Worried about grade deflation

<p>After doing much research, we decided that BU was a good fit for my son because they have a program that he is really interested in. We love Boston, and we thought it would be a fun place to go to college. But, now I have read some horror stories about grade deflation at BU and how that hurts graduates’ chances of getting into graduates schools (S might be interested in medical school). Does anyone have recent information on that?</p>

<p>Well, I cannot say personally. By the way I am highly interested in going to medical school, so I know I will need a 3.6-3.8 cGPA. Based on what I have heard, it is untrue. I heard BU just does not inflate grades as much as most other schools hence why the average GPA is lower then other schools. It is about working hard mainly, and working smart. BU is certainly a difficult school, but so is Tufts, Northeastern and other schools on the same par. A lot of students, especially freshman have a high tendency to procrastinate like they did in high school, college exams are much less frequent, and lectures are much larger and you may not learn as much without going to a TA or professor directly. So college does take a lot more initiative on your part. I have friends in BU(jn pre-med), they study 3 hours a night, do their homework nightly, and they get mainly As with some Bs. It is about studying consistently rather then a night or two before. Also, realize that if your son has taken tons of AP classes, such as myself, then he will be much more accustomed to collegiate level work and more prepared for it then someone who only did honors and regular classes. If you son is one of the latter, his 1st semester may be a huge shock, but if he does badly the first semester like many freshman, it is simply motivation to do that much better in the coming semesters and years. </p>

<p>Grade deflation is bull. Students who claim it feel entitled to an A or A- because that is what the got in high school with minimum effort.</p>

<p>I am currently a senior at Boston University (pre-med). For starters, Boston is an AMAZING place to live and an even better place to go to school. In terms of attending BU, if your son is going to be taking the science classes (for pre-med), he needs to be prepared. I took honors chemistry my senior year of high school and I was not prepared at all. The first exam we got back, I started to cry in the middle of lecture because I had the number 35 circled on the top of my exam. I had never done so poorly especially in a science class. I had studied and even attended office hours. I looked over at my friend’s exam and he got a 25. The average for the exam was a 33 out of 100. If that is not grade deflation, then I don’t know what is… I think that as a freshman in college I expected my first semester to be difficult–I thought I would get B’s, but that is not the case for those in the science courses. The freshman general chemistry classes at BU are designed so that people who aren’t serious about science, drop the pre-med track and switch out of the sciences. I did not drop out of the class and I have even taken the more advanced science classes, Orgo, Cell Bio, etc. If your son is interested in taking science classes here, expect the average class grade to be a C or C+. This is one of the most difficult schools to do well in especially in the science courses! That being said, I personally can’t go back in time, and that’s fine. But HE should just prepare himself for this.
Regardless, my experience at BU has been incredible and I wish your son the best of luck!</p>

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<p>That is not grade deflation. It is a rigorous course with a demanding professor. What you “expect” and what you earn are different things. </p>

<p>If you avoid BU and other “grade deflation” schools you will not be prepared for medical school, if by chance you are admitted. </p>

<p>@TomSrOfBoston‌ I’m not going to argue with you. I was just voicing my opinion. </p>

<p>@sarr1166 Did your professor curve? Most do. If that is the case and 33 is average then you are just above average compared to all the other students in your class, sorry to inform you of that fact. And what score did those with the highest grades get? If they got 80’s and 90’s why didn’t you… oh right the professor deflated your grade not theirs??</p>

<p>BU attracts VERY SMART kids. My DD who has never had a C in her life is heading for her first as a Freshman at BU. She never complained about the grading or her professors being demanding or grade deflation ( and I am a PROUD parent of a great kid for not doing so) Her only comment to me was THE KIDS HERE ARE ALL SO SMART!!!</p>

<p>That’s exactly what my Senior son at W&M (another notorious grade-deflating school) said to me when he realized to get above a 3.2 ( their Average CUM of students there) he decided to quit running cross country to spend more time on his studies.</p>

