You know how they say a B in a difficult course > A in an easy course?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the implications of course difficulty on graduate school applications, particularly whether students should prioritize high grades in easier courses over lower grades in more challenging ones. Participants explore the balance between GPA and the perceived value of learning in difficult subjects, considering various educational contexts including high school and medical school admissions.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that taking easier courses to achieve high grades may not be beneficial if it does not prepare students for graduate-level material.
  • Others argue that students with B's in difficult courses are not necessarily favored over those with A's in easier courses, particularly in competitive admissions contexts.
  • A participant raises the point that self-studying difficult subjects while taking easier courses could lead to missing important experiences, such as labs and research opportunities.
  • There is a mention of the honors program in U.S. universities, although its relevance to the discussion is not fully explored.
  • One participant notes that in medical school admissions, the focus may be more on GPA than the difficulty of courses taken.
  • Several participants emphasize the importance of learning over grades, though they acknowledge that practical realities often prioritize GPA in admissions processes.
  • Concerns are raised about the competitiveness of applicants, with some suggesting that many applicants will have A's in difficult courses, potentially disadvantaging those with lower grades.
  • Another participant expresses a personal preference for challenging courses, finding them more enjoyable and educational despite the difficulty.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the value of grades versus learning, with no clear consensus on whether it is better to take easier courses for higher grades or to challenge oneself with difficult courses. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best approach for graduate school applications.

Contextual Notes

Some participants highlight the variability in admissions criteria across different programs and institutions, suggesting that the effectiveness of strategies may depend on specific contexts. There are also references to personal experiences that may not generalize across all educational paths.

gretun
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Like when you apply to grad school, doesn't everyone have like As in those difficult courses? If so, would it be better to just enroll in an easy course?

Thank you
 
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You could enroll in easy courses to get a good mark, but your time would be better spent taking courses that would prepare you for the grad material.
 
They said this was the same for high school.. the guys who ended up with B's in multivariable weren't shown any preference at ALL compared to people who would take general calculus. I'm curious to know the answer to this as well.
 
hadsed said:
They said this was the same for high school.. the guys who ended up with B's in multivariable weren't shown any preference at ALL compared to people who would take general calculus. I'm curious to know the answer to this as well.

I mean people who apply to grad schools that are difficult to get into probably have all As in those difficult courses, so is it wise to self-study on those difficult courses on your own and take easy courses to get high grades?
 
Perhaps you should post the subject and school you are trying to get into.
It might be hard to self-study the difficult courses and you might be missing important things (labs, research experience, etc).
 
Isn't there something like honors program in U.S. Universities?
 
I'm not sure how it works for grad school, but I know that this thread's title is incorrect with regards to medical school admissions. I often hear of pre-med students being encouraged to pick the easiest major they can, in order to maximize their GPA. The courses you take make no difference - only the grades you receive in them.
 
Isn't the idea to learn as much as possible? Aren't grades secondary to that?
 
Vanadium 50 said:
Isn't the idea to learn as much as possible? Aren't grades secondary to that?

Ideally, but not in practice.
 
  • #10
Vanadium 50 said:
Isn't the idea to learn as much as possible? Aren't grades secondary to that?

But when you do apply for grad school, the competition is probably that everyone who applies has an A in those so called "difficult courses"
 
  • #11
1. If you are applying for graduate schools, you actually need to take hard courses anyway.

2. I personally think difficult courses are a lot more fun than easy courses. For example, I went to a first lecture of introductory microeconomics class, and the instructor started talking how to find a slope of a line from looking at a graph (no, not the graph as in graph theory, but I mean the one with the x-axis and the y-axis, you know? You basically have a curve, and you were asked to find the secant line of two points!). I dropped that class as soon as I got to a computer station. On the other hand, I've taken a fair amount of hard math classes (probably easy for some), and while I found them difficult and I didn't always get A's, I actually felt like I learned a lot from these courses, and overall they were fun experiences.

Conclusion: Some people think I'm a masochist. I'd like to call myself a mathochist.
 
  • #12
gretun said:
But when you do apply for grad school, the competition is probably that everyone who applies has an A in those so called "difficult courses"

Obviously not, because you got a B. Unless what's going on is that you have the lowest GPA out of every applicant and are trying to find a way to hide that. Also, do you think the person reviewing your application won't notice that you didn't take any high level courses?
 
  • #13
Office_Shredder said:
Obviously not, because you got a B. Unless what's going on is that you have the lowest GPA out of every applicant and are trying to find a way to hide that. Also, do you think the person reviewing your application won't notice that you didn't take any high level courses?

Yeah, but again, there will always be other applicants with As in their "difficult courses" that immediately throws my application away.
 
  • #14
Vanadium 50 said:
Isn't the idea to learn as much as possible? Aren't grades secondary to that?

you're a funny guy
 
  • #15
gretun said:
Yeah, but again, there will always be other applicants with As in their "difficult courses" that immediately throws my application away.
Not at all, it is quite rare to have straight A students who also takes hard courses. If you apply for a PHD at the top universities then ok, but not at lesser ones. Also then you wouldn't have a chance anyway if you tried to boost your gpa with easy courses since the other students would have a huge advantage in courses read...
 

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