I am convinced that how well you do on non multiple-choioce tests depends on your instructor, how well you get along with him and obviously his grading policy. Most prefer multiple choice tests, but now I'm beginning to see the other side. I had a one essay test in Mex-American Lit which I was convinced I bombed. I'm not being false-modest here, I wanted to drop the class. I usually like to reread my work, but I felt my essay was so poorly written that I couldn't bear to reread it again. It was horrible and honestly, I've written better essays in junior high. I ended up getting an A. As I suspected, he was a very lax-grader. This was the second time this has happened to me. The other time, I wrote a late night paper that I felt was so bad that I wasn't gonna turn it in. I made an A on that as well. So, to you aspiring college students (I'm basically done), listen to what your peers say when they say "so and so is easy." It is very true. Has this ever happened to you guys though? Think you bombed it, but you get an A. I literally thought I deserved a 65 or so. Of course, it's happened the other way many times.
Well, usually professors take into account that 1 to 1 1/2 hour essays wont be of great quality. They tend to look at what you said rather than how you said it. Multiple Choices test are just the opposite. You must circle the right answer. The problem is that many times professors who give multiple choice test tend to darken their questions and answers by shade and degree. Then they tell you to chose the best answer. Often, one word makes the difference in these test. The professors that give these tests, I think, intentionally make the wording crazy b/c they THINK multiple choice tests are too easy in any other form. I myself would rather have the essay test when I get one of these professors!
Last year (senior year high school) i had to take a science 11, since i hadn't taken one yet. So i decided to take biology 11 so i could get my science credits to graduate academically. The teacher was a new guy that semester and he never had a clue how to run the class. He just handed out stuff and never bothered teaching it or checking for completion. He literally made up our grades off of the top of his head (participation, homework)...and everybody was failing all the tests. So the final came and i never had a clue what it was gonna be on and quite seriously i didn't give a damn, i'd already given up on that class as i had 45% or somethin. On the exam...multiple choice, i honestly only knew 2 answers of the 180 questions. I knew i failed and i just didn't care. 2 weeks later the final report card came in the mail and it said that i got 80% on the final. Yeah f***ing right!!! I talked to other people and most people were positive that they failed as well, but they ended up getting 75-80%. It seems this guy boosted the marks somehow to make it look like his class was at an average mark, so that he would stay another year. And guess what, HE'S STILL THERE this year! (thank God i'm not ) Oh yeah, and i was wonderin about another thing, i really don't know why he let me pass. During the year I: a) put glue on his seat (and he sat down, he doesn't know who did it). b) flooded the room with about 4 inches deep of water (long story, he doesn't know who did it) c) pissed him off with stupid comments. So, i'm really not sure why he let me pass...but i'm sorta glad he did even though i have no respect for him (and he prob doesn't have any for me).
also can be explained as: long hours of torturous leactures, no time to stare at that hottie in class, reading a bunch of stuff that will only make you a nerd instead of going to that chicks house party, doing a bunch of work instead of playing x-box or posting on clutchcity.net, studying for hours instead of sleeping = A
There's an old saying I like to say: Going to UT was the best thing to happen to me. Leaving UT was the best thing to happen to me. Translation: Not as much studying and more free/party time
A better alternative: be GOOD friends with a person who always go to class, who listens, read the books, and do their homework and study = A Remember, to goal of a college student is to: Get the highest grade with lowest effort!
I was just talking to my roomate about us graduating in 5 years and wondering how it crept up like that. Oddly enough we have a midterm on Thursday. Hey, the Angels are winning...
Think we will be adding Leon Smith to your list anytime soon? Does Sam Bowie qualify for your Income HOF? You either have one horrendous ego or are totally ignorant of the odds of someone obtaining the incomes of a Gates, Dell, or even a Bryant. Perhaps you are ignorant of both. And you know what they say -"Ignorance is bliss".
My keys to college: 1. Get copies of old exams... you learn 10x faster and 10x as much as you would normally. 2. Study in groups that contain smart people. 3. Make sure you have an equal balance of fun and study 4. Don't waste your first year. It will come back to haunt you. 5. Don't worry about grades. College teaches you how to think and how to be social. Those two things will carry you much further than anyone with good grades.
I don't how good advice that is...maybe it depends on your field of study. There were several jobs I applied for after college where they wouldn't even look at you if you didn't have a 3.0 or above. It's definitely true that grades matter less and less as time to moves on (they eventually won't mean anything), but if you're looking for a job right after college, from my experience, the GPA helps tremendously.
DC, you're an engineering guy right? I think grades matter in the more technical fields. In communications, experience and personality count more.