is it harder to get a higher gpa in some degrees than others? (1 Viewer)

[ohexploitable]

okay i know it's difficult to compare two different degrees

but for example both medical science and engineering involve maths subjects in first year

from the looks of it the med sci maths is heaps easier, like general maths vs ext 2

do unis have a scaling system to counter this?

also like in unsw engineering, why should i do math1141 if math1131 is easier? (besides personal interest)

 

[hungwell1337]

no there is no scaling system to counter this

yes it is easier to get a higher marks in certain degrees

 

[Fizzy_Cyst]

No such thing as scaling.

 

[OzKo]

no there is no scaling system to counter this

yes it is easier to get a higher marks in certain degrees

There is scaling at USYD.

 

[hungwell1337]

No such thing as scaling.

yes there is

 

[Peeik]

There is scaling at USYD for science subjects. So if you do phys, bio, chem or maths.....your final marks will be scaled.

 

[Fizzy_Cyst]

There is scaling at USYD.

Indeed it does!

I never knew that

 

[enoilgam]

okay i know it's difficult to compare two different degrees

but for example both medical science and engineering involve maths subjects in first year

from the looks of it the med sci maths is heaps easier, like general maths vs ext 2

do unis have a scaling system to counter this?

also like in unsw engineering, why should i do math1141 if math1131 is easier? (besides personal interest)

In some degrees it is harder to get a higher GPA than others as the difficulty of degrees varies (obviously a teaching degree would probably be easier than an engineering degree). Also, the nature of some degrees makes it harder to get a high GPA. With law, most of the essay/problem question style assignments and exams that you get are capped (Our lecturers told us that 90% is the maximum mark they give out and they usually dont give out marks higher than 86). However, in degree where you doing a lot of science/maths type courses, its possible for you to get 100%, so its somewhat easier for you to get a higher GPA in those subjects.

 

[Azamakumar]

it's bell curving, ie x% get HDs, y get Ds, z get credits etc
iirc the distribution of marks in 1131/1141 makes it harder to get a D/HD in 1131, but i wouldn't say it were 'easy' to get a D/HD in 1141

 

[iRuler]

There's scaling at UTS, some subjects scale way too much (scale up).

 

[Mature Lamb]

okay i know it's difficult to compare two different degrees

but for example both medical science and engineering involve maths subjects in first year

from the looks of it the med sci maths is heaps easier, like general maths vs ext 2

do unis have a scaling system to counter this?

also like in unsw engineering, why should i do math1141 if math1131 is easier? (besides personal interest)

pretty sure it does scale or your marks are fixed in a special way. i thought i was only gonna get ~60 for MATH1141 since i only got to complete half the final paper, and i only did average in the class tests, but i ended up with a HD.

 

[Mature Lamb]

actually one of my friends spoke to one of the exam markers for maths right after the marks were released, and they mentioned that there was no scaling for one of the MATH courses in 2011, and scaling varies year to year (sometimes they don't scale at all)

 

[ohexploitable]

wait wait wait okay

so grades (D/HD etc.) are based on percentile rather than actual mark?

 

[Azamakumar]

wait wait wait okay

so grades (D/HD etc.) are based on percentile rather than actual mark?

not entirely percentile, but in most cases, yes

 

[enoilgam]

wait wait wait okay

so grades (D/HD etc.) are based on percentile rather than actual mark?

At my uni, a maximum of 10% can get an overall HD, whilst only 35% can get over a D.

 

[hungwell1337]

not always true, depends on the lecturer, there are no black and white guidelines to scaling

 

[kaz1]

I heard the only time they scale is when too many people are about to fail.

 

[kaz1]

This sounds like an attempt to hide corruption.

How does the uni define "too many"? (I'm not directing this question to anyone in particular.)

Perhaps it's possible for a/n [international/domestic] student (failed or on the verge of failing) to bribe the lecturer/course co-ordinator/whoever to "fix the scaling"?

Let's just hope that the corruption actually doesn't happen.

No if too many people fail, the classes would be too big the next year.

 

[Riproot]

^ What if I do eng/MedSci?

 

[Chemical Ali]

At my uni, a maximum of 10% can get an overall HD, whilst only 35% can get over a D.

that's so weird, why don't they just assess everyone to some given standard, and if everyone gets over 85% according to that standard then great they get HDs, lol