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SteelMaiden
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16 Mar 2015, 10:38 am

Are university grades a good reflection of intelligence? If I get a lower mark (but not a shockingly low mark), does it mean I'm not highly intelligent?

No it doesn't according to my care coordinator.

But my tutor seems to think it does. He keeps going on about it.

Can you tell me, are "very high IQ" and "not great marks" mutually exclusive or not?

I have a very high IQ, officially tested. I have near calculator speed arithmetic skills, I am very good at solving tricky puzzles (the reason why I scored very high in the Welscher Intelligence Scale) etc. I am also hyperlexic and learnt how to read at the age of 3 despite a speech delay due to either being severely deaf until I was 2 and a half or autism, or both.

I have a brilliant memory, but only for things I like. I can memorise neurology textbooks and I can easily learn a train map in 15 minutes. But in biochemistry (a module at uni) I struggle to keep certain topics in my memory storage. Protein structure I am fine with, because I like it. But bioinformatics, oncogenes, cell signalling and molecular biology I struggle to remember, because they are very dull. I don't know how to remember uninteresting things, my brain refuses to learn them.

I am part time at uni but I keep reminding myself that that is because of my disabilities and doesn't reflect on my abilities.

I just need someone to explain to me the connection (or lack thereof) between grades and actual intelligence. As my brain is stuck in a rut (a new idiom I've learnt recently).

I've been suffering very severe migraines and I have severe OCD, as well as autism (HFA but not so HF more MF as I struggle badly with things most would find easy, like going to the newsagent or buying a ticket). I have a major test at uni on the 26th of March and I am scared s***less that I will do very badly in it, and become the laughing stock of the Pharmacology department.


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kraftiekortie
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16 Mar 2015, 10:40 am

There are times when grades reflect intelligence; other times, it doesn't

In autism, frequently, the grade a person receives is not reflective of the person's intelligence.

There are geniuses who flunked out of school multiple times.

There are dolts who have multiple degrees.



ASPartOfMe
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16 Mar 2015, 10:45 am

kraftiekortie wrote:
There are times when grades reflect intelligence; other times, it doesn't

In autism, frequently, the grade a person receives is not reflective of the person's intelligence.

There are geniuses who flunked out of school multiple times.

There are dolts who have multiple degrees.


^^^^
This


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16 Mar 2015, 10:56 am

SteelMaiden wrote:
Are university grades a good reflection of intelligence? If I get a lower mark (but not a shockingly low mark), does it mean I'm not highly intelligent?

No it doesn't according to my care coordinator.

But my tutor seems to think it does. He keeps going on about it.

Can you tell me, are "very high IQ" and "not great marks" mutually exclusive or not?

I have a very high IQ, officially tested. I have near calculator speed arithmetic skills, I am very good at solving tricky puzzles (the reason why I scored very high in the Welscher Intelligence Scale) etc. I am also hyperlexic and learnt how to read at the age of 3 despite a speech delay due to either being severely deaf until I was 2 and a half or autism, or both.

I have a brilliant memory, but only for things I like. I can memorise neurology textbooks and I can easily learn a train map in 15 minutes. But in biochemistry (a module at uni) I struggle to keep certain topics in my memory storage. Protein structure I am fine with, because I like it. But bioinformatics, oncogenes, cell signalling and molecular biology I struggle to remember, because they are very dull. I don't know how to remember uninteresting things, my brain refuses to learn them.

I am part time at uni but I keep reminding myself that that is because of my disabilities and doesn't reflect on my abilities.

I just need someone to explain to me the connection (or lack thereof) between grades and actual intelligence. As my brain is stuck in a rut (a new idiom I've learnt recently).

I've been suffering very severe migraines and I have severe OCD, as well as autism (HFA but not so HF more MF as I struggle badly with things most would find easy, like going to the newsagent or buying a ticket). I have a major test at uni on the 26th of March and I am scared s***less that I will do very badly in it, and become the laughing stock of the Pharmacology department.


Srinivasa Ramanujan failed college. He gave us much of the math behind String Theory. Did he have an incredibly high IQ? Probably, his abilities stunned other mathematicians. Did he have high marks in college? No, he did horribly.


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CivMaster
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16 Mar 2015, 11:21 am

intelligence has multiple parts.
one part for math.
one part for sociasl things, yes there is "social intelligence".
one part for language.
some more exist but i cant remember them



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16 Mar 2015, 11:34 am

The courses universities run and the examinations they set are aimed at the (NT) majority, and are thus unlikely to suit someone whose way of thinking differs from that criteria. In a sense it's yet another of the 'games' whose rules are designed by and for the mainstream of society, and if you can't or won't abide by or understand those rules then you are likely to lose out. That said, many academics with very high IQs who teach at the world's leading universities are Aspies, whether diagnosed or not. From personal experience I know this to be the case at Oxford. So no, there is no direct correlation between a high IQ and good exam results; as others have set, often the reverse is true.



SteelMaiden
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16 Mar 2015, 3:41 pm

Thanks all.

My uni are all about students getting together in study groups and helping each other. I was nearly forced into one by a tutor. Thankfully I have a support worker at uni who advocates for me and calms me down when I freak out.

I asked my tutor via email if he could ask a student from my biochemistry class to email me some lecture notes as I missed some lectures due to migraines and am struggling to catch up. I told him in the email that due to my communication issues and my severe social interaction difficulties, I cannot just go up to a student and ask for notes. He said no, he won't help me get notes, and that I need to "be more independent".

I got marked down in a pharmacology practical because I went mute during the practical (it was noisy) and couldn't produce a verbal answer to a question the lecturer asked me. My support worker said I could write it down but by then the lecturer had walked off in annoyance with me.

