A 4.0 GPA apparently doesn't mean crap anymore

[badger]

1 out of 9 incoming OU freshmen had one in high school. (http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=12&articleid=20120817_12_0_NORMAN54958)

15 percent of OSU incoming freshmen had one in high school. (http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=12&articleid=20120817_12_0_STILLW351345)

Grade inflation is probably a huge culprit. I was stunned when I learned that having 4.0+ GPAs were possible in Oklahoma, just by getting an extra number in an AP course. I like the idea of giving better GPA standing for harder courses, but the notion of having a 4.7 GPA on a 4-point scale sounded... well... asinine.

In any event, it sounds like baby badger won't have to work as hard for a 4.0 as I did for a 3.7ish in high school. Hopefully she'll be good enough to play for Sherri Coale. There's probably never going to be a shortage of Sooner athletic scholarships.

[yermom]

4.0 on a 4 point scale or a 5 point one?

AP classes have nothing to do with grade inflation and i have no problem with getting 5 points for one

grade inflation just has more to do with teachers giving people good grades to make their school look better/get parents off their back from what i can tell

[badger]

4.0 on a 4 point scale or a 5 point one?

I don't know how many states do the whole 5.0 for AP classes, but we didn't have that back in Wisconsin. Our class' valedictorian (who was Catholic so she got a full ride to Notre Dame, boo Domers) was really, really miffed at the one class she got an A-minus in for that reason. Goodbye, perfect 4.0.

It just seems really odd that so many students at in-state universities are getting 4.0s in high school. Perhaps there's some other crazy higher ed forces at play that I'm not considering (like the crazy-high costs of out-of-state tuition).

[yermom]

i've never seen an "A-"

[badger]

i've never seen an "A-"

You a kick arse student... or a really bad one... or do some schools not use the plus/minus system?

[olevetonahill]

i've never seen an "A-"
I never saw an A- either. very few Bs a bunch of Cs and a ton of Ds an Fs

[pphilfran]

The only 4 point average I ever received was in college..I think I had a 2.8 or 2.9 through high school...three straight semesters at Cameron while carrying 18 hours and working full time night shift..while continuing to be a party animal...both my soph semesters and 1st semester of my junior your...I worked with a guy that was the valedictorian at Lawton High...I was determined to beat his college average...we tied...bastard...

I then transferred to Texas to manage a full line grocery store and my full time schooling quickly came to an end...

It is amazing what one could do when you apply yourself...

[SoonerofAlabama]

Girl a few years older than me had a 4.8, full-ride to Auburn. Partied away and quit last I heard though.

[yermom]

You a kick arse student... or a really bad one... or do some schools not use the plus/minus system?

2 out of 3 ;)

[Jacie]

All that 4.0 high school GPA means is that grade report the parents see at the end of 1st semester is going to cause a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth when their once top-of-the-class son/daughter discovers that in college you don't get to do an extra credit project, take makeup exams, receive a pass on late (or no) homework nor can you charm more points out of professors (though sometimes you can out of TA's).

Let the games begin!

[SanJoaquinSooner]

What I see more and more are students who made A's in AP classes but scored only a 1 or 2 on the AP exams. For some, it's playing the game.... They want A's in AP classes for college admissions, but they don't want the earned credit so they can repeat the class for a good grade in college for med/dental/pharmacy/etc. admissions.

[yermom]

you aren't forced to take the exams are you?

[SanJoaquinSooner]

you aren't forced to take the exams are you?

Some teachers' incentives for taking it e.g., "I'll waive you taking a final exam" or the school will have some arm twisting condition.

[yermom]

ah.

my favorite high school story has to be failing Fraggle's mom's class and getting a 5 on the AP test :biggrin:

it didn't seem like we had that much access to AP classes though, at the time compared to now. there were only a handful of them. Calculus, English and Computer Science were the only ones i really remember hearing about. there were other "Honors" classes worth 5 points but only select classes. i don't think anyone could get as high as 4.7

[StoopTroup]

If Colleges want to see their enrollment go up...they can stop taking away credits from Students who return to School Later. We all know they did that so they could take you back to your Sophmore Level...pile 10-28 more Bull**** Classes on you that won't make you any smarter or help you with getting your BS or BA.

I don't know how many folks many of the State Schools lose to many of these online Universities.

I know this was about 4.0 and AP Classes but I know a few folks who are going back to College right now and it's paid for. They aren't picking OU or oSu or TU. They are going where they can get a plan that will get them their Bachelors ASAP so they can move onto a Masters or Professional Law or Medical Position and they aren't going to put up with much bull****. They want value for their money and aren't some 18 year old that bows to the word of every Professor or Teacher or even President of the University.

Parents have been getting fleeced by all these Universities and it's becoming more and more apparent that big Schools don't give two ****s about any of their Students. They need to start kissing the asses of people who are a bit older, a bit wiser than they were when they blew their full ride or realized they could sell Property or stocks or married and had kids instead of following the dream of education they once had or whatever they have been successful at the last 20 or so years.


Adult Education doesn't just mean an Adult is coming to your School....it means they aren't going to put up with much of your BS. They are going to find somewhere else to educate themselves and their Children.

