HS grades compared to Univ

[sumfunny]

Might aswell help first years out, please post what your average mark was when compared to you HS average. Did it go up a bit, alot, same, small dip, noticeable or significant dip.

[bananaman]

Ever heard of Frosh-15? You will lose 15% off your original high school mark when you go to university. But don't worry, you'll get that back by gaining 15lbs. :)

[evman150]

First year I went from a 95 average in high school down to about 75.

Second year so far though my average is back up to about ~90%. Although that's only three classes so far.

[Mark099]

My grades went up a lot. I went from being a C+/B student in HS to a B+/A- student in University. More than HS, I think that University allows you to control your own education and there is no reason not to do well.

[yan84]

I finished highshcool with an 85..and first year of university i got an 88..but then dropped to only low to mid 80's now that i've finished 3rd year. So stayed pretty much the same ;)

[manixc]

I drop roughly 10% on average. I think that's the norm.

[airodus]

Should post where you went to school, since it varies by province.

For example:

Alberta has standardized testing which accounts for 1/2 your grade 12 mark. Hence the overall averages tend to be lower. Usually around the 60% mark.

Whereas in Ontario, high school marks are overly inflated because of the high competition to get into university. I've asked many of my Toronto friends what sort of class averages they had in high school. They ranged from 80% to 90% class AVERAGES!

And through independant international study, Alberta (they rated US states and Canadian provinces as seperate entities) has the 2nd best overall education in the world, only behind Switzerland. Just more stringent testing than the rest of the country.

So a 90% student in Ontario is average, whereas a 90% student in Alberta is exceptional. And I'm sure it varies with the other provinces as well. I've known many 90% students from Ontario who got their asses kicked at the UofA and perform about as well as 70% Albertan students.

So yah, there's a lot more to things than just the numbers.

[Absolute]

Ever heard of Frosh-15? You will lose 15% off your original high school mark when you go to university. But don't worry, you'll get that back by gaining 15lbs. :)
Lol, that is exactly true :)

[circky]

Back in HS i got like A+, and now at Schulich I got an A.. so about 10%

[yan84]

Should post where you went to school, since it varies by province.

For example:

Alberta has standardized testing which accounts for 1/2 your grade 12 mark. Hence the overall averages tend to be lower. Usually around the 60% mark.

Whereas in Ontario, high school marks are overly inflated because of the high competition to get into university. I've asked many of my Toronto friends what sort of class averages they had in high school. They ranged from 80% to 90% class AVERAGES!

And through independant international study, Alberta (they rated US states and Canadian provinces as seperate entities) has the 2nd best overall education in the world, only behind Switzerland. Just more stringent testing than the rest of the country.

So a 90% student in Ontario is average, whereas a 90% student in Alberta is exceptional. And I'm sure it varies with the other provinces as well. I've known many 90% students from Ontario who got their asses kicked at the UofA and perform about as well as 70% Albertan students.

So yah, there's a lot more to things than just the numbers.


It varies hugely WITHIN Ontario too. Some highschools are just more difficult than others, and I've known people in Toronto who were getting 90s in HS but only 60s in my program..whereas people from my HS who got As stayed pretty much the same in Uni. Of course, it depends on your own study habits too. Some are just not up for the bigger workload.

[sumfunny]

[QUOTE=airodus]Should post where you went to school, since it varies by province.

QUOTE]

yeah I would like to but too many variables suchs as province/city where HS vs. Program/School now atternding.

[cjpark]

Saying a 90% student in Ontario is average is definitely over-simplifying things. At my high school, the average was probably in the low-mid 70's. I dropped ~10% first year, but brought it back up by the time I finished my program. I went to Western and did Astrophysics/Applied Math

[MixMasterAlan]

I don't think this poll is accurate because there are a lot of factors that are not considered. The biggest factor is the program you are enrolling into. Some programs are just harder than others. The other big factor is the university you attend. Some universities are harder than others and usually have higher entrance marks.

