AP: Admissions boards face 'grade inflation'

Applying to College
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Some call the phenomenon that Zalasky's fighting "grade inflation" — implying the boost is undeserved. Others say students are truly earning their better marks. Regardless, it's a trend that's been building for years and may only be accelerating: Many students are getting very good grades. So many, in fact, it is getting harder and harder for colleges to use grades as a measuring stick for applicants.

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<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061118/ap_on_re_us/the_admissions_game_iii%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061118/ap_on_re_us/the_admissions_game_iii&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Interesting article I think. What are your thoughts on it? Is class rank and grades becoming less and less an indicator for top colleges?</p>

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<p>This has been often discussed. It's way rank does matter and GPA matters only in context. For schools that don't rank, the colleges aproximate a rank.</p>

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<p>Both class rank and test scores are important.</p>

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<p>This is why SATs are so important. In schools with 20 vals, SATs/ACTs are the only way to tell who is really smartest. It is also why SATIIs count for top privates and UCs because a person with an A who cannot break 600 goes to a school with grade inflation, unlike a B student who gets an 800.</p>

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<p>Obviously this is a problem........</p>

<p>I have around 12 B's and like 3 C+'s.</p>

<p>Yet I am top 10%, my school does not release exact ranks..
2400
4 800's on SAT II.
5's on 8 AP Tests, and a 4 on AP Chem.</p>

<p>what the hell?</p>

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<p>Top 10% with that many Bs and Cs is really hard to believe. Could that even happen at Andover or Exeter (out there Suze)?</p>

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<p>well they are all in fresh/soph years and it comes out to be around a 3.7 UW cumulative GPA, which isn THAT bad...is it?</p>

<p>i was talking to my friend who goes to Harvard Westlake, a school comparable to exter or andover in LA, and he said a 3.7 gpa would probably be valedectorian.</p>

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<p>I go to hw and AP and honors classes are automatically weighted.</p>

<p>The valedictorian usually has around a 4.4 gpa.</p>