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<p>Hey, I just want to let you know that I entered UW with this expectation (academically), too. I figured I should be shooting for AB’s, but expecting B’s and occasional C’s. After three years of UW, I really think you should know that this is a horrible way to approach our school’s courses. Your academic life will, ironically, be easiest if you just work hard and get As. </p>
<p>UW grading for intro classes is a bit odd. There’s usually 25-35% that get As, the rest are almost evenly distributed among Bs, BCs and Cs (you really shouldn’t be getting Ds and Fs if you care). So, the students who got a B, BC, or C all had similar raw grades.</p>
<p>Ultimately, there ends up being a big discrepancy in the “type” of student you are at Madison. There are those that get lots of As, and then there are those whose grades scatter all over the place. Start out Madison planning for As and studying accordingly, otherwise your grades will fluctuate all over the place and will be hard to control. It’s pretty easy to get an A if you study, but it’s hard to solidify a B instead of a C.</p>
<p>There are exceptions. It might be worth your time to check out grade distributions for your classes ([Office</a> of the Registrar - University of Wisconsin-Madison - Course Grade Distributions](<a href=“http://registrar.wisc.edu/course_grade_distributions.htm]Office”>http://registrar.wisc.edu/course_grade_distributions.htm)) before you start school.</p>
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<p>Your intro classes will be curved, and non-literature/language/humanities students will have many advanced classes that are curved. There’s no such thing as a cruel grading policy in curved classes. The percentages that get good grades are predefined.</p>