<p>Sometimes a B is an A.</p>
<p>I’m a freshman engineering major and I’m damn proud of my B+ in Physics I, thank you very much. :D</p>
<p>I think it depends on your major. If I was studying a humanities field or business or something, I’d be pretty bummed about a B in my first semester before things even got tough.</p>
<p>This is totally context-related. When I was in engineering school, most classes were graded on a curve with a “C” being the center of a normal distribution. A “B” was great, an “A” was exceptional. “D” and “F” grades were common, and the general expectation was that a third of the incoming class wouldn’t make it to graduation. (Humanities profs, even at the same university at the same time, were far more generous graders.)</p>
<p>Grade inflation has floated all boats at many schools, and the concept of intentionally “weeding out” weaker students is far less popular in today’s environment where student retention and graduation metrics are used for rankings and, for more marginal schools, availability of government-backed student loans.</p>
<p>(Looking at the excellent resource on grade inflation provided by ucbalumnus, I was finishing my undergrad degree just as the steep rise in GPAs was starting. Timing is everything!)</p>
<p>All that aside, unless a student plans to apply to competitive professional/graduate programs (e.g., med schools), undergrad grades won’t matter much. Some employers may look at GPA for new grads as one of many hiring factors, but in the long run the impact of “B” vs “A” grades will be minimal.</p>
<p>Keep the big picture in mind. GPA only comes into play when you apply for grad school and for teaching assistant jobs at grad school. While your diploma may say cum sum laude (et. al), future employers are looking for that diploma and when appropriate certifications. </p>
<p>I know so many that stressed on getting high scores on the certification exams, but everywhere I have worked, the people with perfect scores are paid the same no matter what the score was. The same with GPA.</p>
<p>My point is the same as someone earlier, learn the content and understand the work. This will get you further than a person who can “pass a test.” (I had to fire a perfect test taker once - she had an eidetic memory and aced the CPA exam, but had no idea how to put the information into practice.)</p>
<p>for premed and pre-law, yes anything less than an A is “bad”. Ditto, most grad programs.</p>
<p>“Bad” is relative, but at those schools with an average GPA of 3.4-3.6 (see the link from ucbalumnus), a “B” (3.0) is well below average. Bizarre, but true.</p>
<p>I didn’t do the math, and I’m not even sure if there’s enough data in that info to make the calculation, but it seems possible that a solid B student might be in the bottom quartile at some of those high-GPA schools.</p>
<p>When I teach, the average grade for undergraduate courses is a 2.75 in my class. However, accounting is known for lower grades. Graduate grades are usually MUCH higher than that of undergraduate because less than a 3.0 overall will fail the student out. My average grade for a grad school class is probably a B or B+. However, grad kids tend to be not only better prepared on the average but tend to be uber serious about their work.</p>
<p>I was just about to say what bluebayou said. If you’re trying to attend a top graduate school, then yes, a “B” is bad. It all depends on the individual and where he/she is trying to go after college.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>There’s your answer!
Most of the people on College Confidential are overachievers. A lot of them are high schoolers trying to get into the most elite colleges, parents with kids like that, parents with kids at the most elite colleges, or people who attended or are at the most elite colleges.
Why? I’m not sure; I guess the people who seek advice/want to give advice on college tend to be the smart ones, and that’s what this website is all about. </p>
<p>I haven’t noticed it as much with grades, but I’ve noticed it with test scores. I had to stop asking questions regarding chances at colleges or colleges that would be good for me because people would make me feel like an idiot for getting an SAT score in the 1700s (well, now it’s 1820 superscored, but I’m sure that’s still the work of Satan himself to them.) What matters is what you’ve done and what you consider an improvement.</p>
<p>You used to be the kind who had to work hard for a B; therefore, getting a B, or even getting As like you have been, is a HUGE accomplishment.
For someone who’s used to getting straight As, like many on CC, he may look at a B as a failure on his part. I know I’m kind of freaking out right now because of my 88 in English, even though I really shouldn’t be.</p>
<p>I’m the kind of person who isn’t good at standardized tests (yes, CCers, those people DO exist); therefore, getting a score 300 points above average was a HUGE accomplishment for me.
For people who are used to always being close to perfect, a score that drops below 2000 can seem like the end of the world.</p>
<p>All that matters is YOU are doing YOUR best. Forget about what other people consider good.</p>
<p>Good luck with the rest of college, and congrats on doing so well!</p>
<p>The day you joined CC</p>
<p>As was mentioned earlier, I think that this idea of B being “a bad grade” generally comes from the fact that the grade inflation is present. In other words, as more and more students get As and Bs, the value of B–no matter how “solid” it was considered in the past–is being diminished. So yeah, I do think that B is not a very good grade, and would be personally disturbed had I gotten one.
Another factor maybe the university that you’re attending; probably getting B in Ivy schools is equivalent to an A+ in a local state colleges.</p>
<p>For the folks who think the “B” discussion is influenced by CC members with amazing stats, a few quick points:
- This discussion is about college grades.
- Grade inflation has reached the point where average students score mostly “A” grades, at least at some colleges. So, arguably, at those schools a “B” indicates sub-par performance.
- Some colleges have less grade inflation and a “B” may still represent good mastery of the material.
- Even within a college, individual majors and profs can have quite different grading standards, so a given letter grade may not reveal much without knowing the context.</p>
<p>O.</p>
<p>My point still stands.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This was also true 35+ years ago when I was a college student…before so called grade inflation. However, many of my contemporaries managed to do very, very well in life without a stellar undergrad GPA.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>While technically true, it seems to be that there are really less than a handful that fit this description, with a GPA of 3.5+. Of course, Brown leads the GPA pack. But many colleges are in the 3.3-3.4 range, so the grades are “mostly” B’s.</p>
<p>College-bound students who really care sign up here on CC. Usually, the ones who really really care post many responses and threads. Those who care usually high grades. Lots of them try to get straight A’s, and B is a disappointment for them (especially 89% ugh)
The truth is that in top 10 schools just one B can ruin chances of getting in. Even for a straight A student nothing is guaranteed.
I noticed that this forum has LOTS of elite students with incredible stats. Actually, this forum depresses me often, because there are excellent students, who are so much better than me, who stress out a lot LOL</p>
<p>how do i ask questions on this thing? please help!</p>
<p>It depends where you go to school, honestly. B’s at Princeton are good, for example.</p>
<p>It will also depends if you are Asian. An A is the minimum and an A- will get you grounded or spanked (even college kids still get spanked). Then you will receive mandatory tutoring. You will get disowned if you get a B+.</p>
<p>Old school convention is that “D” means below average, “C” means average, “B” above average, “A” excellent. The problem is that with curve and GPA inflation today “B” is yesterday “C”.</p>