With final exams fast approaching in December, I asked one of my professors how students are graded here in Ireland. I was mainly interested in what is considered “passing” since the grades for classes to be transferred back to the states will not count towards our GPA as long as we “pass” the class. Much to my surprise, he said “40% is typically standard [for a passing grade].” What?!?

In this particular class, we have a group project worth 25% of our overall grade and a final worth 75%. This seems a bit daunting at first glance, but say I get 20% on the group project (a low estimate). Then I would only need to answer one of the questions on the exam mostly right to receive a passing grade. One group report and one question somewhat correct on a test and here you go, another class done.

They also have a thing here called “compensational grading.” If you get a low grade (below 40%…goodness sakes) then you can “compensate” the low grade with a “high” grade in another class, averaging the two.

More surprising, a grade of “A1” (similar to our A+) only requires that students get 75% or more in the course.

Why is this? Well, since the government in Ireland pays the university based on the number of students they have enrolled, making student after student repeat courses would be too taxing on the government. That’s why the university also allows students to retake their final exams in the summer, should they not pass.

Yesterday, I was working on a group project with some of my fellow Irish classmates and we were discussing the next time we could meet. Do evenings work? Of course not, one girl had to attend a bar crawl and the rest were “busy” for the rest of the week. Forget waiting until the weekend, everyone will be home. Ok, well how about the next day, say 11 am? None of them thought they would be awake. Noon? Still a bit early, but they agreed to it. The project is worth almost half of our grade (and due next week), but still no one cares.

In a world where the global playing field is being leveled, where the most skilled individuals are sought regardless of their region…40% may be good enough here, but good luck finding jobs elsewhere…