<p>I applied to Brown ED. I was curious how tough the grading standards are at Brown…I know that there are no +/-s, but does that make it harder/easier to do well in a course? Is there rampant grade inflation? Do most students get A’s? I applied to Brown cuz I thought it was the most laid back, and that students mostly work for themselves rather than the grades, however after talking to my siblings at other Ivies, I realize that I needed a strong GPA to be competitive for grad school. Any advice appreciated…</p>
<p>An official external transcript includes a list of your course, the grade you received (A/B/C or S), and if you request a Course Performance Report (a several page "form" that your professor fills out with his/her comments on your performance in a course you took SNC), the CPR that goes along with the classes you've taken. Nowhere on the transcript is a GPA listed.</p>
<p>However, this doesn't stop many Grad Schools from calculating GPA.</p>
<p>As for grade inflation, you can look at several different reports as to how the break down in grades work and I've gotten into several arguments with non-Brown students who make assumptions based on those numbers.</p>
<p>Here's what it comes down to. In most classes, to secure an A, you need to score around 1 STD from the mean or better. The B/C line is also approximately 1 STD from the mean. That's my experience in the larger courses. In smaller classes, many students do receive As, but that's because the nature of a class with 6 people is that you must keep up with reading to not look like a fool in class, etc. It's entirely dependent on the course and the professor.</p>
<p>What also can be said is that Brown has an EXCELLENT track record for placement in grad school programs and in the work place. Therefore, you can determine that our curriculum has in no way "lessened" the prestige or success of our students-- Brown is well known, as are it's curricular practices and it will not be a detriment to future aspirations.</p>
<p>Depending on what you want to grad school for, your research as an undergrad can be much more important than your GPA...</p>
<p>"Here's what it comes down to. In most classes, to secure an A, you need to score around 1 STD from the mean or better. "</p>
<p>I think you're overestimating what it takes to get an A, except maybe in the harshest graded classes like orgo (which is still on an easier curve than many schools). Aren't about 47% of our grades A's (which is even higher when you keep in mind ~20% are S)?</p>
<p>I am just saying for the classes I've taken, that's what it's been like (again, I did specify for larger classes). Orgo, Math 17, Math 18, Chem 33, and Immunology have all been either 20% As (in the case of Math 18) or the STD. The other classes I've taken were either less than 10 people or the grade wasn't curved and was set (only in the case of SO0001 where 88 was an A, period).</p>