Tuesday, July 11, 2006

I’m ba-a-a-a-ck…and I’ve been graded!

Well, I got back from my trip to Arizona today, and I am exhausted. It would take much too much time to explain the entire trip here, so I will create a little Arizona scrapbook to go through everything. One piece of news that I can give to you are my final grades from my first semester at Aberdeen University. I have obsessively been checking for these grades every day for the last two weeks (with the exception of when I was out of town), and the very last grade (my English class) was FINALLY posted online today. Before I post them for you, a little side-note about grading is required. Now, as we’re all aware, grades in the U.S. are usually given in an A-B-C-D-F format…well, this isn’t so at my university. Aberdeen uses what is called the Common Assessment Scale (CAS) to report grades. This scale enables students to compare grades across different subjects, without ‘easiness’ or ‘difficulty’ of a class being a factor. This scale ranges from 1 through 20, with 20 being essentially an A+ (also keep in mind that a score from 1 to 8 is failing and anything over, and including, a 9 means you passed the class). I’ve also been told that first years are usually only scored out of a maximum of 18. Apparently, the university doesn’t believe that freshman are capable of earning a 19 or 20, which I believe is unfair, but c’est la vie! Anyway, now that you understand the system a bit more, with no more ado, here are Michelle Rein’s first overseas university grades:

As you can see from above, I got a 14, 15, 15, and 13 (the ‘A’ next to the number means ‘achieved’…basically saying that I passed the class). I’ve been told that these are actually good scores from a first-year student, so I’m quite excited about these grades. The Scotland class grade should have been higher, had I not lost interest in it halfway through, due to a HORRIBLE tutor (we called him ‘The Crypt-keeper’, or simply ‘Corpse’). I really slacked off in that class and hardly went to any lectures after Easter. Ah well, live and learn. Nonetheless, I am ecstatic about the two fifteens I got. As you can see, I received a C2 for both my Europe and Britain & Ireland classes. What this means is that I was awarded a second class merit for these two classes. When you earn a 15, 16, or 17 in a class you receive this second class merit (C2), and when you earn an 18, 19, or 20 in a class you receive a first class merit (C1). These merits are important in your overall degree. After much questioning and research, I have found out that degrees awarded from UK institutions are awarded in the following categories: First-class honours, Upper second-class honours, Lower second-class honours and Third-class honours (by the way, honours simply refers to your degree…in Scotland, this would mean the four year masters degree, which I am attempting). I know that it’s still very early in the game for me, but if I continue to apply myself, I should be well on the way to earning an upper second-class honour degree! Yeah for me. So, with these grades in hand, I can’t wait to begin another semester of school. My grades should be even better this term, now that I know how the whole system works and what is expected of me (that is, of course, if I can manage to resist the temptation and pull of my flatmate Kirstin urging me to drink and party!). Well, now that you know how smart I am, or lack thereof (!), I shall leave you now to ponder whatever it is that you would like to ponder, while I go work on my Arizona online scrapbook.

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