<p>[Grade</a> System — Undergraduate, College of Arts & Sciences, U.Va.](<a href=“http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/college/grade/grade_system.html]Grade”>http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/college/grade/grade_system.html)</p>
<p>My friend sat in on an (Macro?) Econ class.</p>
<p>Holy crap the drop between A- an B+ is drastic. I will be very happy with an A- in all my classes</p>
<p>It is up to the individual professors to determine what is an A, A-, etc. I have seen 94-90 A-, 93-90 A-,. 92-90 A- (much less common). I have 98+ A+, 99+ A+, only over 100 A+.</p>
<p>Because a B+ is a 3.3, it makes Dean’s List of 3.4 actually mean you have some kind of an A average. Unless you want repeating decimals one had to be .4 and the other two .3 within each 1.0 grade scale.</p>
<p>wofbharatj and hazelorb,</p>
<p>Thank you so much you guys. And haze, you must be a genius for graduating with such a high GPA! That’s beyond believable! CONGRATULATIONS!!! :D</p>
<p>Yeah this scale is kind of rough, but also not really. Getting an A- does lower GPA from 4 to a 3.7, but those 3.3’s from B+'s where you feel so close to that A balances it out I suppose. And every professor determines what a B+ is differently, so the scale really isn’t an issue. It’s more of the professor than anything. Am I correct in this??</p>
<p>Way to go Hazel! That is quite an accomplishment!!!</p>
<p>Would you say it was pure smarts, or a hard working mentality?</p>
<p>Anyone who gets into UVA is smart. I was willing to start my math homework the Sunday before it was due (typically it was due Thursdays), and if I got stuck on a problem after spending usually about 4 hours on it on a Sunday, I would go to office hours and otherwise be thinking the whole week about how to solve it in my free time (before going to sleep, etc). So I would say it was not only the amount of time I would put into my math work, but also when and how I would put in that time. Math also comes pretty easily to me, something that took me 4 hours would take other people in the class 8 hours. So a combination most likely. No one who is just “smart” gets a high GPA here, it’s not like high school. I did get a couple of Bs in classes I did not put that kind of effort into, like my psychology class (I would spend the day before tests reading and cramming instead of doing it for a few hours each week, and got a B in that class, but I still went to every lecture). Don’t think you can skip class here and get good grades… It doesn’t happen. On the other hand, I did a lot of extra curriculars here, too, because college social life is really important (my first year GPA was only a 3.4). I worked two jobs, was active on my dorm’s governance board, volunteered in a local elementary school, was treasurer of a club, and a webmaster for a number of other clubs, in addition to just -hanging out- which is reaaaally important. The 3.8 would not have been worth it if it came at the expense of my social life, hence my first year 3.4 GPA. Once I was just taking math and education classes, my GPA went up a lot because I cared more about the class topics and the material was easier for me (in my major, it is easier than some random class not in my major). Hope that explained it okay…</p>
<p>Hazel, that is just beyond impressive! I’m sure your proud of yourself :)</p>
<p>I’m kind of worried about calculus. Right now, I’m in AP Calc AB, and it is HARD. I’m planning on going to McIntire and I feel like Calc will be the end of me. I always thought I was a math guy, but this year, I just can’t grasp the concepts taught…</p>
<p>I miss AB… I wish I took BC this year, but my school is stupid. </p>
<p>UVAorBust, math classes, ESPECIALLY Calculus, is REALLY affected by the teacher. My teacher was phenomenal, and last year was his first year. We had 55% of our classes score a 5 on the exam. I think one of the better things you can do is try to self-study a little bit of it as well. Sometimes the teacher doesn’t make sense, and trying it out yourself with an AP Prep book will help tons. It helped a lot of my other friends last year who couldn’t follow my teacher. But after the prep, they all got 4/5’s. </p>
<p>And besides, one class doesn’t determine if you are good or bad at a specific major.</p>
<p>I guess that is true wofbharatj. My teacher is HORRIBLE. One student went to speak to the principal about the teacher and was told that there is nothing they can do. He is a priest and has been teaching at our school for over 20 years. He is SO stubbern. I guess that is why 7/23 kids failed the class this quarter. I’m sitting at a B+, and I have a tutor once a week…</p>
<p>This is his last year, as last year only 1 kid scored a 5 on the AP exam out of 50…</p>
<p>Yeah see? Definitely look into Barrons AP Prep book. They are notorious for making their prep books more difficult than the exams they prep for haha. I can try to ask my teacher from last year if he knows any resources to help you out.</p>
<p>I’m sure my teacher knows a lot of outside resources and stuff. It’s no bother at all :)</p>
<p>Thanks! I’m not as worried about the AP exam right now as keeping a B+ in the class. For the classes I do receive 5’s in, I really don’t want to skip the class at UVA. Well for AP Macro atleast.</p>
<p>I want to skip as many as possible… I really want to do Physics/Math with Pre-med, so I need all the AP credits as I can haha. But yeah man, I’ll get you some suggestions from my teacher</p>