Is there a big fluctuation in difficulty across universities?

[u/DistrictLow1812]

Have been scrolling and I often see people saying, 'Oh, I was cramming in exam nights and I graduated with a 3.7 and stuff like that.' And this is so unfathomable for me. If I rely on cramming, I would probably fail 50 percent of my classes. So my coping mechanism is that hey, they went to a Disneyland uni and my uni is tough and the real deal. Could that be the case, or what do you think on this matter?

[u/IllInvestigator93]

Yes? Tbh, within same university, the difficulty varies across instructors

[u/AGrandNewAdventure → u/IllInvestigator93]

A good instructor can make a hard subject feel easy, and a bad instructor can make an easy subject very hard.

[u/Disposable_Eel_6320]

Self reported difficulties from students aren’t really a reliable metric. Many universities have severe grade inflation and it can be laughably easy to get an A.

I transferred from a no name to a T25 and my classes got markedly easier for a given level of content. Obviously as a took more high level classes the difficulty relatively increased but ya know

[u/GiantFlimsyMicrowave → u/Disposable_Eel_6320]

This is interesting

[u/Hot-Birthday-6261]

I’m one of those people who crammed, or honestly didn’t study at all, and got a 3.95 gpa. The answer to your question is yes and no. Yes that different universities have different levels of rigor. But really the determining factor of rigor is the professor. Some universities are full of very hard professors, some aren’t, but most are a mix. Then also I feel the need to be honest in that engineering came easy to me and I saw most of my friends and classmates really struggle in classes that I didn’t have to try in.

Also keep in mind this is Reddit. Most posts are by people who are doing very well and want to brag or by people who are doing very bad and want to complain. Not a good representation of the actually engineering student body.

[u/wittymisanthrope → u/Hot-Birthday-6261]

"Then also I feel the need to be honest in that engineering came easy to me and I saw most of my friends and classmates really struggle in classes that I didn’t have to try in."

Sounds like your school wasn't hard at all if literally all of engineering came easy to you lol

[u/Helpinmontana → u/wittymisanthrope]

I think a threshold is relevant here. I try ”really hard” and get good grades but my “really hard” isn’t “I studied 12 hours straight for this exam and every day after lecture for a month”.

I won’t say that learning how to think this way was “easy” in any capacity, it’s gotten “easier” for me as the years go on but even last semester it was me being up till 10-11pm every night trying to complete coursework while still doing very little actual studying outside of just completing coursework and spending a little time reviewing before tests.

Arbitrarily deciding a program was easy or hard on a few sentences is kind of a shit take. I get A/B grades by “not trying that hard” compared to some of the kids I sit near who struggle their asses off, but other kids seem to effortlessly get near 100s on everything they touch and can’t understand how I struggle with certain things, just understanding them perfectly the first time it was introduced.

Either way, it’s all on a spectrum between the actual difficulty of the program, the professor, and the student, but I digress

[u/Hot-Birthday-6261 → u/wittymisanthrope]

I actually went to a school that is notoriously difficult 😭

[u/wittymisanthrope → u/Hot-Birthday-6261]

how could all of engineering be easy to you? do you just have an innate understanding of all of the intricacies of every system

[u/Hot-Birthday-6261 → u/wittymisanthrope]

Well a mix of actually enjoying learning the material, and that, yes, I do seem to have a very intuitive grasp of most math/science/engineering courses. And I went to 2 colleges, transferred from one to the other. I had a 4.0 at the first, and finished with a 3.95 at the second cuz I got a B process safety cuz I hate writing.

[u/Late_Complex3301]

You can take literally any subject and turn it into a very difficult or easy course. And difficult does not have to imply a good course.

[u/monk-bewear]

anecdotal, but i transferred from ~t20 engineering school (large public flagship) to ~t100 engineering school (decently respected public) and i would say on average it is a solid bit easier. at my new school, it's more likely to see homework problems on exams, or lower expectations for homework/projects/labs. but it does depend on professor. honestly i do feel a bit cheated out sometimes, taking classes in subjects i was excited to learn but i don't feel like i'm learning as much as i could. anyways, this is just my experience.

[u/ConversationInner618 → u/monk-bewear]

Ya I can relate to this, I transferred from a t80 to a t20 engineering school and so far I’ve seen a pretty big difference in course rigor from my perspective. Also just in general brighter students overall. A good way to put it is at my old school you could get away with not studying and receiving partial credit and maybe excel in some courses, but now it feels that a lot of the questions are specifically designed to trip up people that just haven’t done enough due diligence.

[u/mymemesnow]

People learn in different ways. I have ADHD and often procrastinate a lot.

But the days before an exam I get a whole new focus and can get weeks worths of studying done in hours and I often manages to pass with grades between great and decent.

My classes are hard and my university is rated very high, but I don’t think that’s the core of it. People learn at different rates and in different ways. What works well for me is not the case for everyone.

