Haven’t seen a recent discussion on this. Given UChicago’s famous “grade deflation”, how useful is this designation for job market or grad school apps.? How many are named to Dean’s List each year?
"Dean’s List
Degree-seeking students whose cumulative grade point averages are 3.25 or above for an academic year (in which they have completed a minimum of nine courses with at least seven quality grades) are placed on the Dean’s List for that year and their official transcripts are marked accordingly. Students are only considered for Dean’s List once all of their grades for the academic year have been recorded. A determination is made each year on the basis of grades available in the registrar’s office after July 1. For course work that does not contribute to the GPA, see Grading Scale."
Hi, @JBStillFlying Thanks! My daughter also received the recognition and I was asking her the same questions.
She said, “This is not super impressive, I think you need just a 3.2 GPA lol, but still…”
My son made Dean’s List each year but didn’t put it on his resume. He did, however, include Phi Beta Kappa which, while not a particularly big deal at Chicago, is recognized by prospective employers as an indication of a high level of scholarship.
PBK isn’t a “big deal” at a lot of schools because students don’t even know til senior year usually, and students who aren’t PBK aren’t even aware of it most of the time. But as an employer, I’d sure give a second look at a resume with PBK on it, especially from a tough school with known grade deflation.
@intparent Agreed. Son was named PBK as a junior, so was able to put it on his resume when looking for jobs senior year. I have no doubt it helped him land some very nice offers since his focus and preparation during undergrad had been on preparing for grad school rather than career. After his last summer of research, he felt burnt out and stressed about determining his specific area of focus for grad school so put it on hold.
At any rate, I agree there is no harm in putting Dean’s List on a resume or CV but not sure it has a lot of value, particularly on a resume when trying to keep it short and you have other awards or experience that are more meaningful or specific to your field.
Adding “Dean’s List Every Year” takes up no space and if you are selected for PBK all the better! It should probably go on all applications or resumes that include your college performance.
The specific question was how useful it is for a UChicago grad. A few google hits reveal that there were a few posts several years ago mentioning how a sizable majority of graduates were General Honors (meaning a 3.25 cum. gpa upon graduation. That’s like Dean’s List every, or near every, year). We also know from prior CC posts that UChicago’s famous “grade deflation” isn’t exactly that - it’s just a slower climb to the inflated numbers of other schools. My impression is that the Dean’s List gpa minimum hasn’t kept up with what seems to be ever higher average gpa’s.
Now, there are several reasons why gpa’s might be climbing. For instance, UChicago very likely has academically stronger students than, say, 15-20 years ago (due to higher selectivity, better and more intense college prep among elite applicants, etc.). Also, there have been significant changes to the Core (more options, cutting the total required number of credits back, and so forth). Yet another factor might be that the academic offerings have broadened a bit within the major (allowing Calc. 130’s to satisfy some pre-reqs, for example, or offering various principles courses in economics that simply didn’t exist a few decades ago), allowing more time to ease into the rigors of a particular course of study. And, there’s always pressure on instructors to make their students happy (although, believe it or not, that existed even in the bad old days like back in the 80’s, according to some grad students who were teaching back then). Finally, at one point quality grades didn’t used to include plusses or minuses - at least in the graduate schools and divisions. Have no idea about the College but obviously such a switch to a more fluid grading scale would impact that “B” range where the Dean’s List potential lies.
Taken as a whole, it’s quite possible - even probable - that average gpa’s have increased for very good and legitimate reasons. However, to quote Dashiell Parr, if everyone’s special, that’s another way of saying that no one is. If a sizable majority of your undergraduate population is headed for General Honors at graduation, doesn’t that mean the threshold is a tad low?
Dean’s List is worth mentioning if you get it. Chicago’s GPA cut off for Dean’s List is quite low (3.25). Even in the bad old days when I attended, MANY students made it was still worth mentioning.
