I got 59%, is it possible for a merit?

Congratulations!

Great news. Congratulations @happygolucky42 !

Do Number of credits times percentage score for each
Then add everything up.
Then divide by total number of credits so far?
Is it greater or less than 60 so far?

How many credits left to do?

hello, I had 9 courses for my master course, 7 of them exceed 60% mark and they worth 105 credits in total. However I got two courses are 53% and 50%. Those two account 15 and 60 credits for course. Can I still get merits?

@BreadInCaptivity most institutions will not remark individual submissions; they'll have had a rigorous programme of second-marking or moderation to make sure the marks were right the first time round. They'd typically only reconsider individual marks if there is evidence that their procedures haven't been followed.

On the other hand, being close to the next grade up can be grounds for getting it. This is normally where a student is performing at the higher level, but one or two disastrous grades have pulled the average just below the threshold. So that's why there are often rules in place to allow students to be promoted to the higher class if most of their credits are in the higher class. This works well because it also means students can take risks that maybe don't quite come off without it ruining their entire grade. Or for example if a student didn't do that well in their first couple of modules but then massively improved, they can still get the higher class, which is the level they're actually working at by the end.

The OP needs to look at the total credits in each class and check the regulations for their programme. Unfortunately, it sounds unlikely they will get the merit if only a few modules were in the higher class and the dissertation, which is worth more credits, didn't go well.

Bring close to the next grade up isn't grounds to get it.

You'd need to look at getting re-marks for individual submissions to raise your overall percentage over 60%.

Yes, a taught Master's needs 180 credits. The dissertation for a Master's is usually worth 60 credits, so that's a whopping one third of the whole marks.

You also need to look at the weighting of the modules or elements. In my MSc, the dissertation mark was weighted much higher than the other components. And the Uni would argue that if there were extenuating circumstances affecting your performance, you should have told them before submitting, not because you were unhappy with the mark.

Not at all, just 2 undergraduates here. 59% seems low to warrant a merit?

It's no different to undergraduate, 60% is 2.1 which is the second one down as merit is?

If 59 is a pass, not a merit, then you get a pass. Your work is not automatically better because you'd like a better grade.

If the argument is it's only a percentage point, then perhaps it's up to the candidate to try they bit harder to make a difference, not the marker.

In mine I got 70 plus for all modules apart from one where I got 58. My pass still pisses me off today!

Dsd got 59.8% she got a 2:2. Boundaries are pretty firm, they have to be somewhere.

Not necessarily. It depends on the marking criteria. We had a handy sheet to hand out to markers describing what each band looked like, which helped them to decide on a mark.

Agree also that there are different expectations from students in different countries. I was on my Masters with several students from North America who report regularly getting marks in the 90s for essays in a humanities subject at undergrad. When I did my undergrad, anything over 70 and you were leaping around the room in absolute delight.

So it was a bit of a shock to them when we started handing in work for our MSc and the marks were generally in the 55-68 bracket.

Usually in a Masters over 60% is a merit, over 70 a distinction.

In real life though, nobody could care about what class you get in a Masters degree.

Well that surprises me. Low bar.

That's the system. When I worked for a university as the teaching administrator for a couple of postgraduate programmes, 50% was the pass mark, so anything marked 50-59 was a Pass, 60-69 was a Merit and 70+ was Distinction. It's a very narrow band and many of our markers rarely gave any marks over 70 - 75 at a push. It was a red letter day for any student who got a mark of 80 or 90.

StrangePaintName · Today 10:45

MrsSkylerWhite · Today 10:42

Surprised that such a low % would be anywhere near consideration for a merit, tbh.

I’ll get my coat …..
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How familiar are you with postgraduate programmes and UK HE marking bands”

Not at all, just 2 undergraduates here. 59% seems low to warrant a merit?

I am an examiner for a masters programme. PPs are right to say that the institution will have rules about whether or not borderline marks can be promoted to the next classification, and these should be published somewhere on your institution's website. If you've got 59%, they will normally apply criteria based on how many credits you have in the higher band. If you've completed your studies, but the degree hasn't yet been ratified and awarded at a final examination board, there's still a chance you will get a merit. You can work it out if you already have all of your grades by applying your institution's criteria.

How familiar are you with postgraduate programmes and UK HE marking bands?