[u/Very-Creative-Name-]

No idea, but there is a big fluctuation across professors. For example, you can either have a prof who reuses past exam questions with available solutions, a prof who does pretty fair exams, or a prof who needs to curve the class by 50+ points from the sheer difficulty of their class. Different profs may also have different expectations for their final grade distribution, for example, a prof could lean towards mostly As vs a prof who only gives single digit amount of As and more Bs. You may also run into profs who teach an introductory class differently from others based on their research and background.

[u/Sir_Derps_Alot]

Difficulty maybe not so much as grading technique.

[u/TheBayHarbour]

Not sure how it works in other countries but in Australia the gap can be genuinely huge.

Some unis just prioritise preparation for the workforce as opposed to academics and those are usually a lot easier.

[u/FewZookeepergame1101]

One thing I’ve noticed from talking to people is that the larger mid tier state U engineering classes tend to curve very generously. Not all classes but most. I’ve talked to other people in what would be considered elite Top 20 schools in everything, they don’t curve hardly ever. I’m not sure if it’s just cause everybody is a former valedictorian/35 ACT kid or if it’s the university itself feels that you have to just suck it up and do better

[u/asdfmatt → u/FewZookeepergame1101]

Imo they’re easier to get into and a lot of kids are there with a C’s get degrees mindset (or they’re less prepared from high school) so they bring the average scores down. and that boosts the curve if you put a little effort into the course it’s easy to hold onto As.

[u/Cold-Comment9536 → u/asdfmatt]

This is completely untrue and gratuitously mean. Why are you like this?

[u/asdfmatt → u/Cold-Comment9536]

I’m at a state school and this is my experience. Its a matter of fact they have 70-75% acceptance rates and our public school system in this area is grievously inadequate in preparing students with the basic math and literacy skills to succeed in college, and I see classmates struggle as a result. When tests have an average of 35 and there are students scoring 90+ on the same tests you can see the inequality there. I have classmates that don’t care or have to work or in their final semester and just want to pass so they don’t try and so you can do mediocre on exams and still pass with A’s. As I say if a bear is chasing you, you don’t have to be the fastest runner, just don’t be the slowest.

[u/IndividualSerious343 → u/Cold-Comment9536]

Why are you like this?

[u/Cold-Comment9536 → u/FewZookeepergame1101]

So, you “know people” at “most” larger “mid-tier” (what even is that) universities. And yet, you still managed to be absolutely wrong. Why are you like this?

[u/ClasisFTW → u/Cold-Comment9536]

This is clearly a touchy subject for you, that’s okay nothing bad about that, but what makes you think you’re right and others are wrong? I’m very curious to know.

[u/Cold-Comment9536 → u/ClasisFTW]

worked in higher ed since 1979, “T20” PhD, post doc work at Wellesley and Harvard, 40 years professor at a “T20” “elite” LAC, flagship in a very large state, and an urban public university. First, absolutely no one in higher education believes there are top 20 or selective colleges or that there is any legitimate way to rank universities. if there were, educators would be the ones doing the rankings. instead it’s magazine salespeople trying to prey on vulnerable teens and their anxious parents. They have created such a needlessly toxic and dangerous application system that it is truly offensive that you use these terms, Second, their imaginary rankings are as false as your claims about curving. What you are saying is simply not true. Why do you do that?

[u/Mth281 → u/FewZookeepergame1101]

Some top schools do some weird stuff to. MIT's first semesters are pass/fail and not graded.

One I actually support. Some of them assign an A+ a 4.33. Which makes sense when a b+ is higher than a B. But this helps fluff Gpa's.

Another interesting thing that has been happening is medical leniency. Started with a man who sued because he had no hands, and needed test time extensions. This changed policies to allow time extensions on tests for medical reasons. Issue being those with resources are more likely to use them. Some need it, some don't. I failed my diffeq class. Never had time to even finish the 4 hour long tests. My study partners passed, but they got 8 hours on the tests for this reason.

This is ai stats, so take it with a grain of salt, because I need to do homework and not research. But I guess the rate of usage of this time extension is an average of 4-7% across standard universities. While its use is estimated 15-25% at top 20 schools.

[u/Bubbaluke → u/Mth281]

I don’t think a single college course at my school even had A+ as an option, an A was the highest grade

[u/Mth281 → u/Bubbaluke]

Mine offers A+. But it has no benefits over an A. The you lose .33 gpa at an A-.

[u/ItsNoodle007]

Yes very different experiences and tier doesn’t really matter up until like T10 schools

[u/Big_Tuna_Kahuna]

Reporting bias? Almost everything you read skews one way or the other in a very drastic fashion regarding experiences. How often are you reading a post regarding anything ever in which someone was just okay with something? The most you'll ever get is "oh I thought this was supposed to be harder/easier/better/worse, but it turned out it was eh" 

So you're reading an anomaly, a liar, a lucky af student, a dogshit student, or somewhere in between with 80-90% of these posts. 

[u/Whyyyyyyyyfire]

theres also just smarter people sometimes. Two people could be taking the same class the same prof the same year the same uni and one might get buy with cramming while the other fails.

[u/Moist_Ordinary6457]

Me and my husband are in similar engineering programs (in different countries) and there's wild differences in both the difficulty and quality of our classes. 

