MBA grading system in the United States #028

The grading system in the United States is very different from Brazil.

When I was in college in Brazil, the score ranged from 0 to 100. You needed to get 70 points to pass the course. If someone didn't manage to do that, their score below 70 points would be added to a final exam worth 100 points, divided by two, and you would need to have a score of 50 points. It seems like a generous thing, but professors would make it very difficult, and even so, there were courses where few people would graduate each semester, like 2 or 3 people (Physics, for example).

But each university in Brazil has its own methodology. For some, the minimum grade is 60, for others, it's 70, with no chance of a final recovery exam, the institution defines its own rules.

Brazilians are accustomed to whole numbers, a grade from 0 to 10, 0 to 100, 0 to 1000, etc.

Here in the United States, it's much more flexible in terms of the professor deciding how the grades will be distributed. There's a professor where the maximum grade is 868, another is 350, another 800, and so on.

Normally, an A is between 90% - 100% of the grade. 

B is between 80% - 89% 

C is between 70% - 79% 

F is less than 70% of the grade.

I'm studying at FSU (Fayetteville State University), and here's the rule: during the MBA, the student can only have a maximum of two Cs. If you have an F or a third C, you're out, you don't get the diploma. Of course, everyone's goal is to get an A.

At the end of the course, this numerical grade is converted into a letter. It's interesting to get a good grade because I feel that the professors here are more willing to help you get a good placement in the job market.

One thing I find very positive is that at the beginning of the semester, the professors already make clear the entire semester schedule, so it's much easier to plan. When I was studying in Brazil, there was an interval of when a test could be (between the 10th and 20th day, for example), and the classes weren't as structured each day of the semester as they are here.

As a student, I find the American system less stressful because you have a greater predictability of what's going to happen, what you should do, and what the professor wants from you. Many times in Brazil, I felt like I was in a guessing game because I didn't know exactly what the professor wanted and what they would evaluate.