<p>What is Stanford’s grading policy? Are there any grading curves? I assume there are none because Stanford is renowned for its lack of cutthroat competition between students. But then again, don’t all colleges have some sort of curve in certain classes?</p>
<p>So how are grades determined? Is it just a midterm and final for most classes (or 2 midterms and a final)? Or is the grading more lenient and allow more room for error?</p>
<p>Also, are grades determined by semester or quarter?</p>
<p>Seriously? I actually thought that people view HYP as cutthroat, while Stanford is the more laid-back, helpful atmophere place. I agree with this. I have not found Stanford to be cutthroat at all.</p>
<p>nngmm is right; grades are curved. Without curves, there would be very few A’s… tests are typically very difficult for the purpose of creating a good distribution, so that there aren’t a ton of people doing super well - because then there would be no way to differentiate them.</p>
<p>I did have one class (Psych 1) that was not curved. Even so, grading was reasonable and there were indeed people who received A’s. More typically, in pre-med type classes, means on tests range from 50-75%, I would estimate.</p>
<p>There are classes, as nngmm said, with papers, but some classes also count problem sets towards the final grade. Participation also counts in some classes, along with possible presentations.</p>
<p>celestial: that’s LACK of cutthroat competition. And I also concur with this.</p>
<p>Grades are curved, but I’m not sure it’s a strict curve (x people get A’s, y people get B’s, etc.). My guess is that it’s more along the lines of the profs using the distribution of raw scores to get a rough idea of how difficult the test was, then drawing the lines where it seems reasonable.</p>
<p>I think you’re right about the curves not being so strict, Si. In some classes, like Bio Core, participation in section is not required, but if you do participate, you can get a little bump up if your grade is borderline.</p>