<p>Why is it so much more uncommon to hear of college students running around with 3.8-4.0's? I know there's obviously no [direct or literal] weighting of grades, but the fact that for much of college the student gets nearly complete control of what classes they take, wouldn't that place a student at a greater chance of scoring higher (choosing classes they like)?</p>
<p>Because the bottom two thirds of the high school curve disappeared. They didn't go to college. So students used to getting As will now get Bs. B students will now get Cs, etc.</p>
<p>Well, I guess I'm not used to that since well over 99% of my [public] school goes to college. I'd say there's MAYBE two or three students who don't go to college each year. The really dumb kids go to CC or, if rich enough, one of the more crappy state schools.</p>
<p>Competition is tougher. Generally, people will be surrounded by smarter, more hardworking students in college. My public high school had a SAT average of 1250 and I had a 3.98 GPA. I truly believe that if I were to go to a college who'se avg. SAT is 1250, I would have approximately the same GPA. Right now I attend Cornell and have a 3.85 so that's not too big a drop either.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind, college classes tend to be curved so that only a fraction of students get a certain grade. In high school, most of the tests were uncurved so there is no limit to the amount of people who can get A's.</p>
<p>Why you ask? Because college is HARDER. also..there is a curve so basically, a certain number of students can get A, then some other number of students gets B, etc. It's not like people can't get A's, but the curve prevents them</p>
<p>Also, there's less room for error. Most college classes aren't going to give out extra credit, and you often won't get a ton of easy homework points to keep your grade afloat. The major exams and the final will basically determine your grade. Slipping up on just one exam can hurt a lot. High school classes are usually a little more forgiving.</p>
<p>Also at some high schools an A- is still a 4.0, a B+ is a 3.0. In college an A- is a 3.66, a B+ a 3.3. There are no weighted grades. A B+ average at a very competitive college is a 3.3 which will not cut many grad school programs so it is almost neccessary to get A's and A-.</p>
<p>Yeah, arizonamom makes a really good point. I totally forgot to mention the GPA standard. Getting lower GPA points for a minus makes a huge difference. </p>
<p>The days of edging out a 4.0 for a class by getting an 89.5 are such a pleasant memory.</p>
<p>Good points, all...don't forget that there are a lot of more distractions to take you away from your studies...and there are no parents around managing your time for you. Time management may be one of the most critical things to master your first semester at college...if you don't, it may very likely haunt you for the rest of your college career.</p>
<p>The classes also go much deeper! Chem 1 in high school is much different than Chem 1 in college, or even AP Chem for the most part!</p>
<p>You're also surrounded by other kids of the same academic caliber. In college, especially the HYPS type, all the kids in your class got 3.7-4.0 grades in high school. The differential between kids is much smaller.</p>
<p>The reason is more than simply saying that college is harder. To me, the hardest part about college are the distractions. There are innumerable reasons as to why kids get distracted such as: hot and cold running babes/guys, poker, sports, friends who want to play games, festivals, carnivals, etc. Having some strong time management is really crucial in college. These distractions didn't exist, for the most part, in high school.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Well, I guess I'm not used to that since well over 99% of my [public] school goes to college. I'd say there's MAYBE two or three students who don't go to college each year. The really dumb kids go to CC or, if rich enough, one of the more crappy state schools.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yeah, but they're not going to YOUR school. The fact that all those dumb kids end up at CC's or at crappy state schools - it doesn't matter where they go - all that matters is that they are no longer with you (I take it you're not going to a CC or a crappy state school). You end up going to a school where the students are more to your level.</p>
<p>also at some schools, the GPA scale is harsh:
ex. at Duke its</p>
<p>A+, A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B = 3.0
B- = 2.7
etc...
So u could get strait A's in all ur classes for 4 yrs but if ur A's are lower, (90-92), all ud end up w/ is a 3.7.</p>
<p>Outside of the fact that Duke does not give a 4.3 for A+'s, there is nothing harsh about that scale. That's standard for college.</p>
<p>I had a 92.3 avg in HS and a 3.96/4.00 in college. In high school, I never studied and was an underachiever. I didn't become a serious student until college.</p>
<p>If you are an honors student in college, do you get a higher gpa curve? Are there such things as harder courses in college that similar to AP courses in high school where you can earn graduate school credit and get a higher GPA?</p>
<p>Mmm, probably not.</p>
<p>You can take graduate classes, if you're hard-working and well-qualified enough, but (at least at my school) you're still graded on the same scale. Their philosophy is that if you want to take a grad class, you can do the grad work for the grad grade.</p>
<p>I agree with earlier posters that lower college grades have to do with a much smaller difference between students being spread across the spectrum of grades. College professors also seem to be less sympathetic to whining, perhaps because your college GPA just doesn't matter as much as the high school GPA did, unless you're planning to go to professional school.</p>
<p>is that the standard really??? WOW I'm used to a much more lenient curve than that</p>