I had a 4.0 starting in middle school (possibly before) and going all the way through high school. That's six years of straight A's. I was accustomed to getting A's. They were normal, expected, and honestly, not that difficult for me to achieve.
What I probably looked like during high school
Then at Whitworth I got my first A-, then B+, etc etc,. It was a shock to the system, but not getting A's was a much needed experience for me. The pressure of maintaining perfection was gone and I became more concerned with learning. So I went on my merry way with A's and B's in college. Physics 2 was a mighty foe but I managed to stave off a C, squeaking by with a B-.
What I probably looked like during college
Then I came to Norway. They do things a little differently here. You see, most classes have no homework, papers, or projects, or even a midterm. Grades here are usually based on your score on a single exam at the end of the semester. You get one shot, on one day, to show what you know about the entire curriculum. C's are normal and expected, and B's are greatly admired. But to get an A, you basically have to be perfect and nail everything, plus give a little something extra special.
What I no doubt look like in grad school
Needless to say, in my experience, it's harder, or at least very different, to get an A here than in the U.S. So, how did I get one?
Well, firstly, I should say that this A was probably made possible because it was not one of my science courses. The class was called Experts in Teamwork. It's a special sort of class, designed to teach students how to work on a project in an interdisciplinary team and mandatory class for all Master's students at NTNU. It was an all-day course for three weeks in January and I was in a group of six people working on a single project while constantly evaluating and discussing our actions and effectiveness as a team. Silly? Kind of. But it turned out to be a much better experience than any of us anticipated, and we all agreed we've become friends. Someone tell me that doesn't deserve an A!
In the end, we delivered two reports, one about our project and the other about our "group process," these being the only two things our collective grade would be based on. No one in our group cared too much about the grade in this class, because it is kind of silly, but we were actually the only group in our class to get an A. By the way, an A here might as well be an A++ in the States, and a B is basically considered an A, a C is a B, and so on. I just have to hope that the U.S. knows that Europe is a little more stingy with their highest grades. Also, they don't give plusses or minuses, but they do have an E between D and F. I guess that's only natural but I'm still not sure what it means.
Last night my Experts in Teamwork group got together to share a meal and celebrate our victory. Meet the A-team:
Tes (neuroscience), Camilla (med student), and Elise (neuroscience)
Me (molecular medicine), Ida (psychology), and Hans (psychology, and I promise he likes us more than he lets on:)
We had a great time hanging out, and we enjoyed not having to document our every conversation or reflect on our teamwork. We worked really hard on both our project and process during the course, so it feels really good to have succeeded together. Like I said earlier, school is not the main reason I'm here, but I'm reveling in the joy of a hard won A for the first time in a long time.
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