<p>O.K. this may sound lame, but i am already stressing out about this coming academic year. I consider myself to be a very smart individual, but most top colleges(including uva) i have heard to be "cut throat." I am really concerned about this because I have never had the level of competition that i am going to be engaging in. I am used to being among the best in my class, but now i am going to be just average. If i work really hard will i still be able to maintain between a 3.7-4.0 gpa, or is that shooting to high for a school like uva? What i am asking is how difficult will it be to make A's in courses next year at uva, any help from students from top 30 schools would be appreciated.</p>
<p>I've never heard of uva to be "cut throat." Don't worry so much, and if some students are "cut throat" then those are only some students, not everyone, and most likely a very small percentage. Relax, you'll be fine.</p>
<p>I must confess that one of the biggest reasons I'm not going to UVa is because all the cut-throat students are going there. I just couldn't stand those people.</p>
<p>But then they were all heading into the E-school.</p>
<p>Well, first, don't go into your freshman year thinking you need to get straight A's. You don't. On your first few tests, consider getting class average to be a success, evaluate how hard you're working to get class average, and work from there.</p>
<p>uvajoe,
Unless you want to spend your whole life studying 3.7-4.0 is completely impossible at UVa. Nearly every class is curved with usually no more than 25% (usually lower) in the A range. Most classes have around 60-65% B's. If you study hard you can def. get 3.5+ but truly there is a big difference between a 3.5 and a 3.7.</p>
<p>One word: relax!</p>
<p>Please. I think that you should go to college because you want to learn and broaden your horizons. Meet interesting people, talk to professors, gain life-lasting friendships. In the real world, your grades will probably become a fleeting memory. I highly doubt that a company will not hire you because of a low GPA in college. They'll hire you because of your experience and skills, and these are things you build in college. </p>
<p>The more you worry over how potentially hard it'll be to recieve A's will only make you more paranoid and thus unhappier in college. And it must be said: there'll always be a bigger fish. You were the top student at your high school but at UVA you'll be average. So what? Your classmates will be going through the same thing, because everyone who gets into UVA is a top student. Let it go and be proud that you're attending UVA.</p>
<p>When school starts, do your best, but don't forget that you're at college to learn. Most of all, have fun. And chill. Out.</p>
<p>I remember most of my class having real issues with the fact that they weren't getting the grades they got in high school. Everyone was from the top of their respective classes, so they weren't used to not getting A's. I remember the moaning when we found out that the curve allowed only 5 out of 500 to get an A or an A- in our introductory business course.</p>
<p>Do your best. If you're serious about your grades, then work hard, but don't end up unhappy with your life at school.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies, i get stressed out very easily so...</p>
<p>Wahoo2007,
How many hours per week would you need to study for a SINGLE class to make around an A- ? Also is there any advise you can give me?</p>
<p>forgive my naiveness, but...
what makes tests, papers, etc. in college so much harder than that in high school? I understand that there is much more reading and material, but how come if you understand it, you still get B's( or C's)?</p>
<p>That's hard to answer, as the response differs for the course/major/program.</p>
<p>One of the things that caught me of guard in my business courses was the volume and depth involved. You don't just read a book and hear about it the next day: you read a book, get lectured on a completely different topic, discuss and analyze a case study and then leave class to go meet with your team and work on a project, which requires you to do all kinds of things (I remember standing in front of American Eagle at 8 pm on a Friday night to conduct market research, calling Hong Kong to get prices on the items we needed to manufacture a product we invented and going to a large, international advertising firm to interview employees to learn about management's leadership approaches and effectiveness). It's a lot to do in a short amount of time--on top of the time preassure, sometimes the concepts are the easiest to understand. </p>
<p>In terms of nonprofessional courses, the thinking you do will be much more complex and held to a higher standard. You'll be required to know more and know it well and learn it quickly.</p>
<p>When I frist started school, I felt that high school really babied me for four years. I was more than capable to tackle college, but it's a completely different level than high school. </p>
<p>Of course, there are going to be courses that are a breeze, but those aren't the ones you'll remember when you graduate. </p>
<p>I don't know if that answers your question well, but it's the best way I can describe it from my college experience.</p>
<p>Well, the easy answer is that a lot of courses are curved and B-centered. Therefore, if you understand the material at approximately an average level, you will get a B. If you understand it really well, you will get an A. If you understand it at a below-average level, you will get a C or D.</p>
