in the mail called the catalog. If you look in there, it has each of the six majors and every single course that you will take for that major. It includes how many credits the course is and even which trimester you will take it (though this may vary).</p>
<p>No matter what major you select, you'll still take almost the same classes as everyone else for the first trimester. Later on is when they start getting unique to your major. It will look something like this:</p>
<p>English 1
Physics 1
Calculus 1
Basic Fire Fighting
Swimming/First Aid
Maritime Professional Studies (KP100)
+plus lab sessions for Physics and KP100</p>
<p>Grades are calculated on a weighted 4.0 GPA scale, with more important classes (more credits) given more weight. Assuming you had a schedule as the one above it would look something like this:</p>
<p>English I (3 credits) B = 3x3 = 9
Physics I (4 credits) B- = 2.66x4 = 10.66
Calculus I (3 credits) A = 4x3 = 12
Basic F.F. (2 credits) A = 4x2 = 8
Swimming (1 credit) A = 4x1 = 4
First Aid (1 credit) B+ = 3.33x1 = 3.33
KP100 = (4 credits) C = 2x4 = 8</p>
<p>As for the tests, I've never had a class where we've had a test every week. I'm fairly sure professors are required to give a minimum of three tests per trimester (twelve weeks), but I've also taken a class where the professor has a test every two weeks. They may or may not give a mid-term exam, but usually give a final exam.</p>
<p>For the homework, if the professor assigns it, it will probably be graded. But every class is different as far as how much homework you have. Your professor will give you a syllabus on the first day of class that should have your final grade broken down into components (test grades = 30%, homework = 15%, etc.)</p>
<p>I think the biggest reason why people fail classes isn't because they don't do the homework, but that they can't pass the tests. The core of your classes here will be lecture, so it's necessary to take good notes and review them later. Good study habits are essential here, but as long as you don't let e-mailing, IM, video games, and sports interfere, you should do fine. That's part of the reason plebes aren't allowed video games anyway.</p>
<p>Plebe year is pretty intense for everyone. Something to keep in mind though is that for Deckies, each subsequent trimester only gets easier. For engineers, it is the opposite. Each trimester is more and more difficult as classes build and expand on concepts covered previously. There is an incredible difference in the workload between engine majors and deck majors. However, there is also an incredible difference between the license pass rate as well. (96%+ for engine, approx. 70% for deck)</p>
<p>
[quote]
There is an incredible difference in the workload between engine majors and deck majors. However, there is also an incredible difference between the license pass rate as well. (96%+ for engine, approx. 70% for deck)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I think these two statements are "true, true, and unrelated." I don't think the workload and "ease" of certain classes is the reason for someone passing or not passing the USCG Exams. I think the deck pass rate this year is terrible and something must be amiss somewhere in the department or the midshipmen taking the test.</p>
<p>Thanks a million guys for your invaluable advices and directions.I didn't receive the Catalog with the Login-In Packet,but I've already downloaded & printed it from the Academy's website.</p>
<p>"Credits","GPA's" are really new concepts to me.We've the percentage system here,big make or break tests at the end of the terms, i.e 'No Continuous Assessments'.Very different from the U.S system where the students know right from the start if they'yre failingor not.Btw K314 I understand now how the GPA's are calculated but what's the criteria of getting an A or a B grade in a subject ?</p>
<p>Systemsmid,just want to confirm whether the list of the courses(of the 1st trimester) that you mentioned is accurate,this will help me a long way in planning for ES 110(the class that could give me some sleepless nights in the future).
Thank you guys for the guidance and good night everybody.</p>
<p>Criteria for an A, B or other depends on the course. Most courses have a
A 94-100
A- 90-93
B+ 87-90
B 84-86
B- 80-83
etc, etc, with below a 60 failing</p>
<p>Some of the courses, mainly the ones required for the majors, require a 70% pass rate and have a much higher grading scale. For example, in the CAORF class, a 97-100 is an A and a 93-96 is an A-.</p>
<p>As for the pass rates, I also attribute this to the fact that engineers only require a 70%+ for all of their tests to pass, however deckies require at least 90% on some of their tests and 80% on others and only a 70% on 2 or 3. This makes things difficult when you either can't miss a question, or only get 1 or 2 wrong to pass, whereas engineers can get a large percentage of their questions wrong and still pass.</p>
<p>Personally (being a deckie) I find engineering to be easier because for deckies it is a bunch of rote memorization while for engineers it is all equations and such and much more hands on, making things easier. I just chose to be a deckie because I dislike the noise and heat of the engine room and like seeing the sun. A lot of people will disagree with me that engineers have it easier than deckies, but meh...</p>
<p>The list that I gave is what I took my first trimester of my Plebe year. It's also possible that instead of Physics 1 you take Chemistry; instead of Basic Fire Fighting you take History of Seapower; and instead of Swimming/First Aid you take Ethics/Self Defense. It just depends on which section you're put in (all, some, or none of these may switch).</p>
<p>As for ES110, a.k.a. Computer Engineering, this class caused a lot of trouble this past year. Almost everyone took this class second trimester and as far as I know, there were two professors teaching it. One professor caused a bit of confusion when he never referred to the textbook and wouldn't answer questions very clearly in class, and this is why many of the students had a failing grade at the mid-term. However, there are always students that do understand the material who are willing to help out their section mates and there are also after school study sessions taught by professors from outside of the academy. You just have to ask around. Extra credit projects are also usually available for this course.</p>
