<p>I'm using Princeton Review to look at random schools, and these average GPA's, for the most part, seem REALLY high, way too high to be true. Georgia Tech's is 3.7! Are these figures BS, or is there some severe grade inflation going on?</p>
<p>are these incoming freshmen's HS figures you're talking about or the avg GPAs at a school?
Most UG students will achieve about a 3.0-3.5 in their own major at my school (on average), but the average incoming freshmen had a 3.6 HS GPA. A 3.7 university GPA here is in the top 10-15%... 3.5 is the 70th percentile from what I've been told.</p>
<p>It definitely depends on the school AND the major. Even the professors you choose. So many things affect it.</p>
<p>I think that the average GPA's are the GPA's of incoming students. The average college GPA is not 3.7. I would think it is around 2.8 for most schools.</p>
<p>2.8 would be quite low for an average, since most schools will kick you out if your GPA drops below a 2.0 (probation first sem, dismissal second sem usually)!
For that reason, the lowest typical avg would be a 3.0 (because it would be balanced by 3.9s and 4.0s)... if you're talking about a school like Colorado School of Mines or MIT, it's different since they're engineering schools that generally give A LOT of C's, but for LACs and so forth, a 2.8 would be a very low GPA... this still fits a normal distribution since each level of education cuts students below a given cut off score. Colleges generally cut anyone below an A-B student, so it would make sense that the avg in college would be above a 3.0, whereas in HS, a std distribution would place a 2.0 as average (with a predicted standard distribution of 1.0 point or one grade letter). In grad school, getting a single C or C+ can jeopardize your standing in the program! (A C is equivalent to an F, just as a D is not passing for most majors in college)</p>
<p>most schools are around a 2.8 and an 18 ACT score. But if you don't have that good of grades, bump up your ACT or SAT score and you'll have a better chance of getting in.</p>
<p>The average college GPA is quite low due to the different grading scale used. Bs count as 3.0s and Cs count as 2.0s.</p>
<p>For example I currently have a 2.8 GPA thanks to the 2 Cs, I got my first semester. Even if I get 4 As and 1 B this semester, my GPA will only be a 3.1 Its tough.</p>
<p>
[quote]
in HS, a std distribution would place a 2.0 as average (with a predicted standard distribution of 1.0 point or one grade letter).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>So only two in a thousand students get a 4.0 in high school?</p>
<p>they are high school GPAs for the incoming freshmen class.</p>
<p>it's a 2.7 here...</p>
<p>OP: I assume you're talking about the average GPA of accepted students (or incoming freshman...slightly different, but same idea), and not the average GPA of the college. You may want to clarify.</p>
<p>Most colleges will use their own formulas to recalculate GPA for incoming students. Some schools won't count "non-academic" courses (shop, home ec, some theology classes, PE, etc.), some won't weight, some will weight all H/AP/IB by a full point, some will weight H by 0.1 point and AP/IB by 0.25, some will weight +/- differently...it varies.</p>
<p>I believe that average incoming GPA's are typically reported using whatever weighting system the college employees. As a random example, Berkeley's 2007 freshman profile reports an average unweighted GPA of 3.82 but an average weighted GPA of 4.25, and both of these are "UC GPA's," meaning that they only count academic courses, and the number of weighted classes is capped. I've personally seen the weighted GPA more often, but even that number only makes sense in a context. The school's recalculation might make your high school GPA <em>as you know it</em> go up or down.</p>
<p>So, in general, this is probably the product of high-achieving applicants, widespread HS grade inflation, and weighting. Remember that you'll be evaluated in a context, so don't stress too much if you have a 3.5 but are #1 in your class, or go to a school that doesn't offer AP courses...it'll be taken into consideration.</p>
<p>ETA: For anyone interested, this link regularly pops up in these discussions: <a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.gradeinflation.com/</a></p>