<p>It's not necessarily that assignments and tests are harder. It's that the grading system used leads to most students getting B's.</p>
<p>First of all, don't stress out about it. They accepted you as a peer of all the other accepted students and you can do the work and do it at the expected level. It's the same game, it's just that the rules and the players are more sophisticated. It's like going to select soccer from a recreational team--it's still soccer, but all the players are more talented and harder working, and now the refs are making offside calls and calling fouls that were forgiven due to the clumsiness of rec players.</p>
<p>One of the biggest differences from high school is that college requires independence in learning. The readings and the lectures may not cover the same topics, but all will be fair game at exam time; papers will often require independent research. There is no spoon feeding--generally there is no study guide handed out by the professor before an exam, and a lot of professors may not even hold a review session--and if there is one, it is only to answer questions raised by the students, not a general, comprehensive review. And, as Ryanbis noted, classes require a lot more than just reading the book and class notes--professors don't want regurgitation but independent and original thought and synthesis. A lot if times, there is not a "right" answer, but just "your" answer, constructed of what you have learned.</p>
<p>In college, not all of the students in a class are at the same level as they are in high school. Very rarely is a class designated "freshman" or "junior". A freshman may be as smart and motivated as an upperclassman in the same class, but may not have yet refined the art of writing an exam at the college level--his exam may not appear as polished and may suffer grade-wise in comparison.Some students in a class may be majoring in the subject and have a wealth of knowledge from outside the boundaries of the one class that is useful, etc.
As a younger student, this can hurt a bit, but things even out as you progress.</p>
<p>Then there is also the fact that with most classes having 2 or at most 3 exam grades, and maybe a couple of papers, each grade assumes a lot more importance, and leaves a lot less leeway for making up a less than stellar grade.Case in point: this semester my son had a class with a 15-20 page paper due one month in to the class worth 15 points; a midterm exam worth 15 points--and, at the end of the semester, a project turned in at the time you sat for your final exam, which together were worth 70 points. You didn't get the exam without handing in the project-- and , of course, being due at the end of the semester, you're also facing pressure with all your other exams and papers. Don't even think about asking for extra credit!</p>
<p>Generally in college there is no busy work to grub grades with lots of meaningless small assignments, but if you don't do the busy work (practice problems, vocab lists, etc) independently your grades will suffer. </p>
<p>Finally, like other posters have noted, a lot of courses are curved--it's not just whether you demonstrate some knowledge of the material, but how does your knowledge stack up to others? Or to the professor's expectations?</p>
<p>I don't know wheter it is true or not, but I read somewhere that no one has graduated from my son's school with a 4.0 in close to ten years. And the graduates all seem to be happy, healthy, and getting on with their lives--med school, b-school, law school, good jobs etc.</p>
<p>YOU'LL BE FINE !!</p>
<p>I think if you spend about six hours working on material outside of class (that's not homework) then you should be able to get an A-, should the curve allow it. I only got one A- from a academic course this past year, and I really worked my butt off in that one.</p>
<p>uvajoe,
It depends really on the class. That's why people at UVa try and schedule some really easy classes like "History of Jazz" (MUSI 212) and then harder in-major classes. The other thing is that class work tends to come in waves, you might have weeks where you just have to do the readings for the class and that is it. Other weeks you might have to spend 10+ hours studying for an exam. </p>
<p>To give you a broad answer in a mid-level class in A&S you might spend about 5-6 hours a week doing the readings. In the week before a exam you might spend 10 hours studying for the exam not counting the readings that you still have to do for the week. Granted this is if you want to do well. If you just want a B-/B in many classes you could get away with much less</p>
<p>Thanks everybody, wahoo07- one more ques. Do us uva students tend to be "cut throat" or is that a myth?</p>
<p>uvajoe,
Because most classes are graded on a curve, students are placed in a position to compete against one another. However, most students at UVa aren't that "cut throat". I have heard that in the A-School students have had their projects broken overnight but it really isn't that bad in most other place.</p>
<p>When you are in high school, you were at the top.
Then you went to a top college and you were in the middle.
Then you'll graduate and be back at the top for the job market.</p>
<p>or you will go to college and completely fail, but that's not likely.</p>