[Planker]

Had a high 70s average in high school. I'm now in my fourth year at university and my marks have gone up every year. My average now is in the high 80s

[DarkAbyss]

i was at a 82% in high school now done first year ubc with 76% so a 6% drop i guess ;/

[willy_ph]

I entered university with a 66% average from high school and will graduate in June with a 85% cumulative average.

[divx]

I entered university with a 66% average from high school and will graduate in June with a 85% cumulative average.

wow, you had a harder HS than university. totally opposite from everyone else.

[evman150]

I entered university with a 66% average from high school and will graduate in June with a 85% cumulative average.

I wonder how the hell you managed to get into university with a 66. And Ontario grades are inflated too. Ouch.

BC like Alberta has standardized tests that make up a large portion (40% in our case) of our grades. 60-70% is average. 80-85% gets you into university. 90%+ is considered outstanding and only achieved by maybe 2-3% of students.

Some schools (the US is notorious for this) give out A's like they're worthless. Dummies get straight A's. An A means something in BC.

[sniper_myth]

heh thats completely not true at all it really just depends on which school you go to. You're right since there's a lack of standardized testing there's a huge difference in difficulty between schools. In some other schools I know of people do get 90% averages and they're complete idiots while at my school for grade 12 math averages are like 50s and low 60s with one third of the class dropping out. The whole school is asian so you get the picture..

Should post where you went to school, since it varies by province.

For example:

Alberta has standardized testing which accounts for 1/2 your grade 12 mark. Hence the overall averages tend to be lower. Usually around the 60% mark.

Whereas in Ontario, high school marks are overly inflated because of the high competition to get into university. I've asked many of my Toronto friends what sort of class averages they had in high school. They ranged from 80% to 90% class AVERAGES!

And through independant international study, Alberta (they rated US states and Canadian provinces as seperate entities) has the 2nd best overall education in the world, only behind Switzerland. Just more stringent testing than the rest of the country.

So a 90% student in Ontario is average, whereas a 90% student in Alberta is exceptional. And I'm sure it varies with the other provinces as well. I've known many 90% students from Ontario who got their asses kicked at the UofA and perform about as well as 70% Albertan students.

So yah, there's a lot more to things than just the numbers.

[gurfunkel]

high school was a test of how much you're willing to work, university is a test of how much you know. Big difference. Those out there who got 90's in highschool by working your ass off may not get as high results at university if you didnt understand what you were working on that well. This isnt to say that you dont have to work hard at university, you do, it's just a different type of work. University you need to understand the concepts a lot clearer then HS since in HS there were a bunch of random stupid assignments to boost poor test marks (i hated that)

[hugh_da_man]

high school was a test of how much you're willing to work, university is a test of how much you know. Big difference. Those out there who got 90's in highschool by working your ass off may not get as high results at university if you didnt understand what you were working on that well. This isnt to say that you dont have to work hard at university, you do, it's just a different type of work. University you need to understand the concepts a lot clearer then HS since in HS there were a bunch of random stupid assignments to boost poor test marks (i hated that)

I don't agree with everything you said. A lot of people don't work at all in HS and do well and then fail out of University because they don't work at all. I wouldn't say that there is anything that tests what you know. It all tests your ability to learn but in different ways.

Having just finished University I would say that University is more a test of your ability to balance challenging tasks with your everyday life.

High school was a test of how much knowledge you can absorb and if you're capable of applying that knowledge. I didn't study at all in HS and I was top 10 in my graduating class. I worked a lot harder in University but had to balance out studying with working and partying and I was middle of the class.

Sure University makes you learn concepts but most programs (I took engineering) just build on concepts that were learned at the HS level. Chemistry, physics, computer science, biology, math, etc are just extensions of what your learned in HS. The people who don't have to go to work will have a lot more time to study or do projects and you have to keep that in mind.

