> On Apr 13, 2009, at 11:03 AM, Marcel Birthelmer wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> What's that supposed to mean? There is no smart or stupid, it's just
>> how much you study. Your mark is directly proportional to how many
>> hour you spend studying and understanding your course.
>>
>> There are complete noobs in my class getting 95% because they do
>> nothing else but study. On the other hand, there are some people
>> getting a 60% but could be getting a 95% only because they have never
>> opened their textbook. That's how it is...
>>
>
> There is definitely a point in most programs of advanced study when  
> that
> becomes patently untrue. For myself, it was a course in Topology  
> when I was
> pursuing my BA in Math a few years ago - I just couldn't wrap my  
> head around
> it, no matter how hard I tried (of course I didn't study as hard as  
> I should
> have at the beginning of the semester so I fell behind and had to  
> catch up,
> which was difficult, but nonetheless).
>
> Especially in Math, Sciences, Engineering... there will be people (not
> necessarily yourself, of course) that will not be able to pass certain
> classes no matter how hard they study. And that's not even implying  
> that
> those people aren't smart enough - some people's brains simply don't  
> work
> that way that they can easily understand certain subject matters,  
> while
> they're perfectly competent in others.
>
> So when you get to University, I'm sure you will find at least one  
> class
> where you struggle, while someone else will pass with a minimal  
> amount of
> effort. That's just what happens.

I took one class dealing with signal processing at the University of  
Colorado.
Midway I had a grade of 65%.  The next closest student had a grade of  
37%.
The professor gave me a letter grade of A++ at the end of the course.   
I am not
sure anyone else received an "A".
The next semester I took another course from the same professor and I  
got a "D".
Midway through university I was put on probation for having a 1.9  
grade point average.
So, I took a year off to go skiing.  My last semester at university I  
had a 4.0 average
which raised my cumulative average to 3.01 which qualified me for  
graduate work by
.01 points.
MA
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