7 ms·

American translation: graduating with anything other than a 4.0 or a 1.0 is wasted.

OJFord 4y ago
Or rather between them, yes. (Or a bit lower than 4.0, that's perfect right? Or do you not have to get full marks on every exam to achieve that?)
- antasvara 4y ago
  4.0 would mean that you got a letter grade of "A" in every class. In the US, that usually means you got a final grade of 95% or higher in every class.
  - TylerE 4y ago
    95? I have never seen that. 10 point seems to be the most common (A=90+).
    - AlchemistCamp 4y ago
      At my school, 90, 91, and 92 were considered an A- and worth only 3.7 grade points.
      - TylerE 4y ago
        That’s a little more normal. In my state Grades 1-8 ran on a 7pt scale. A was 93+, B was 85-93
  - wombatpm 4y ago
    In high school maybe. All my stem classes in college were graded on a curve. First exam freshman year was physics. I walked out thinking I failed. There were questions I did not answer. Later that night they posted raw scores. Mine was 48 pts out of 100. I was ready to withdraw and reconsider engineering as a major. Later still they posted the cut offs. 40 was the cutoff for an A. Avg was 36 and the cutoff for a B. My 48 was the 4th highest score. I would have preferred the British system
- zamfi 4y ago
  C is often the lowest passing grade — so, same saying really.
Balgair 4y ago
Oh got it now, thanks! Here in the US we have a saying of " C equals Degree", so kinda the exact opposite of the UK saying. Strange!
- JamisonM 4y ago
  I have always known it as "C's get degrees" but that's sort of a crass expression, not really the equivalent of the quote which is presented as "life advice" for the enrichment of those that receive it. "C's get degrees": The bare minimum to get the credential is the optimal use of resources. "You want either a first or a fourth. There is no value in anything between.": Either excel at school to maximize your achievement or don't worry about your grades and simply pursue whatever comes your way from the opportunity to be there to enrich your life.
- a_e_k 4y ago
  Amusingly along those lines, I once had a prof in my Ph.D. program tell me that if I was getting all A's in my coursework, I was doing it wrong. (I.e., not spending enough time on research.)
  - dilznoofus 4y ago
    This is pretty common at other places - my PhD advisor was exasperated that a polymer chemist would get an A in Physical Chemistry II, when I had a national lab collaboration to work on, a fellowship to write, and a first-author paper to get out the door. In retrospect? Yeah, I probably should have taken a B and finished relevant things faster. I have almost zero use for my understanding of the mathematic accounting of the particle-in-a-box. Of course in grad school a C is a failure, so the wiggle room is slightly less generous.
- UncleEntity 3y ago
  Talk about grade inflation… Back in my day it was “Ds get degrees”.

Or rather between them, yes. (Or a bit lower than 4.0, that's perfect right? Or do you not have to get full marks on every exam to achieve that?)

antasvara 4y ago
4.0 would mean that you got a letter grade of "A" in every class. In the US, that usually means you got a final grade of 95% or higher in every class.
- TylerE 4y ago
  95? I have never seen that. 10 point seems to be the most common (A=90+).
  - AlchemistCamp 4y ago
    At my school, 90, 91, and 92 were considered an A- and worth only 3.7 grade points.
    - TylerE 4y ago
      That’s a little more normal. In my state Grades 1-8 ran on a 7pt scale. A was 93+, B was 85-93
- wombatpm 4y ago
  In high school maybe. All my stem classes in college were graded on a curve. First exam freshman year was physics. I walked out thinking I failed. There were questions I did not answer. Later that night they posted raw scores. Mine was 48 pts out of 100. I was ready to withdraw and reconsider engineering as a major. Later still they posted the cut offs. 40 was the cutoff for an A. Avg was 36 and the cutoff for a B. My 48 was the 4th highest score. I would have preferred the British system
zamfi 4y ago
C is often the lowest passing grade — so, same saying really.

Balgair 4y ago

Oh got it now, thanks! Here in the US we have a saying of " C equals Degree", so kinda the exact opposite of the UK saying. Strange!

JamisonM 4y ago
I have always known it as "C's get degrees" but that's sort of a crass expression, not really the equivalent of the quote which is presented as "life advice" for the enrichment of those that receive it. "C's get degrees": The bare minimum to get the credential is the optimal use of resources. "You want either a first or a fourth. There is no value in anything between.": Either excel at school to maximize your achievement or don't worry about your grades and simply pursue whatever comes your way from the opportunity to be there to enrich your life.
a_e_k 4y ago
Amusingly along those lines, I once had a prof in my Ph.D. program tell me that if I was getting all A's in my coursework, I was doing it wrong. (I.e., not spending enough time on research.)
- dilznoofus 4y ago
  This is pretty common at other places - my PhD advisor was exasperated that a polymer chemist would get an A in Physical Chemistry II, when I had a national lab collaboration to work on, a fellowship to write, and a first-author paper to get out the door. In retrospect? Yeah, I probably should have taken a B and finished relevant things faster. I have almost zero use for my understanding of the mathematic accounting of the particle-in-a-box. Of course in grad school a C is a failure, so the wiggle room is slightly less generous.
UncleEntity 3y ago
Talk about grade inflation… Back in my day it was “Ds get degrees”.