Ate a P 1L fall, feeders out of running? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Just curious, is there an equivalent of a CALI at Harvard? I know at CLS (where I go), we have two types of award for the top student in a class. A "best in the class" award, and an A+, which is the best in the class if it is extra special (don't ask me why they do it this way lol).

CLS 1L here. just curious, any chance you know how common it is for profs hand out an A+?

in one of my classes, both of my essays on the same final were chosen as model answers so I thought I might have a shot at one, but I imagine it just depends a lot on the prof

CLS 3L here. The grading document says that only one A+ can be given out per class and reserved only for extraordinary performance. It really does depend on the professor though and whether they want to give it out. Based on what my classmates said, basically every 1L professor I had gave out an A+.

My guess is that Professors give out the A+ more often than the "Best In Class," but I do know people who have gotten "Best in Class" without an A+ before.

Also, shouldn't the anon who had both essays picked as model answers (great job BTW) already know what grade they got? LMK if I am missing something here.

that anon here - (thank you) and yes, I got an A but not the A+. thought that was implied, but yeah should’ve said I thought I “might have had” a shot rather than “might have.” I was just curious about it in general, not wondering whether this specific grade would be an A+.

and thanks both for the info!

Different anon at CLS. From my understanding, both A+s and Best in Class are discretionary and professors are not required to hand out any, though they generally hand out A+s to the top grade in the class. Best in Class is technically an award, and there is no specific guideline on what that means: the registrar simply asks the professor if they want to give someone the award. It may play some role in how the decisions for the 1L class prizes are made, but I do not know for certain.

[Anonymous User]

Just curious, is there an equivalent of a CALI at Harvard? I know at CLS (where I go), we have two types of award for the top student in a class. A "best in the class" award, and an A+, which is the best in the class if it is extra special (don't ask me why they do it this way lol).

CLS 1L here. just curious, any chance you know how common it is for profs hand out an A+?

in one of my classes, both of my essays on the same final were chosen as model answers so I thought I might have a shot at one, but I imagine it just depends a lot on the prof

CLS 3L here. The grading document says that only one A+ can be given out per class and reserved only for extraordinary performance. It really does depend on the professor though and whether they want to give it out. Based on what my classmates said, basically every 1L professor I had gave out an A+.

My guess is that Professors give out the A+ more often than the "Best In Class," but I do know people who have gotten "Best in Class" without an A+ before.

Also, shouldn't the anon who had both essays picked as model answers (great job BTW) already know what grade they got? LMK if I am missing something here.

that anon here - (thank you) and yes, I got an A but not the A+. thought that was implied, but yeah should’ve said I thought I “might have had” a shot rather than “might have.” I was just curious about it in general, not wondering whether this specific grade would be an A+.

and thanks both for the info!

Different anon at CLS. From my understanding, both A+s and Best in Class are discretionary and professors are not required to hand out any, though they generally hand out A+s to the top grade in the class. Best in Class is technically an award, and there is no specific guideline on what that means: the registrar simply asks the professor if they want to give someone the award. It may play some role in how the decisions for the 1L class prizes are made, but I do not know for certain.

I have a bit of a different memory of how this works. I got an A+ 1L and the award without having a "best in class." I think best in class is if you did the best in the class, but not worthy of an A+. I also know a few other students who got the awards, but did not have a best in class designation.

[Anonymous User]

Just curious, is there an equivalent of a CALI at Harvard? I know at CLS (where I go), we have two types of award for the top student in a class. A "best in the class" award, and an A+, which is the best in the class if it is extra special (don't ask me why they do it this way lol).

CLS 1L here. just curious, any chance you know how common it is for profs hand out an A+?

in one of my classes, both of my essays on the same final were chosen as model answers so I thought I might have a shot at one, but I imagine it just depends a lot on the prof

CLS 3L here. The grading document says that only one A+ can be given out per class and reserved only for extraordinary performance. It really does depend on the professor though and whether they want to give it out. Based on what my classmates said, basically every 1L professor I had gave out an A+.

My guess is that Professors give out the A+ more often than the "Best In Class," but I do know people who have gotten "Best in Class" without an A+ before.

Also, shouldn't the anon who had both essays picked as model answers (great job BTW) already know what grade they got? LMK if I am missing something here.

that anon here - (thank you) and yes, I got an A but not the A+. thought that was implied, but yeah should’ve said I thought I “might have had” a shot rather than “might have.” I was just curious about it in general, not wondering whether this specific grade would be an A+.

and thanks both for the info!

Different anon at CLS. From my understanding, both A+s and Best in Class are discretionary and professors are not required to hand out any, though they generally hand out A+s to the top grade in the class. Best in Class is technically an award, and there is no specific guideline on what that means: the registrar simply asks the professor if they want to give someone the award. It may play some role in how the decisions for the 1L class prizes are made, but I do not know for certain.

I have a bit of a different memory of how this works. I got an A+ 1L and the award without having a "best in class." I think best in class is if you did the best in the class, but not worthy of an A+. I also know a few other students who got the awards, but did not have a best in class designation.

I tracked down the explanation I received from my professor (a long time ago), so something could have changed, but I doubt it:

"I wanted to let you know that I've asked the registrar to name you "Best in Class." There's no explicit rule on what that means; each professor simply has the opportunity to choose one student in the class for that award. Your A+ already rightly sends that message, but I would only award it for an A+ exam plus excellent participation. In other words, the student who gets an A+ wouldn't necessarily also earn the Best in Class."

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for digging that up!