This discussion is now closed.
Check out other Related discussions
- UK exams vs US exams - discussion thread
- Why Not to Study in the Netherlands
- Graduating Harvard Undergrad from UK - Happy to Answer Any Qs
- is north american high school studies easier than uk's?
- Uni in Uk vs Usa
- University of Bath clearing
- Y12 hoping to study Classics at uni - tips?
- Is it hard for A british A Level Student to get into A American University
- Converting CIE A-Level grades to 4.0 Scale GPA
- Do you think the premier league is the reason migrants want to come here?
- Which is better? Cambridge or Edexcel for iGCSE?
- What culture shocks have you experienced studying in or visiting the UK?
- How likely am I to be accepted into Royal Holloway for English?
- Study PhD in China?
- .
- Is Oxbridge really that difficult to get into or not?
- Can you recommend some British movies that you like?
- How good/elite is the University of St. Andrews?
- International Lounge Societies Index
- Applying to masters in US from Russell group - theoretical
Are American Universities easier than British Universities?
I'm doing the same degree (roughly) as someone from an American university, and the highest mark I have gotten so far is 67%.
My friend however is doing the same degree and the highest she has gotten so far is 89%.
Thats a pretty massive difference. I read one of her essays, and it wasn't bad, and obviously I'm not a qualified marker, but I wouldn't have given it anything past 55%.
Are American universities just a lot easier than British ones?
My friend however is doing the same degree and the highest she has gotten so far is 89%.
Thats a pretty massive difference. I read one of her essays, and it wasn't bad, and obviously I'm not a qualified marker, but I wouldn't have given it anything past 55%.
Are American universities just a lot easier than British ones?
Grading schemes for USA/UK is completely different and not easily compared.
My sister has studied at American universities and she says that the standard of work/marking is definitely higher in UK universities. She can only speak from her own experience which was obviously limited! She has a very vague idea about what standards are like at UK universities, as our father is a university lecturer, but obviously standards will vary from university to university.
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by HermitIsFat
I'm doing the same degree (roughly) as someone from an American university, and the highest mark I have gotten so far is 67%.
My friend however is doing the same degree and the highest she has gotten so far is 89%.
Thats a pretty massive difference. I read one of her essays, and it wasn't bad, and obviously I'm not a qualified marker, but I wouldn't have given it anything past 55%.
Are American universities just a lot easier than British ones?
My friend however is doing the same degree and the highest she has gotten so far is 89%.
Thats a pretty massive difference. I read one of her essays, and it wasn't bad, and obviously I'm not a qualified marker, but I wouldn't have given it anything past 55%.
Are American universities just a lot easier than British ones?
Did she also sent you the marking criteria?
Surely the question you should be asking of your lecturers is what do I need to do to increase my grade, rather than feeling you have been short changed by high expectations on the part of your course?
Original post by HermitIsFat
I'm doing the same degree (roughly) as someone from an American university, and the highest mark I have gotten so far is 67%.
My friend however is doing the same degree and the highest she has gotten so far is 89%.
Thats a pretty massive difference. I read one of her essays, and it wasn't bad, and obviously I'm not a qualified marker, but I wouldn't have given it anything past 55%.
Are American universities just a lot easier than British ones?
My friend however is doing the same degree and the highest she has gotten so far is 89%.
Thats a pretty massive difference. I read one of her essays, and it wasn't bad, and obviously I'm not a qualified marker, but I wouldn't have given it anything past 55%.
Are American universities just a lot easier than British ones?
I've studied in both countries (albeit one undergrad and one grad) but from what I've seen, like others have said UK and US unis just give different grades. In the UK, anything over a 70% was considered a first while in the US my courses have mostly considered a first (aka a 4.0 according to WES), was anything over 93-95% believe it or not. It just means I get a lot of a 100%s and I stress about losing even just a few marks on any assignment here.
Original post by HermitIsFat
I'm doing the same degree (roughly) as someone from an American university, and the highest mark I have gotten so far is 67%.
My friend however is doing the same degree and the highest she has gotten so far is 89%.
Thats a pretty massive difference. I read one of her essays, and it wasn't bad, and obviously I'm not a qualified marker, but I wouldn't have given it anything past 55%.
Are American universities just a lot easier than British ones?
My friend however is doing the same degree and the highest she has gotten so far is 89%.
Thats a pretty massive difference. I read one of her essays, and it wasn't bad, and obviously I'm not a qualified marker, but I wouldn't have given it anything past 55%.
