university grades (1 Viewer)

[inasero]

i know this might sound a little stupid, but please bear in mind that i am still a naive high school student...

anyways my musing is this- university marking is given on a scale of HD, D, C, etc etc....and I know many who try their best to obtain the highest possible grades...but in the end dont we all end up with the same degree? and isn;t the only significant factor whenther you pass your units of study or not?
If so, then why is there such an academic competitiveness?

Thanks for your help~

 

[Butterfly_Wings]

Yeah, you end up with the exact same degree, so long as you pass.
It's like the HSC though...you can still say you've completed the Higher School Certificate, whether you got a UAI of 50 or a UAI of 100, but the student who got a UAI of 100 will have more options than the student who got 50.
Likewise, A UNI student can still say they have a degree in whatever, so long as you at least pass. But if you just scrape by with passes in every subject, although you are officially qualified to get a job in your field, a future employer may decide to instead go with the person who got straight HDs. Obviously it's not quite so clean-cut as it is with UAIs (an employer may not care in the slightest what marks you got, particularly if your skill is in demand), it's more about maying yourself look good. I personally don't see why people stress about it so much. Unless you are trying to transfer or get a scholarship...in which merely passing will get you nowhere!

 

[johnson]

yeah butterfly wings knows his shizzat

basically, all you need to do is pass. if you wanna do honours, you gotta get like distinction average i think. so only the top of the top.

when you graduate, if your academic transcript (a piece of paper which has all your grades and results over the entire course) is full of D's and C's you've got a good chance of getting a job.

if it's full of fails and stuff, then, well, it won't be easy easy.

maybe.

 

[inasero]

ahh yeah...makes snese

 

[pri]

why do so guys in this forum assume most ppl are guys?

 

[Butterfly_Wings]

Originally posted by Cyph
she knows her stuff!

Yes, she! SHE!
I find it funny people would think someone posting under the name "Butterfly_Wings" would be a male.

 

[Generator]

Some degrees run on an honours system of those with an average over say 80 gaining an honours degree and those under finishing with just the plain degree.

Well, it's something like that (the top performers being rewarded with more than just a more impressive transcript than most...)

 

[johnson]

Originally posted by Butterfly_Wings
Yes, she! SHE!
I find it funny people would think someone posting under the name "Butterfly_Wings" would be a male.

sorry

i think i just got u confused with someone else

r u the one who used to have an av of ben kweller..?

 

[Butterfly_Wings]

Originally posted by johnson
sorry

i think i just got u confused with someone else

r u the one who used to have an av of ben kweller..?

s'ok.

Yep, I had an avatar of Ben Kweller.

 

[Mambomeg]

I think its just because people cant stop after the HSC. to a person with a UAI of 95+, the idea of getting "Just a pass" is horrifying. Also because of the whole bell curve thing, you have to make sure you are in the top 3/4 or so to pass, also, some degrees require you to maintain a credit average to move into the next year of the degree.
Me? I just want to transfer, so I have to get good marks, which means beating people, hence the competitiveness.

 

[McLake]

Originally posted by Generator
Some degrees run on an honours system of those with an average over say 80 gaining an honours degree and those under finishing with just the plain degree.

Well, it's something like that (the top performers being rewarded with more than just a more impressive transcript than most...)

Yes. In my degree (Software Engineering) I recieve Honours in 4th year if I maintain a D average.

 

[anti]

To be eligible for most postgrad studies you need a pretty impressive average, too.

 

[countess_kalina]

Oh dear lol you can tell how dodgy VU is that you only need a C average to do 3rd Class honours... though 3rd class honours isn't really worth it.

 

[pigs_can_fly]

how hard is it to get a D average
can neone put it into perspective a person in yr 12 might understand?

 

[Butterfly_Wings]

Originally posted by Mambomeg
I think its just because people cant stop after the HSC. to a person with a UAI of 95+, the idea of getting "Just a pass" is horrifying.

I think that is probably the main reason. If all you had to do was pass and there was absolutely no reason anyone else would care what your grades were in terms of employment etc, people would still strive for a HD, if it meant they could look good to the person sitting next to them.

 

[Frigid]

I remember in year 10 I had like 5 HDs and 2 Ds... how will that translate in uni?

 

[pigs_can_fly]

fridg i would suspect it would be alot harder

 

[pigs_can_fly]

to get those same grades...i mean

 

[Butterfly_Wings]

UNIs a whole different ballgame to high school. Theres no way in hel you can predict the type of grades you can expect in UNI from high school marks...especially Year 10 marks.

 

[mp3mojo]

got a Q

is the scaling for each course, such that
top 5% gets HD
next 10% gets D
next 20% gets C
bottom 5% gets F
then the rest gets P