Nearly got kicked out when I punched a large dent in a wall during a meltdown when the fire alarm went off.

Although I've had some lecturers who are brilliant with helping me out when I've been confused.

I cannot study in libraries at all. I live 90 minutes taxi journey away from uni each way (so I spend three hours a day travelling). I have severe OCD and severe chronic migraines. No wonder I'm struggling at uni. At school I had an assistant, loads of allowances and modifications, and lived nearer to school. And also school was much more guided and protective. In uni one is supposed to guide their own studying. I am often stuck as to what I am really supposed to learn, but my tutor refuses to give me any guidance at all on what I am supposed to know for the exams. I go by the lecture slides but some lecturers have horrendously rubbish slides.

Uni gives me more meltdowns than anything else.


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catalina
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16 Mar 2015, 4:25 pm

Is this your first year at university? because the first one is usually the hardest, then you get used to it.
There is always one subject that you dont like, what works best for me is: i don´t want to have this boring subject ever again, so i´ll do whatever is possible to pass it.
You dont need to join a study group, just ask one of your classmates for their notes or recording of the class. My classmates have a class mail and a facebook group where they share their information.



SteelMaiden
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16 Mar 2015, 4:34 pm

catalina wrote:
Is this your first year at university? because the first one is usually the hardest, then you get used to it.
There is always one subject that you dont like, what works best for me is: i don´t want to have this boring subject ever again, so i´ll do whatever is possible to pass it.
You dont need to join a study group, just ask one of your classmates for their notes or recording of the class. My classmates have a class mail and a facebook group where they share their information.


I've been in uni for 5 years. I'm part time but had to repeat last year as migraines meant that I wasn't able to attend a lot of the lectures and I missed the exams due to being hospitalised.

Just passing is a good idea, although I get so many people saying "SM is so clever, she will get really high marks", which puts pressure on me.

No decent Facebook group I can find but I'll look into the class mail, just need to avoid any face to face confrontation.

I am pathetic.


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btbnnyr
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16 Mar 2015, 4:40 pm

Did you try emailing the lecturers and asking for a complete list of class topics, so you at least know what are all the things you need to learn? If you know what you need to learn, it is easier to study those topics from biochem books like stryer or papers that they may assign for class reading list. Also, can you get your support worker to ask one of the students for their notes for the classes you missed?

I haven't found studying in groups to be the least bit helpful ever, so you probably aren't missing much by not doing that. Biochem is a topic that you can self-study. If you just read stryer cover to cover, you will get all the basics of biochem.


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catalina
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16 Mar 2015, 4:46 pm

You are not pathetic. Try not to think about what people expect from you, because your personal goals are more important.



kraftiekortie
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16 Mar 2015, 4:54 pm

You are "what you are," Steel Maiden.

There are things to overcome in you.

There are things to overcome in everybody.

"Pathos" is when a situation is hopeless and tragic. Being pathetic means being and feeling hopeless; thus, it is tragic. Making an effort to change is not pathetic, it take away the "hopeless" element from the term "pathos."

I understand all this is difficult for you. I'm sorry the professor blew you off when you wanted to write a written response. This is a situation where an Alternative and Augmentative Communication Device (AAC) might have been useful.

One "class participation" reduction will not cause you to fail. What's important is showing up to class and doing well in the exams.

It took me eight years for me to get my Bachelor's degree. How many credits have you so far toward your BScience in Pharmacology?

Could you set up a meeting with your professor where you could explain your situation? Maybe you could ask him to please allow you to give a written response. I think there are some professors who respond to such overtures. To set up a meeting means you are trying. To not set up a meeting means, to the professor, that you are not making an effort.



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16 Mar 2015, 5:11 pm

SteelMaiden wrote:

I asked my tutor via email if he could ask a student from my biochemistry class to email me some lecture notes as I missed some lectures due to migraines and am struggling to catch up. I told him in the email that due to my communication issues and my severe social interaction difficulties, I cannot just go up to a student and ask for notes. He said no, he won't help me get notes, and that I need to "be more independent".

This, along with the tutor's suggestions that not doing well in class somehow equates to low IQ suggests that this tutor is not really trying to help you succeed.
I hope things get better.



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16 Mar 2015, 5:22 pm

I don't know if your grades are exam based or course based (eg assignment marks, internal assessment). There are many many variables which affect the outcome of exam grades, quite good studies show that intelligence is only one of at least 17 other variables and some studies put the number of variables much higher. So in a nutshell, the answer to your question is probably no.



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16 Mar 2015, 5:26 pm

btbnnyr wrote:
Did you try emailing the lecturers and asking for a complete list of class topics, so you at least know what are all the things you need to learn? If you know what you need to learn, it is easier to study those topics from biochem books like stryer or papers that they may assign for class reading list. Also, can you get your support worker to ask one of the students for their notes for the classes you missed?

I haven't found studying in groups to be the least bit helpful ever, so you probably aren't missing much by not doing that. Biochem is a topic that you can self-study. If you just read stryer cover to cover, you will get all the basics of biochem.


Same for me: studying in groups was unhelpful (a chance for others to pick my brains, leaving me with nothing gained and energy lost). I was much better at teaching myself, from textbooks, setting myself problems, tests, etc and solving them. One course the lecturer noted that it was interesting that I got an A+ in the end of year exam and had only attended one lecture in the whole year! Very funny, at least it made me, him and the other students laugh (in a nice way).



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16 Mar 2015, 5:28 pm

I don't like "group study" situations. Within these situations, I was usually the one who ended up doing most of the work--because I didn't want to submit work which is not up to my standards to the professor.

My grammar is not exquisite within this site--and I'm no expert at it---but when it comes to a paper to submit to a professor, I'm pretty compulsive about word usage and grammar.