I was about 95% in HS (Manitoba) and ~80% in University (Alberta) so the 1st years shouldn't get discouraged if they don't do as well in University as they did in HS. It's all about balance and a lot of the companies that interviewed me were more impressed with the fact that I had a fulltime job then there are with the fact that I got good marks.

[Tharyn]

Went from a 92 in highschool to high 70's in Waterloo Engineering, I'm not complaining, I'm having a blast and learning, it's all about finding a good balance between work and play.

--Mark

[trusoulja2g]

Mid-90's through most of HS, then 82 OAC average after a disastrous final year. Now high 80's in uni, and it's going up each year. But I'm working much harder than I ever did in HS. Uni is definitely about the struggle to balance studying, partying and extracurricular activities.

High school marks vary a lot by school. Same with uni, depending on your school and program. A small decline is standard though. Most people only put in enough effort to get average marks (in my program, 70's).

[willy_ph]

Well my highschool seemed to emphasize mathematics and sciences, over the humanities and social sciences, by offering far more courses in the first category in comparison to the second and overemphasizing the future importance of these types of classes. So I had no choice but to suffer through math and science classes that slaughtered my average. It also suffered because I participated alot (probably far too much) in extracurricular activities and athletics. But then again, it may have been these extras that were taken into consideration.

[Super strokey]

i was high 80s in hs but went to uni and found out that you actually had to study, took me one year of failing grades to but that one together. No im about the same or better than before but i sure did drop lots to start

[fitbrit]

Here's some help with spelling; in the survey it should be "than", not "then". :)

[sumfunny]

Here's some help with spelling; in the survey it should be "than", not "then". :)

Technically it was a gramatical error since the wrong word was used. But hey everybody makes mistakes.

[Sylvestre]

I remember when I started the dean said something that made a lot of sense:
--
If you got into this university, it's likely your average mark was at least 85%, and for most of you, it was over 90%.
Well, now that you are in university, statistically, half of you will be below the average, this is a fact.. In most of the courses, the average varies between 60-70%. Again, this is a fact.

What that means is that the average mark drop is 15-20%. This is a fact.
Now, for those of who are saying "that's fine, I'll maintain my average of 85%" that means someone next to you right now has to fail.
--

That's really sobering when you think about it.

[DaFonz]

In BC.. out of highschool.. I had a 94% average.. first year uni.. got 84.9 and missed renewing my scholarship... so got demotivated so my marks fell to about the 81%... oh well, I get my honors on my degree so I can live with that

I was a pretty poor student in hs... and an even worse one in university... in restrospect, I probably should have worked harder b/c I think these marks are gonna rape me if/when I apply for graduate school

[Headhunter]

College instead of university, but it went up about 5%. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you care.

[shear_force]

I go to Waterloo for Civil Engineering. My marks stayed pretty much the same from high school to university. Don't remember exactly what my average was in high school but it was in the low 80s and it stayed pretty much the same in 1A, but dropped around 2% in 1B.

~Val

[nsd]

Definite drop. With all the fun ? :D

[novastar]

anyone heard of engsci at UofT? Every one going in has at least a 90% average yet the marks are adjusted such that only about 5% end up with above 90% in each course. Hence In this program 95% of people's marks will drop by at least 5%. Keep in mind somebody has to get in the 60% and 70% too for the distributions to work and that's like a 20-30% drop.

[mystro]

I was a 95% student in high school, turned down a full scholarship to McMaster to go to UofT's Engineering Science program.
My average is now 71%

my ego is effing bruised ;\

I don't know about the marks being inflated, but the international students are certainly smarter/more advanced in the game than I am

[Sylvestre]

I was a 95% student in high school, turned down a full scholarship to McMaster to go to UofT's Engineering Science program.
My average is now 71%

my ego is effing bruised ;\

I don't know about the marks being inflated, but the international students are certainly smarter/more advanced in the game than I am

That's a big thing lots of people don't expect. When you are in university, you aren't just competiting with the smartest in your school, you are against some of the smartest in the world. And the canadian schooling system really doesn't compare against most of the world's.

