Sorry, I'm a child of the 70's warm and fuzzy school of education. GPA is a measure of conformity, not smarts. I came out of Viet Nasty to learn what I could learn, regardless of the grades. Low Cs until I hit upper division, non-required courses. Then I started getting my As. After a career in the field, I barely got into Grad school later in life. Yes, my earlier scores counted against me but my GREs were good and luck was on my side. I now have a Ph.D., more great experience under my belt, and a super job. Meeting others' expectations wasn't my thing. It was and is about meeting mine. I think I contribute to science and society and I'm enjoying my life.
Yours, GW Patton, Ph.D. Wheaton, MD Sent from my iPhone On Apr 11, 2013, at 2:09 PM, malcolm McCallum <[email protected]> wrote: > I have often wondered if the general trend of allowing a 2.0 gpa for a > biology major is appropriate. Essentially, if you GPA drops to far > below a 2.5 you are essentially dead in the water. you will not get > in a grad school today, nor will you get hired. I would like to see > universities send a message to the studetns that higher standards are > needed to make it through biology. Just a thought I'm throwing out > there, I realize this is kind of changing the subject, but the door > was opened by Kim, (Yeah, I'll blame Kim for this!!!! ;) ) > > Enjoy hearing the thoughts on this! > > On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 10:26 AM, Kim Cuddington <[email protected]> wrote: >> Extremely limited or even no math requirements may be a more common feature >> of biology programs >> than you realize. For example, up until recently, my program required only a >> stats course. It is my >> understanding that this is an increasingly common approach for biology >> programs. >> >> Partially as a result of my efforts, all our biology students now require a >> math course, but it is not >> necessarily a calculus course (linear algebra is an option, and non-calculus >> physics for some reason). >> Don't get me wrong, I think linear algebra is equally necessary, but many of >> our ecology students opt >> for the easier algebra course. Students from another environmental campus >> program on campus >> require no math course at all. Therefore, when I explain concepts as basic >> as exponential growth in a >> 4th year ecology course, I also have to explain the meaning of a derivative. >> >> Needless to say, I find the situation ludicrous. Educated students in ANY >> science need to know what a >> derivative is, and educated citizens, regardless of what their university >> major, REALLY need to >> understand exponential population growth. Math is not an optional part of >> any education, let alone a >> science education, but I've seen it being treated that way at at several >> institutions. >> >> Kim Cuddington >> University of Waterloo >> (BTW this is a notoriously "mathy" school) > > > > -- > Malcolm L. McCallum > Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry > School of Biological Sciences > University of Missouri at Kansas City > > Managing Editor, > Herpetological Conservation and Biology > > "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - > Allan Nation > > 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert > 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, > and pollution. > 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction > MAY help restore populations. > 2022: Soylent Green is People! > > The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) > Wealth w/o work > Pleasure w/o conscience > Knowledge w/o character > Commerce w/o morality > Science w/o humanity > Worship w/o sacrifice > Politics w/o principle > > Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any > attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may > contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized > review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not > the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and > destroy all copies of the original message.
