Hi all,
How hard would it be to get a gpa of around 3.3 while taking rigorous courses like physics, chem, and calc at UMich?
Depends very much on the student. Really, that’s all anyone can say. Physics, Chem and Calc are tough at UMich, but they’re doable. You have to put in the hours.
Frame of reference. My kiddo got A’s in her sleep through high school, even with a deck of AP classes.
At UMich, she had to work VERY hard to get a 3.3 gpa in those classes. (someone else might find them easier)
Highschool to UMich is a HUGE adjustment. Academics are dense and rigorous, particularly in STEM trajectories.
The average grades are B+ for sciences and engineering, and A- for liberal arts. So a B+ average is, average. The average student works very hard too. The classes you mentioned include a lot of weeder classes, so that would be particularity difficult (they are curved lower). For many students, this will be the first time that they were really challenged.
For example, my son was very upset when he got a 73 on a diff. eq. exam. He found out later that the average was 58 and they adjusted the grades. They make the exams difficult to increase the spread on grades.
Math department average grade is B-