[mrken]

BC like Alberta has standardized tests that make up a large portion (40% in our case) of our grades. 60-70% is average. 80-85% gets you into university. 90%+ is considered outstanding and only achieved by maybe 2-3% of students.
But no standardised teachers. :( Some of my teachers hate me, so they take revenge on my report card. :mad: And one of them is smart enough not to drive his Jaguar in the weeks during which report cards are handed out. :twisted:

Do universities value the provincial examinations or the school mark more? Are provincial scholarships calculated based on the provincial examination mark, or the final mark?

[novastar]

I did IB and they tell you IB will give you a leg up in univ. but when I should up at engsci I felt bad for anybody who didn't have IB or AP. Normal Ontario curriculum people were at a disadvantage, it seemed like some advanced studies, like IB, were a requirement

[ttt]

Might aswell help first years out, please post what your average mark was when compared to you HS average. Did it go up a bit, alot, same, small dip, noticeable or significant dip.

another factor that affects your grade would be the courses you take. just work hard, you'll get a good grade.

[Necrosis]

I think it really does depend on which high school you go to. Because of the variation in high school grades, some people drop a lot and others don't. I kept my A+ average in university while I know others who dropped more than 30%. In general, I've noticed that a good portion of graduates from my high school are doing well in university as well, so I assume that means our teachers did a good job with challenging us and preparing us for future studies. I think the teachers/school are more important than curriculum. Although my high school is now an IB world school, I don't think the quality of teaching was any lower before, and I had classes of both the old (OAC) and new (12) curriculum.

[Fulgore]

Fact of the matter is, you get a new slate once you enter university. And it is all under your own control. Sure grades may drop and such, but does it really matter if you get a 95 or a 90? For example, a 4.0 at UofT is an 85 or higher, so that already gives you 15% variability to stay in the A range.

Work hard from day one. Previous exposure to material, intelligence, etc., all may help, but without hard work, and you'll realize it soon enough, you'll get a nice wake-up call after your first round of exams ;) Also, when I say that, I don't mean studying one-week before midterms...make it an effort from day one.

Good luck.

[b166er1337]

I was a 95% student in high school, turned down a full scholarship to McMaster to go to UofT's Engineering Science program.
My average is now 71%

my ego is effing bruised ;\



My HS avg is around 90. My university average is about 65%...WHY UT WHY

[noktrnl]

high school marks are a joke, especially if you're from ontario. i have no respect for most ontario hs students who brag about their 90%+ average. if an albertan says it tho, i'd gladly shake their hand

high school is pretty much split into the very technical courses (math, sci etc) and the very artsy courses (engl, socials etc). some people get higher and higher marks in uni as they go up in the years b/c of a very simple reason.. they're probably very technical ppl who got raped by the artsy courses in high school and first year, but then they major in something technical and thus their course selection narrows down to their major, what theyre actually strong in, so they dont have those artsy courses dragging the average down. the reverse probably is not AS true because in highschool, technical courses are very very watered down.

[Necrosis]

high school marks are a joke, especially if you're from ontario.
I agree that marks often seem over inflated here. For example, I don't understand how some schools give near perfect in a course like english. Again, you can really see this by looking at how well grads from a particular high school are doing in university. Although the type of course matters, the general trend will probably give you an idea of how marks were handled in high school.

My HS avg is around 90. My university average is about 65%...WHY UT WHY
A lot of university students, at universities all over Ontario, experience the same drop in marks. Don't worry, it's not an isolated incident over there at U of T.