<p>The ES110 course is almost entirely based in the program Microsoft Excel. You'll first do an overview of how to create tables, graphs, and do some basic editing. Later, you'll go into what is called "VB Editor," or "Visual Basic Editor." This is a component of Microsoft Excel that is used for coding. You'll learn how to write codes (called "macros") for Excel that will do things like run a sort, make a template, and much more. It's comparable to website coding, if you've had any experience with that (html). In the end, almost all of the students passed.</p>
<p>Don't worry about it too much. But my suggestion would be to try to familiarize yourself with the basics of how to use a computer as soon as you get yours issued to you. The professor will expect that you know how to log in, open a program, save a file, print something, etc. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask your company or section mates. Upperclassmen are some of the best people to ask for help with acadmeics since they've taken the same courses. Just ask.</p>
<p>So how do you get a 94-100 on a course.Here we've the 100 marks tests for each subjects that a student chooses for the grade 12( I had Physics,Chemistry,Mathematics,Biology and English).Lets take the example of Physics.Now,the maximum marks that can be scored is 100,with different topics carrying different marks(but they all add up to a 100),so for instance Electrostatics may be worth 10 marks,Magnetism worth 15,Optics worth 12 and so forth until the topics add up to give a 100(the weightage for the individual topics is declared a year before the exams by the federal government,after the end of our academic year we appear for the 3 hour exams administered by the federal government on a national scale).Its just like the SAT with the only difference that the raw scores aren't converted into scaled scores.The maximum marks that can be scored in a subject is 100 and the marks that you score are your raw scores.There's no negative marking.So if a person gets a 99 out of 100 in chemistry it means he/she may have got a 1 mark question wrong or committed a small mistake in a 2,3 or 5 marks question so that the examiner deducts 1 mark from the answer for that particular question.The entire process that I just mentioned is used at the High school level,I've never been to a college and so am not aware of their marking system.</p>
<p>My dad got a PC for me when i was in grade 4, but its really tragic I never bothered to learn Excel.Even now I've got loads of good ebooks on learning Excel and Access but after reading a few pages I always find myself doing something else.I mean I'd rather read Resnick and Halliday than venture into the unchartered territory of Excel.Anyways since that class will be after October I've got plenty of time to DO something about it.We'd all have enough stuff to worry about and if a student has to start from scratch(the understanding part) in a class while that class is already in session then I guess the student will end up failing in that subject in addition to lowering his grades in other subjects just because he/she couldn't devote much time to them.</p>
<p>I've heard some pretty scary stories of the professors in this forum--"I'm here to answer some specific questions,NOT to teach the material".I'm confident that I can manage Physics,Chem and Maths without a professor(at least a C if not a B) but if I get that Excel class in my 1st trimester,I'm in big trouble.</p>
<p>It all depends on the course and the teacher...</p>
<p>A lot of science or math classes will do it pure numbers... i.e. get 15% for homework, 45% tests, 40% final.</p>
<p>Some classes will have "class particpation" as a grade, which means how much you suck up to the teacher. Some classes put more weight in tests, some put more in assignments.</p>
<p>It all depends on the teacher, nothing is really standardized.</p>
<p>Thanks for explaining everything to me.I guess at the end of it all one thing seems pretty obvious--Can't afford to get behind the classes as it'll get worse every single day.</p>
<p>During the Indoc. the Candidates will be writing a Maths Placement Exam.Does the Academy give out any sample test papers,to help the candidates get an idea of the types of questions they should expect on the test ? I mean do they provide something along the line of the sample papers given in the SUNY Maritime Welcome Packet ?</p>
<p>TL, no you won't get any sample test paper in your welcome packet. Math is a critical class at KP and they want to make sure you will not be in over your head so the placement test is given during indoc.</p>
<p>TL2012,
sorry, but no one cares how you were graded in high school</p>
<p>KP314,
i think its futile to try to defend the 70% pass rate. it is pathetic any way you look at it. yeah, on a few of the tests, you need a 90 to pass, but its a 15 question test, so i think your argument is void. also, i dont know you think being an engineer is easier. do you see how much the engineers study? the deck majors are a joke compared the their classes</p>
<p>TL2012,
don't worry about it... you'll be ok. </p>
<p>the problem with the thought of "it's just a bunch of equations in engineering" is the fact that once you get past plebe level classes, a lot of those equations are not so obvious, plug and chug types... you have to make up a lot of math to make the problem work (just like working on an engine, there are many tools that you have to use to make a problem work).
i know i'd take rote memorization over deriving equations any day. </p>
<p>to the 2012 guys, don't worry... you will get this place figured out. if i can figure this place out, so can you. enjoy your summer and don't get preoccupied with prepping for here... HAVE FUN! just don't do anything stupid (drugs, get hurt, etc...)</p>
<p>I'm not defending the 70% pass rate, I'm rationalizing it... I still think it's quite pathetic after 4 years preparing for it... although I wonder what the engineer pass rate would be if they had 90% pass tests...</p>
<p>On the note of deckie vs. engine, eh... opinions, opinons</p>