/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.7499055]

How is it that a C is considered passing in STEM courses? The grading scale for most classes I've taken have a C at 70-80%. This means you have a grasp of ~75% of the information. Would you hire an electrical engineer to design the power grid for a city who only understands 75% of electrical concepts? How about someone to work in your nuclear power plant, who might cause serious damage because he only truly comprehended 75% of nuclear engineering? How can you pass Calculus only understanding 3/4 of the algebraic prerequisites, or differentials only firmly grasping 3/4 of Calc 1?

A B is fine, if it's due to a minor misunderstanding that you went back through and corrected, or a course you aren't going to use (Biochem if you're a materials scientist, for example,) but otherwise I don't see how anything other than an A in a STEM course signifies that you have enough of a grasp of that skill set to use it in a career.

[Anonymous No.7499061]

dude who still cares about grades?

[Anonymous No.7499073]

>>7499055

Because you can get a C from having a tough ass professor who marks down your test for the most pointless shit like not doing the steps the way he/she wants you to do them even when the answer is right. Plus, you're working with multiple engineers to build that power grid. Your work is getting double and triple checked by other people.

[Anonymous No.7499085]

>>7499073
So in STEM professions, like others, there is a bell curve where most people are simply mediocre at their jobs and that is acceptable? I was under the impression that most scientists and engineers were smart people who excelled in their studies.

[Anonymous No.7499091]

Elite universities use this:
100-60% is Pass, else is fail.
Some also use 100-75% Pass. No grade, just high standards.

[Anonymous No.7499100]

>>7499085
>So in STEM professions, like others, there is a bell curve where most people are simply mediocre at their jobs and that is acceptable? I was under the impression that most scientists and engineers were smart people who excelled in their studies.
Sure, but the mediocre ones get the mediocre jobs: sales engineer, shitty postdoc, low-level management if they get an mba.

[Anonymous No.7499111]

>>7499100
>Sure, but the mediocre ones get the mediocre jobs: sales engineer, shitty postdoc, low-level management if they get an mba.
>people actually believe this

[Anonymous No.7499114]

Fuck
Wish I had blue eyes

[Anonymous No.7499122]

>>7499114
Contacts.

[Anonymous No.7499129]

>>7499055
I agree OP

[Anonymous No.7499133]

>This means you have a grasp of ~75% of the information.
no, it means you answered 75% of the answers on the assessments correctly

you can understand the material fully and still get things wrong

[Anonymous No.7499139]

>>7499122
Those are scary to use and either all the Jap cosplayers I've seen with them were retarded or it's hard to find contacts that really look natural.
I'm also only borderline white and that's when I'm not tanned, wouldn't feel normal at all and people will just think I'm weird

[Anonymous No.7499153]

>>7499139
That ugly fucker in that mugshot a few months ago that so many girls thought was hot was borderline white with blue contacts.

[Anonymous No.7499160]

>>7499153
>borderline white
He was a nigger anon, if we're thinking of the same person.

[Anonymous No.7499168]

>>7499160
this one

[Anonymous No.7499174]

>>7499168
Yes I can't tell what that is but not borderline white.
When I said borderline white I was thinking more of a very southern european like Italy, generally not really as white as the other Europeans but still white

[Anonymous No.7499281]

Grades don't matter past getting hired, and your GPA isn't going to show that you got a couple of C's. You can learn the material while on the job. If you can't do that, you get fired.

[Anonymous No.7499286]

I'm in Louisiana and the companies hiring engineers really just look for leadership and the ability to work in groups more than anything. One professor told me grades might even be less than 50% of the reason for getting hired. Still those companies usually have a 3.0-3.2 GPA limit.

[Anonymous No.7499290]

>>7499091
Elite Universities like Oxbridge that both use the concept of 1sts, 2:1s, 2:2s and 3rds

[Anonymous No.7499308]

Exams don't translate into success in the real world where practical application of knowledge is what matters. That knowledge is very specific and is learned through a period of trial and error.

/sci/ is full of too many GPA autists that are as useless as chinks when it comes to functioning outside of standardized testing..

[Anonymous No.7499372]

>>7499055

Getting a C in some STEM courses means you completely understood all the material, you just couldn't adapt to your particular teachers nuances and ways that they liked to test you. For example, you have a quiz, it is one question that spans multiple topics, if you don't understand one of those topics, you don't answer it correctly, you get 0 points, you fail, your grade is an F, you don't pass, you don't get your degree. The amount of credit awarded is not proportional to your understanding of some percentage of the material, what kind of baby classes have you been taking OP?

[Anonymous No.7499608]

>>7499372
What kind of baby classes have YOU been taking?
This is completely wrong for pretty much every class.

[Suchong No.7499612]

>>7499308
>chinks
feelsbadman.jpg

[Anonymous No.7499676]

>>7499055
>This means you have a grasp of ~75% of the information.

That's not at all how it works.

[Anonymous No.7499684]

>>7499055
u mad faggot OP that sick cunts like me who partied every week and got 3.5 gpa and a better job than loser nerds like you who have no life to get that 4.0 gpa?

u mad u have no communication skills to get hired for big boy engineering jobs?

u mad ur a virgin?

yeah u mad faggot. stay mad kiddo

[Anonymous No.7499687]

OP is the reason why we'll need a PhD to fry burgers at McDonalds in 50 years time.

Fucking Chink.

[Anonymous No.7499689]

>>7499055
>This means you have a grasp of ~75% of the information.

No it doesn't. That depends entirely on how easy or difficult the questions are.
At Cambridge, at most 30% of students studying science subjects will get over 70% as their average mark for the year.
The reason is because their exams are difficult.

If most of your students are getting 85+ then that means that the exam was too easy because you won't get much spread among the good students.
You want to be able to resolve between who is quite good and who is very good.

[Anonymous No.7499694]

>That means you have a grasp of ~75% of the information
No, not necessarily. Keep in mind they give you credit for thinking right without having the right answer, and also not all subjects appear on the final, at least not where I study. Say you have a subject of 8 topics, a 3 hour exam here includes 4-5.

[Anonymous No.7499698]

>>7499684
no u

[Anonymous No.7500066]

>>7499689
this guy gets it

[Anonymous No.7500369]

>>7499055
You are trained on job anyway. The degree is just their to show interests and dedication.

[Anonymous No.7500401]

>>7500369

Correct. You're not going to be tested by % of questions you got correct in the real world. Getting an A demonstrates you were willing to put in the work necessary to do so, and is not just simply a demonstration of your mastery of a certain subject.