[divx]

I don't know about the marks being inflated, but the international students are certainly smarter/more advanced in the game than I am

heh, now you know why we can easily score super high marks in HS. :lol:

[divx]

I did IB and they tell you IB will give you a leg up in univ. but when I should up at engsci I felt bad for anybody who didn't have IB or AP. Normal Ontario curriculum people were at a disadvantage, it seemed like some advanced studies, like IB, were a requirement

without IB or AP is a big disadvantage, and we don't have that in saskatchewan. BIG SUX for me :( . Those who took it already knew most if not all of the material in first year university. The point of AP or IB is to teach you first year university material in high school, the same as gr 13 once did.

[divx]

Don't worry, it's not an isolated incident over there at U of T.

It is one of the hardest university in Canada. You gotta compare it with university like XingHau in China, which, out of 7 million college/uni capable students, only 2000 are accepted.

[Nyte]

Alberta has standardized testing which accounts for 1/2 your grade 12 mark. Hence the overall averages tend to be lower. Usually around the 60% mark.

Whereas in Ontario, high school marks are overly inflated because of the high competition to get into university. I've asked many of my Toronto friends what sort of class averages they had in high school. They ranged from 80% to 90% class AVERAGES!

So a 90% student in Ontario is average, whereas a 90% student in Alberta is exceptional. And I'm sure it varies with the other provinces as well. I've known many 90% students from Ontario who got their asses kicked at the UofA and perform about as well as 70% Albertan students.


Thats over generalizing. There is a lot of variation between schools in Ontario, even within the same city, you could have two schools which are opposite in terms of difficulty.

I mean, even within the same school, it depends on the class you take. If you take any advanced level classes (above the standard), you'll likely end up with all the smart students. You'll learn more, but you'll also have a much harder time getting a high mark as the teachers would adjust the exams/assignments to get to a certain average. Converse is true if you're in a class with a bunch of dumb kids. You could sleep all day, and have your marks boosted because the average is so low.

[airodus]

Thats over generalizing. There is a lot of variation between schools in Ontario, even within the same city, you could have two schools which are opposite in terms of difficulty.

I mean, even within the same school, it depends on the class you take. If you take any advanced level classes (above the standard), you'll likely end up with all the smart students. You'll learn more, but you'll also have a much harder time getting a high mark as the teachers would adjust the exams/assignments to get to a certain average. Converse is true if you're in a class with a bunch of dumb kids. You could sleep all day, and have your marks boosted because the average is so low.

Call it what you will, over generalization or what not. If you expect me to give a school by school accounting of Ontario High Schools, then you're expecting too much. But comparing province to province, Alberta has much lower average high school marks than Ontario, yet scores much higher in International and National examinations (the Edmonton public school system is a model for schooling around the world).

Within Ontario, I'm sure there are variations. But at the end of the day, the averages are skewed upwards. The majority of the people I know from Edmonton who went to Waterloo, UofT or Western and had no trouble maintaining 90+ averages. And I've seen a large number of Ontario students at UofA see their marks drop drastically (but some still do well).

I firmly believe in standardized testing. I think it gives an accurate and fair judgement of all students. Which is important, because it sets realistic expectations on the students. It also sets a fair standard for all students when applying to post secondary school, without the need for colleges to start weighting the school in addition to the marks (like Waterloo does, but many don't which is unfair to students from tough schools). It also helps teachers maintain similar curriculums so that students all have the same backgrounds when they graduate from high school.

[mpt]

My first year in university compared to my hs marks were very similar about a B average. I got extremely happy when i got a B+ or A-. After that first year my marks went up and up and up. Now if I get an A- im content, but get somewhat pissed if I receive a B+. I ended up graduating from my bachelor program with a 3.88 GPA on 4.0 scale. Now that i'm in my masters degree program my marks haven't changed (even though i've stopped trying).

I attribute my success in university to finding a subject area that I found interesting. My program was not offered at all in highschool and therefore didn't enjoy any class.