Are American universities just a lot easier than British ones?
First of all, a rough equivalence:
1st class degree - GPA 3.7 to 4.0
Upper 2nd - GPA 3.2 to 3.7
Lower 2nd - GPA 2.6 to 3.2
3rd - GPA 2.0 to 2.6
Pass - GPA 1.0 to 2.0
Fail - GPA 0.0 to 1.0
So no, American unis aren't easier than British ones. Some, like MIT are very demanding.
Original post by Joinedup
The percentages arent meant to be comparable.
The uk system gives out fairly stingy looking percentages, possibly so there's plenty of headroom for recognising absolutely outstanding students.
The uk system gives out fairly stingy looking percentages, possibly so there's plenty of headroom for recognising absolutely outstanding students.
Especially those starred first students... 80%, where the work is of professional standard and the professors don't criticise, they'd only give you applause.
Original post by Cote1
My sister has studied at American universities and she says that the standard of work/marking is definitely higher in UK universities. She can only speak from her own experience which was obviously limited! She has a very vague idea about what standards are like at UK universities, as our father is a university lecturer, but obviously standards will vary from university to university.
Which unis?
Original post by Okorange
I've studied in both countries (albeit one undergrad and one grad) but from what I've seen, like others have said UK and US unis just give different grades. In the UK, anything over a 70% was considered a first while in the US my courses have mostly considered a first (aka a 4.0 according to WES), was anything over 93-95% believe it or not. It just means I get a lot of a 100%s and I stress about losing even just a few marks on any assignment here.
4.0 GPA is 1st? I personally consider 4.0GPA harder to get than 70% because some careless mistakes can easily tank that GPA to 3.9 or 3.8
Original post by justlearning1469
First of all, a rough equivalence:
1st class degree - GPA 3.7 to 4.0
Upper 2nd - GPA 3.2 to 3.7
Lower 2nd - GPA 2.6 to 3.2
3rd - GPA 2.0 to 2.6
Pass - GPA 1.0 to 2.0
Fail - GPA 0.0 to 1.0
So no, American unis aren't easier than British ones. Some, like MIT are very demanding.
Especially those starred first students... 80%, where the work is of professional standard and the professors don't criticise, they'd only give you applause.
Which unis?
4.0 GPA is 1st? I personally consider 4.0GPA harder to get than 70% because some careless mistakes can easily tank that GPA to 3.9 or 3.8
1st class degree - GPA 3.7 to 4.0
Upper 2nd - GPA 3.2 to 3.7
Lower 2nd - GPA 2.6 to 3.2
3rd - GPA 2.0 to 2.6
Pass - GPA 1.0 to 2.0
Fail - GPA 0.0 to 1.0
So no, American unis aren't easier than British ones. Some, like MIT are very demanding.
Especially those starred first students... 80%, where the work is of professional standard and the professors don't criticise, they'd only give you applause.
Which unis?
4.0 GPA is 1st? I personally consider 4.0GPA harder to get than 70% because some careless mistakes can easily tank that GPA to 3.9 or 3.8
I withdraw my comments. 🙂
Original post by justlearning1469
First of all, a rough equivalence:
1st class degree - GPA 3.7 to 4.0
Upper 2nd - GPA 3.2 to 3.7
Lower 2nd - GPA 2.6 to 3.2
3rd - GPA 2.0 to 2.6
Pass - GPA 1.0 to 2.0
Fail - GPA 0.0 to 1.0
So no, American unis aren't easier than British ones. Some, like MIT are very demanding.
Especially those starred first students... 80%, where the work is of professional standard and the professors don't criticise, they'd only give you applause.
Which unis?
4.0 GPA is 1st? I personally consider 4.0GPA harder to get than 70% because some careless mistakes can easily tank that GPA to 3.9 or 3.8
1st class degree - GPA 3.7 to 4.0
Upper 2nd - GPA 3.2 to 3.7
Lower 2nd - GPA 2.6 to 3.2
3rd - GPA 2.0 to 2.6
Pass - GPA 1.0 to 2.0
Fail - GPA 0.0 to 1.0
So no, American unis aren't easier than British ones. Some, like MIT are very demanding.
Especially those starred first students... 80%, where the work is of professional standard and the professors don't criticise, they'd only give you applause.
Which unis?
