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cellardweller · 04-04-2008, 09:31 AM

My D is still a freshman although she has sophomore standing, so this is her first semester with grades. She has no expectation of getting a perfect GPA, just hoping to get more As than Bs in her science classes, which by itself is not a given. Together with UROPs and HASS classes which are somewhat easier to get good grades in, she hopes to do well.

MIT has some unique options which allow students to take harder classes without necessarily penalizing their GPA. This semester, my D took advantage of an exploratory option for organic chemistry which crams about a year's worth of material at virtually any other school, into one semester at MIT. Most students take organic chem in their second year, so she knew it would be tough. If she gets a B or below she will just retake the class in the fall, with no penalty. Rather than meeting the premed chem requirements with as second semester of organic chem, most med schools will allow you to take biochemistry instead. You can then elect to take biochemistry in the biology department (no psets) which may be a better choice for many premeds as opposed to the very demanding 5.13 second semester orgo. class.

Some of the hardest classes to get As are the GIRs because they are curved against nearly the entire class. Clearly you are not competing against the math Olympiad types in the intro classes because they have generally taken the ASEs for these classes, but the average student at MIT is obviously very strong in math and physics. If you are a life science major, you may have a tough time getting an A when the average on intro math classes is a 90. If you use AP credits for 18.01 and 8.01 or can pass the ASEs, you can then take 18.02 and 8.02 P/F first semester.

If you are a masochist as a premed and want to take the computing bootcamp of 6.001 for the fun of it, you can take it as P/F junior or senior year. You generally can't take premed or major requirements on a P/F basis.

The statistics show that the GPA for all students increases gradually from frehsman to sophomore and beyond. As you get into smaller classes in your major department you generally end up doing better. Grade distribution for every class as well as average time required for study from prior years is available to students so you can see what you are getting into.

04-04-2008, 09:31 AM	#14
cellardweller Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: CT Posts: 567	My D is still a freshman although she has sophomore standing, so this is her first semester with grades. She has no expectation of getting a perfect GPA, just hoping to get more As than Bs in her science classes, which by itself is not a given. Together with UROPs and HASS classes which are somewhat easier to get good grades in, she hopes to do well. MIT has some unique options which allow students to take harder classes without necessarily penalizing their GPA. This semester, my D took advantage of an exploratory option for organic chemistry which crams about a year's worth of material at virtually any other school, into one semester at MIT. Most students take organic chem in their second year, so she knew it would be tough. If she gets a B or below she will just retake the class in the fall, with no penalty. Rather than meeting the premed chem requirements with as second semester of organic chem, most med schools will allow you to take biochemistry instead. You can then elect to take biochemistry in the biology department (no psets) which may be a better choice for many premeds as opposed to the very demanding 5.13 second semester orgo. class. Some of the hardest classes to get As are the GIRs because they are curved against nearly the entire class. Clearly you are not competing against the math Olympiad types in the intro classes because they have generally taken the ASEs for these classes, but the average student at MIT is obviously very strong in math and physics. If you are a life science major, you may have a tough time getting an A when the average on intro math classes is a 90. If you use AP credits for 18.01 and 8.01 or can pass the ASEs, you can then take 18.02 and 8.02 P/F first semester. If you are a masochist as a premed and want to take the computing bootcamp of 6.001 for the fun of it, you can take it as P/F junior or senior year. You generally can't take premed or major requirements on a P/F basis. The statistics show that the GPA for all students increases gradually from frehsman to sophomore and beyond. As you get into smaller classes in your major department you generally end up doing better. Grade distribution for every class as well as average time required for study from prior years is available to students so you can see what you are getting into. Last edited by cellardweller; 04-04-2008 at 09:47 AM.