[divx]

My first year in university compared to my hs marks were very similar about a B average. I got extremely happy when i got a B+ or A-. After that first year my marks went up and up and up. Now if I get an A- im content, but get somewhat pissed if I receive a B+. I ended up graduating from my bachelor program with a 3.88 GPA on 4.0 scale. Now that i'm in my masters degree program my marks haven't changed (even though i've stopped trying).

I attribute my success in university to finding a subject area that I found interesting. My program was not offered at all in highschool and therefore didn't enjoy any class.

some university just don't give out high marks, if i goto a university that gives out lots high marks, then of course my marks would be in the 90s

[mpt]

just because i got high marks doesn't mean that the university just gives out high marks. I graduated with the highest gpa out of my program by over 0.5.

[sumfunny]

Again there are tons of other factors that play substantial roles, but my theory was pretty accurate in swwing that well over 1/2 have seen noticeable drops. Factors to remember,

1. Which HS, Univ, Province
2. The actual person and how hard they worked
3. Individual univ programs, engineering vs biz, vs poli vs blah blah
4. The profs.

But thanks for taking part

[mpt]

Again there are tons of other factors that play substantial roles, but my theory was pretty accurate in swwing that well over 1/2 have seen noticeable drops. Factors to remember,

1. Which HS, Univ, Province
2. The actual person and how hard they worked
3. Individual univ programs, engineering vs biz, vs poli vs blah blah
4. The profs.

But thanks for taking part

That pretty much sums it up

[Nyte]

Call it what you will, over generalization or what not. If you expect me to give a school by school accounting of Ontario High Schools, then you're expecting too much. But comparing province to province, Alberta has much lower average high school marks than Ontario, yet scores much higher in International and National examinations (the Edmonton public school system is a model for schooling around the world).

Within Ontario, I'm sure there are variations. But at the end of the day, the averages are skewed upwards. The majority of the people I know from Edmonton who went to Waterloo, UofT or Western and had no trouble maintaining 90+ averages. And I've seen a large number of Ontario students at UofA see their marks drop drastically (but some still do well).


Sure the averages are skewed, but with the huge variation, its also not fair to just say 90% Ontario student = 60% Alberta student.

[mpt]

Sure the averages are skewed, but with the huge variation, its also not fair to just say 90% Ontario student = 60% Alberta student.


I agree completely

[sumfunny]

I agree completely

When I graduated alberta HS the porvince wide average for the provincial exam was 66-67% depending on the exam, which is half of your final grade.

[Rohit]

i had a 92 in an ontario HS, now at 82 in engineering at waterloo after 1st year

[divx]

now at 82 in engineering at waterloo after 1st year

impressive, my first year avg is 77

[Mr. D]

Im at Simon Fraser University with Business Administration and i was about 80% in high school which dropped to about 75% in the university... Damn that Calculus was hard but than i got B in the end. :P

[divx]

don't you hated when they give us gamma functions on the final exam when we haven't even heard of such thing. heh, funny thing is, i still don't know what gamma function is.

[Necrosis]

It is one of the hardest university in Canada. You gotta compare it with university like XingHau in China, which, out of 7 million college/uni capable students, only 2000 are accepted.

It is one of the hardest universities in Canada, but you need to realize that other universities aren't necessarily any easier. I find that a lot of U of T students assume their university is much harder than the other ones and use that to justify lower marks, when realistically none of the major/well known Ontario universities throw out high marks to everyone. The quality of education is the same in many programs when you look at universities in Ontario, especially if they're large like science.

just because i got high marks doesn't mean that the university just gives out high marks. I graduated with the highest gpa out of my program by over 0.5.

I agree completely. Some students tend to look down at other universities and assume the student quality is lower and that marks are "easier".

[Nai]

For those of you whose grades actually went UP :arrowu: , I'm interested to know what program you are taking :P

Personally, I went into engineering and my grades fell, which was pretty much the norm for all people in Canada coming into my program (although the FOBS did claim that their marks went :arrowu: ) :cheesygri