limited As?

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I just started nursing school (BSN) and a upper level student (a 3rd level-i.e. 3rd semester) told us that the teachers dont like to give out too many As. So even if you get As on all your tests, quizzes, etc. On the subjective things like clinicals they will purposely grade you down if they already have enough As in the class, just so you'll get a B. Our A's start at 93, so they will give you a 92 so you're stuck with a B!! I cant believe they would do this, I want to get scholarships and get into the honor society chapter but I cant do that if they grade me down purposely. I did ok on my first test (an 88% which is a B) but I know I can do better next time, I'm worried that if I start getting As they will grade me down on clinicals because i'm not the most social person ever, but I think I'm caring and get the job done. Do they just choose their favorite A students and let them keep their As and the rest of the A students will get graded down at clincals and end up getting Bs in the class? Why would they do this? We should be get what we deserve and if you deserve an A then you should get an A even if half of the class gets an A. Why? Why? Why?

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That sounds like a wild rumor to me. Just do the best you can and do not listen to talks like that....

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I agree with KatieBell. No professor can get by with "giving" out grades. Grades are earned. (I know, I know, things happen - but be realistic.)

This person probably doesn't get many A's because she and her little pack don't earn them! You'll be fine.

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Specializes in CCRN.

More than likely not many A's are earned. Once you get to the upper levels it gets more challenging. Just stay the course and worry about yourself not what everyone else says.

Good luck.

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Specializes in med surg, icu.

It's believable. I got my B.S. from a school that limits the amount of A's it gives out... The academic department actually had a goal of having an average cumulative gpa of somewhere around 2.7-2.75... It's a bummer because most people who go there were in the top 10% of their high school class (and it has a very low acceptance rate), and competition is really tough from day one.. and the tough thing is applying for graduate programs where you're competing with people who went to colleges with graduating classes that have much higher average cumulative gpa's. Then factor in being an electrical engineering major... xO

In some classes, the professors only gave out one A, one A-, and two or three B-range grades... and then handed out C's or lower to everyone else.

(One way of compensating is just giving out painstakingly difficult tests that historically nobody has ever finished so you can grade on a scale)

It's so frustrating to think about that I try not to think about it too often. =)

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

I, too, went to an undergraduate program that limited it's number of high grades in an effort to curb the rampant "grade inflation" that was (and still is) sweeping the country.

In that school, all grades were "norm referenced" -- which means that they were graded "on a curve." The mean score on any test was made the cut off point between a B- and a C+. Anyone who scored below the mean automatically got a C or worse. People who scored above got either an A or B depending on how much above the mean they scored. So ... 50% got a C or worse, which was pretty hard for a bunch of high school wizz kids to take. During the 4 years of my undergraduate years there, no one ever got a A in a theory class. As one of the top theory students, that was hard for me to take -- but I have since gotten over it. (Well, almost.)

llg

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