I recall that George W. Bush and John Kerry both graudated from Yale with C averages. Today in graduate school a C is roughly the academic equivalent of being slapped in public. It is rarely done and quite serious when it happens. It is not that students are any better today (indeed the opposite is likely true), rather grades have been inflated.
There are many fine universities where this doesn’t happen. I taught at University of Chicago for 8 years and this is not the case.
Go to second-tier state schools (e.g., CSU Fullerton, Univ of Toledo, Colorado State, etc) and the students generally are terrible (not all, but in general). Most of the faculty at these schools are substandard.
Yale, Stanford and some other schools are known to let students at the bottom skate through. At someone said at Stanford (my alma matter), “You have to die to flunk out of Stanford. And that’s if they discover your body.” Meaning that you can miss all your classes and exams and STILL get a “C.”
Think of it this way. Colleges are for The Elite and The Mob. The precious middle class gets into Elite schools by scholarship (and then socially ignored) or go to the Mob schools.
“Today in graduate school a C is roughly the academic equivalent of being slapped in public. It is rarely done and quite serious when it happens.”
I attend a conservative Presbyterian seminary, which, though considered graduate school, most definitely does NOT have that policy.
Several of my professors will normally give a ‘C’, and if a student is bright and hard working, they may get a ‘B.’ An ‘A’ earned from 96% to 100% is only given to exceptional students.
Though young, the school has pretty excellent reputation... However, their tough grading policy—since it contrasts markedly from typical schools—makes it very difficult for smart students to go on and get accepted at other institutions to work on a PhD.
You are confusing graduate and undergrad programs. Getting a C in most graduate courses is unacceptable—it is tyically OK for undergrads, however (unless they’re in a major that requires a min GPA >= 3.0).
As a university professor myself, I can say that a lot of kids going to college don’t really belong there. There are some who aren’t bright enough. But, more often than not, its laziness or lack of maturity on the part of the kid. There is also a huge problem with people not paying attention or following instructions—this is true for both adults and kids alike. The adults who go are typically better because they are the ones paying for it and appreciate it more.
By and large, most professors bend over backwards to give someone at least a C. The most heartbreaking thing, and the biggest quandry for a professor, is the person who is trying really, really hard, but just not getting it. They usually end up with a C out of pity.
Oh well, it makes for a great story to illustrate to my own children the necessity of proofreading CAREFULLY the final document
She found a tutor made it through and graduated in four years. On interviews no one asks her what her grades were in college just that she has that piece of paper.