<p>To the OP if you think high grades will get you into Med School and a school’s reputation and rigor of a program does not help prepare you for a career in medicine or medical school, not matter, why not apply to a local collage where you are the smartest kid in the class again like you were in high school.</p>

<p>@jssaab1 well from what I can see from your other posts, your DD is in CGS, so of course she would say that.</p>

<p>@sarr1166 Um yes my daughter is CGS but is on the pathway to Sargent and took 2 ( yes overloaded her coursework) electives Psychology and Anatomy Aced those (A- and A) no problem, rhetoric is her C+ </p>

<p>BTW she took AP Chem and Physics and placed out of both… Maybe medicine is not your bag???</p>

<p>She wants to go to Med school ( like her mother) and wants a fall back medical career (speech or Occupational therapy) in case she does not get in.</p>

<p>Maybe if you were smart ( and think its easier ) you would have done CGS instead of complaining about her high grades due to her supposedly easier program ( that’s what we suggested for her, take it easy your first 2 years, ace some courses top get your GPA up ( 3.5 so far baby!) and settle in later on the harder courses.</p>

<p>Like I said, if you think going to an easier school or or doing an easier program is best to get into med school just go to community college for your first 2 years and finish at a better school.</p>

<p>You do know that the ONLY required courses (and those you will definitely need As in) for Medical school are English 1+2, ( Com counts) Chem 1+2, Physics 1+2, Organic Chem 1+2 and Bio 1+2 (and the labs of course)… and some medical schools do not even require a Bachelor’s degree <a href=“Medical School Admission Requirements™ (MSAR®) for Applicants | Students & Residents”>https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/requirements/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You can do that as an English major or Psych or Music or liberal studies just using your electives</p>

<p>@tomsrofboston BU does not have grade deflation but other comparative schools have grade INFLATION.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com/”>http://www.gradeinflation.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Here is a nicely done piece about the matter ( and there is all kids of stuff you can look up that shows similar information ( and some are quoted in the article) <a href=“http://bucultureshock.com/grade-deflation-fantasy/”>http://bucultureshock.com/grade-deflation-fantasy/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“Can Tough Grades Be Fair Grades? - The New York Times”>Can Tough Grades Be Fair Grades? - The New York Times;

I don’t think that there’s grade deflation, but if your son is a premed student he might have to take general chemistry (CH 101), which is considered the worst weedout class. If your son has AP Chem credit, make sure that he takes 109 (general chemistry but for people who are adept with chemistry) or he might have an easier time in 101 than most people.

Exactly. I saw the same thing on my first Chem exam. Of course, the course is still graded on a curve.
The question was asked if the exam was going to be re-graded considering the low curve and the response was something to the effect of “All these questions were part of the homework. This isn’t HS anymore. Some of you had best put a little more effort into it.”
And, guess what?
They did.

My daughter is a freshman majoring in neuroscience with thoughts of some kind of healthcare career (doc, PA, research - not sure). She took regular chem in high school, did AP bio, but not AP chem. She was thrilled that on the first exam in chem at BU (CH 101), she received a 64 when the average was in the low 30s. She ended up with a B for her first semester. That said, she came from a high school with very high demands and an extremely heavy work load with lots of homework (and she danced tons of hours each week outside of school). She said that lots of kids in chem 101 at BU complained about how much work it was. She felt very prepared thanks to her unforgiving high school teachers - ha - and thought it was pretty much like her classes in high school. That said, your child needs to be ready to put in lots of hours. They will watch their friends with much lighter schedules (but the same number of credits) have much more free time. This semester she has two classes with labs (so even more time in the classroom), yet she is participating in dance performances (with some rehearsals that are 9-11 p.m. during the week and one that rehearses every weekend), and she loves to go to hockey games. Keep in mind that she is a smart girl, but someone who has to work for her grades.

To be honest with you, I think that there is something wrong with professors when the average test grade is in the 30s, especially when students attend class, and work so hard outside of class.

Either the professor is a bad teacher, doesn’t know how to construct an exam around the material taught or, more likely is on some power trip aimed at “breaking” even the hardest working, best performing students.

Why not focus on teaching the material and confirming that the students learned it?