4.0 GPA is 1st? I personally consider 4.0GPA harder to get than 70% because some careless mistakes can easily tank that GPA to 3.9 or 3.8
I agree, but that is the WES conversion that is officially used "by course". Ultimately, I was able to get a 1st in my degree but it didn't convert to a 4.0 because I had a few credits that went below a 1st and so those were converted to lower grades, so I ended up getting a 3.9+ GPA not 4.0.
I feel the conversion overall is fair. This is because when they calculate your degree overall they use the university's own scale which averages out your grades and if they average out to a 1st then you get a 1st. So you can score highly in some semesters and that can balance out a lower semester. The 4.0 scale doesn't work like that, any grade above a "1st" cutoff is a 4.0 and so you essentially need a 1st in every course to get a 4.0 GPA.
The curve is quite steep such that even a few percentage points below a 1st in a course would convert to like a 3.5 or 3.7, so that can drag down your GPA by quite a bit. Back in my time, in my course roughly 20% of graduates get a 1st and these were all medical students so I studied really quite hard to attain the grades I attained.
So all in all I would say a 4.0 GPA usually =/= a 1st class degree, but it is roughly equivalent to summa c laude which is usually 3.9+ at most universities or at least magna c laude (3.8+). Its theoretically possible to get a 3.7 and still get a first, assuming you scored near perfect on multiple semesters and then had one or two bad semesters that would drag down your GPA but still let you get a first, but it would be very rare since perfect grades are really hard to get.
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by Okorange
I agree, but that is the WES conversion that is officially used "by course". Ultimately, I was able to get a 1st in my degree but it didn't convert to a 4.0 because I had a few credits that went below a 1st and so those were converted to lower grades.
Overall, I feel the conversion overall is fair. The curve is quite steep such that even a few percentage points below a 1st in a course would convert to like a 3.5 or 3.7, so that can drag down your GPA by quite a bit. In my course roughly 20% of graduates get a 1st and these were all medical students so I studied really quite hard to attain the grades I attained.
Overall, I feel the conversion overall is fair. The curve is quite steep such that even a few percentage points below a 1st in a course would convert to like a 3.5 or 3.7, so that can drag down your GPA by quite a bit. In my course roughly 20% of graduates get a 1st and these were all medical students so I studied really quite hard to attain the grades I attained.
Fair enough then
Original post by Cote1
I withdraw my comments. 🙂
I remember something like that used to be used in NARIC...
Original post by HermitIsFat
I'm doing the same degree (roughly) as someone from an American university, and the highest mark I have gotten so far is 67%.
My friend however is doing the same degree and the highest she has gotten so far is 89%.
Thats a pretty massive difference. I read one of her essays, and it wasn't bad, and obviously I'm not a qualified marker, but I wouldn't have given it anything past 55%.
Are American universities just a lot easier than British ones?
My friend however is doing the same degree and the highest she has gotten so far is 89%.
Thats a pretty massive difference. I read one of her essays, and it wasn't bad, and obviously I'm not a qualified marker, but I wouldn't have given it anything past 55%.
Are American universities just a lot easier than British ones?
Many of my high school classmates studied for a bachelor's degree in the United States. One of them studied for a bachelor's degree in the UK and a MBA in the US. They all said that college education in the United States was super easy and fun. One or two of them nearly failed their high school, yet their GPAs in the state were closer to 4.0.
Related discussions
- UK exams vs US exams - discussion thread
- Why Not to Study in the Netherlands
- Graduating Harvard Undergrad from UK - Happy to Answer Any Qs
- is north american high school studies easier than uk's?
- Uni in Uk vs Usa
- University of Bath clearing
- Y12 hoping to study Classics at uni - tips?
- Is it hard for A british A Level Student to get into A American University
- Converting CIE A-Level grades to 4.0 Scale GPA
- Do you think the premier league is the reason migrants want to come here?
- Which is better? Cambridge or Edexcel for iGCSE?
- What culture shocks have you experienced studying in or visiting the UK?
- How likely am I to be accepted into Royal Holloway for English?
- Study PhD in China?
- .
- Is Oxbridge really that difficult to get into or not?
- Can you recommend some British movies that you like?
- How good/elite is the University of St. Andrews?
- International Lounge Societies Index
- Applying to masters in US from Russell group - theoretical
Latest
Trending
Last reply 1 month ago
It has been two years since I graduated and I don't know what to doLast reply 4 months ago
nottingham, manchester, durham, warwick or exeter for lawLast reply 5 months ago
Russell Group universities are actually very good. We should stop dismissing them.Last reply 6 months ago
UCAS confirms personal statements to be abolished from Sep 2025