It's a sad state that many of our Universities are in these days.

[fadada1]

go to class, pay attention, take notes, study, take tests, get good grades.

if only i had learned this the first time i was at OU. thankfully, i figured it out on the second go-around.

and our high school went off a 100 point scale: 90+ = A; 80-89 = B; etc... always seemed to make the most sense to me, as that how papers/tests were graded.

[badger]

Parents have been getting fleeced by all these Universities and it's becoming more and more apparent that big Schools don't give two ****s about any of their Students.

Everyone's getting fleeced by major universities. By the time baby badger is old enough to go, if prices don't stop going up, four to five years at OU will be out of the question and it'll be most economical to go to a community college first and then transfer in, or to go to a smaller college for a degree. Employers don't seem to care if you got a private or public university education. Not sure they'd care whether you went to OU or NSU at this point.


go to class, pay attention, take notes, study, take tests, get good grades.

if only i had learned this the first time i was at OU. thankfully, i figured it out on the second go-around.

and our high school went off a 100 point scale: 90+ = A; 80-89 = B; etc... always seemed to make the most sense to me, as that how papers/tests were graded.
It takes many students awhile to figure it out. high school, in many ways, really doesn't prepare students for college, especially a college far away from home. a lot of sheltered kids go full-on drunkie dropout upon leaving parents' watchful eyes.

[GottaHavePride]

you aren't forced to take the exams are you?

Some teachers' incentives for taking it e.g., "I'll waive you taking a final exam" or the school will have some arm twisting condition.

My high school AP chem teacher had a standing rule for the students. If you scored a 5 on the AP exam, she'd give you an A in the class, no questions asked. No one was crazy enough to attempt never attending class and just showing up for the exam though.

[yermom]

If Colleges want to see their enrollment go up...they can stop taking away credits from Students who return to School Later. We all know they did that so they could take you back to your Sophmore Level...pile 10-28 more Bull**** Classes on you that won't make you any smarter or help you with getting your BS or BA.

I don't know how many folks many of the State Schools lose to many of these online Universities.

I know this was about 4.0 and AP Classes but I know a few folks who are going back to College right now and it's paid for. They aren't picking OU or oSu or TU. They are going where they can get a plan that will get them their Bachelors ASAP so they can move onto a Masters or Professional Law or Medical Position and they aren't going to put up with much bull****. They want value for their money and aren't some 18 year old that bows to the word of every Professor or Teacher or even President of the University.

Parents have been getting fleeced by all these Universities and it's becoming more and more apparent that big Schools don't give two ****s about any of their Students. They need to start kissing the asses of people who are a bit older, a bit wiser than they were when they blew their full ride or realized they could sell Property or stocks or married and had kids instead of following the dream of education they once had or whatever they have been successful at the last 20 or so years.


Adult Education doesn't just mean an Adult is coming to your School....it means they aren't going to put up with much of your BS. They are going to find somewhere else to educate themselves and their Children.

It's a sad state that many of our Universities are in these days.

as someone who just graduated from OU at 35, i thought it was pretty easy to go back... and OU has quite a bit of ways to do it. it ain't cheap though.

if you really want to talk about getting fleeced, look at University of Phoenix or the Art Institutes

[StoopTroup]

as someone who just graduated from OU at 35, i thought it was pretty easy to go back... and OU has quite a bit of ways to do it. it ain't cheap though.

if you really want to talk about getting fleeced, look at University of Phoenix or the Art Institutes

He found St Gregory's the best adult program to suit his needs. He's older than 35 but not over 50. The longer he has stuck with it the more folks quit thinking he's a Professor there...lol.

BTW, I know that wasn't easy for you either Yermom but I think a lot of folks who do what you did. I started back at 38 for a FAA, FCC and Inspector licenses. If it wasn't for a guy I met during an interview with the FAA over some questions I had about finishing early because of my previous Aircraft experience, I'm not sure I would have made the right choices. Thanks to him, I was able to not only finish but use my experience to leap frog through job positions during my career. I wish I could thank him but he's passed on now.

To all those who do go back later....like Yermom did, just pay the money and don't let bad thinking get in your way.

[StoopTroup]

Also, my niece starts at OU this Semester. It's a dream for her and I know my Brother who is also an OU Grad ('95) are stoked about her getting started.

Go get em M!

BOOMER SOONER ! ! !

[StoopTroup]

TUCK FEXAS ! ! !

[KantoSooner]

the thing that majorly sucks about grade inflation is that OU makes absolutely no allowance for grades from school X vs. school Y. Thus, if you go to some factory that gives away grades and has some assinine system of awarding grades above 4.0 or 4.5 or 5.0 in order to jack their students GPA's, you get a wholly unearned advantage over the kid who went to a school that did traditional grading and doesn't hand out high grades like candy. I was stunned to hear an admin office person there confirm this to me nonchalantly. It was as though we were simply supposed to know that meaningless crap GPA's from some garbage high school were going to be more highly valued by OU than lower GPA's from a rigorous, serious high school.
Very disappointing. And, ultimately, very damaging to the university.