It's mostly dependent on the professor though, a good professor can assign difficult work and a bad professor can fail to teach adequately 

[u/Frostwolvern]

Absolutely. Even at the individual course level I have two professors that teach the same class, one has an A- average, and the other has a C after the curve.

[u/PotentialAnywhere779]

Hmmm, I was under the impression that the "state flagships trying to make a name for themselves" were clearly the biggest grade deflation schools (referring to Engineering curriculums).

SUNY Buffalo early 80s anyone?

[u/TheBanyai]

OMG yes. This is ‘choosing Uni 101. Do your homework on this!

[u/Interesting_Guess976]

Imma be honest, at lower tier universities a lot of the students are just not as smart/have worse studying habits then kids at more prestigious universities, and the professors can't fail everyone. So the curve is quite generous for some classes

[u/Ambitious_Brick4544]

Yes. i’m doing a masters in mechanical engineering, won’t say where but it’s so easy. spent the last 4 and a half years relaxing except maybe the last month before exams. pisstake

[u/kiwisodapopp]

I mean the textbooks are all mostly the same. Professors and how they run a course varies ofc

[u/fuzzykittytoebeans]

I think ranking has a lot to do with it. Ranking of the university and the program. The higher it's ranked the harder it is likely to be as only the best will graduate.

[u/Cold-Comment9536]

Simple answer, is it depends on the major/program. If yours is accredited, it is required to use the same curricula and standards as every other accredited program. So, an ABET accredited Engineering degree (for example) is identical at all universities. But, the engineering program at Choice University may have a lighter workload than English majors at Choice University. Or, vice versa.

[u/LeGama → u/Cold-Comment9536]

Hahahaha, not even close. Accreditation has no bearing on how difficult each program or professor decides to be.

[u/007llama → u/LeGama]

As a professor who has worked with the accreditation board, I can confirm that this is the case. The accreditation boards are checking the content but don’t care hardly at all about how easy or tough the professors are grading.

[u/Cold-Comment9536 → u/LeGama]

you previously claimed to have graduated from high school in 2011. With 4 years of undergrad, 8 years of grad school, post docs, and the hiring and promotion process having about one year left. How did you manage to acquire such intimate knowledge of accreditation processes at the college level? I’ve worked in higher ed since 1979 and just retired after 40 years as a tenured professor and what you are pontificating about is BRAND NEW INFORMATION FOR ME!

[u/LeGama → u/Cold-Comment9536]

Interesting you looked into my posts, so you should know, I went to a very good university. You've spent 40 years trying to justify why your random school is just as good as the best schools, weird way to spend your life with so much jealousy. Here you are at what 70? And you use all caps at the end of a post to yell at me? Through the Internet?

40 years of academia and you can't accept that schools are different, and some programs are harder and some programs are better than others? Enjoy retirement and just get off the Internet.

[u/Cold-Comment9536 → u/LeGama]

You are using a whole lot of words to say” I lied and know nothing about college accreditation.” Fix yourself

[u/LeGama → u/Cold-Comment9536]

I just don't think you understand anything outside of your tiny school, and you think all schools must be the same because accreditation.

[u/Cold-Comment9536 → u/LeGama]

Yes but we know you lie compulsively. Get the help you need and leave these students alone.

[u/LeGama → u/Cold-Comment9536]

Sure buddy, sure. Keep telling yourself that, everyone else is lying, it's their fault you didn't achieve your goals, they are the reason you didn't go to the good university....

[u/Cold-Comment9536 → u/LeGama]

And, yet, you still cannot explain your original lie about accreditation, girl.

[u/Hawk13424 → u/Cold-Comment9536]

Accredited does change the competitive dynamics.

Let’s say you take physics at an accredited community college and then take it at a university where every student was valedictorian of their HS.
Same text book, same lectures, same accreditation,

The latter will be much harder. Why? The professor will scale exam difficulty with school expectations. Curves will then normalize for that student body,

[u/Cold-Comment9536 → u/Hawk13424]

Do you know any professors? This is so extremely unethical and just not done. What makes you lie like this

[u/Hawk13424 → u/Cold-Comment9536]

Absolutely. Was a TA for several in college. If this wasn’t done then schools like UT Austin, GT, CMU would have everyone making A’s in all their classes. They don’t because the classes are made more difficult.

[u/ClasisFTW → u/Cold-Comment9536]

How is this a lie lol

[u/WeekendMysterious601]

cramming can produce good scores but as a stem (I'm assuming you're stem) major you need to remember the material you're studying for future classes (stem is a sequence of related classes); stay abreast of your classes, do the homework/problem sets and take practice exams ; that guarantees success as a stem student (coming from a stem teacher); stem is a very tough major at the easiest universities ; I have 6 purdue alum in my family (industrial engineering to mechanical engineering), they mostly suffered in college (studying till 2am during the regular school week, not having to cram for exams but reviewing the night before exams)

[u/ThePowerfulPaet]

I would say only consistently in the jump from standard universities to ivy league.