<p>I've heard it's like really, really, REALLY hard to get an "A" in a course at Tufts and that if you're just an "average" student AT TUFTS (meaning you're probably an amazing student elsewhere), the competition is really difficult? Is this true? Usually, how many people get A's in a class? I know it's different for every major, and probably harder for the premed/science courses but... just curious :)</p>
<p>i've heard the same as well. you have to realize that once you step inside an upper tier school, people just don't hand out "A"s anymore. a professor wants his/her student to earn a legitimate and worthy grade.</p>
<p>from what i hear the avg. grade in the classes (besides joke ones im guessing) is about a B- (2.667 GPA)</p>
<p>so yeah, its gonna be harder than most HS and most people are brilliant in tufts, so if they are getting Bs on avg then make ur own conclusion</p>
<p>aaaaa very frustrating subject. i have yet to receive an A at Tufts despite what felt like working my butt off all year. the most annoying part was that first semester my grade should have been an A in one of my classes but the professor on principle doesn't give out As. other than that though, i've discussed it with many classmates and peers that you have to work your butt off for a B, but its not THAT hard to get. there is a huge jump to an A, however. (one that i'm still working on...) dont be too disheartened though - Bs are good grades! even Cs aren't bad...it seems so bad since you probably didnt get them in high school, but just think everyone got straight As in HS, and now that all those kids are together not everyone can get As...</p>
<p>(note: i need to stop posting on here so late at night i dont even formulate coherent thoughts...sorry yall)</p>
<p>I was under the impression that the average GPA at Tufts was a little below a 3.4. </p>
<p>Btw, speaking of average GPAs at Tufts, here's a VERY interesting link:
<a href="http://ase.tufts.edu/Greek/pdf/Stats%20Fall%2005.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://ase.tufts.edu/Greek/pdf/Stats%20Fall%2005.pdf</a></p>
<p>Depends on the class. Sciences and engineering will be about a 2.5-2.7 for anything that's not a joke. Some classes, I swear, have averages around a 3.7. </p>
<p>I did find that (aside from engineering), getting an A- wasn't that hard. Getting a straight A was really difficult.</p>
<p>As are ridiculously hard to get in the sciences. Bs are doled out like candy in liberal arts courses. You actually have to try and be pretty unintellectual/lazy to get a C and below.</p>
<p>Some classes have horrible distributions: physics II this semester with Napier - I swear everyone got a great grade despite how horrible it seemed. Other classes had a strict B- curve.</p>
<p>Hey Precocious -</p>
<p>I am Liberal Arts rising senior and have a 3.7 average. I am hoping to bring my GPA up even more this last year so I can graduate summa cum laude, though that would just be for personal kicks. Friends who graduated last year told me, however, that I may be far out of the norm as the average GPA of the graduating class of 2006 was 2.9.</p>
<p>Don't worry about grades though -- worry about learning! If you get A's, then that's just the icing on the cake.</p>
<p>L.B.</p>
<p>P.S. Just fyi, I am an International Relations major and I went abroad for a full year on a Tufts program, so all my grades from that year did factor into my GPA.</p>
<p>lolabelle, where did you go abroad? I've heard that often Tufts programs abroad bring down your gpa quite a bit because the courses are taught in the language of the country, etc which makes them a lot more difficult. Did you find this to be true?</p>
<p>Well, in european countries it's really easy to fail, and one engineer I think failed an art history course and got an F on his transcript. The problem was that 90% of your grade was determined by a final exam (this was Tufts in London).</p>
<p>Juliatorgo: I did Tufts-in-Paris but didn't do the in-house program, I did the full-time program at Sciences Po (a prestigious political science school, all in French). I just worked hard, and ended up with all A's and A-'s. If I hadn't studied so much I wouldn't have done that well. I think that regular Tufts-in-Paris program which combines classes at the Sorbonne and classes taught at the Tufts building in Paris are on the same level as advanced courses in the French department in Medford.</p>
<p>P.S. again: My best friend did Tufts-in-London and his year-long grades also raised his GPA. He's an English major. So I guess it varies from person to person.</p>
<p>La Sorbonne isn't all that rigorous considering its monumental reputation :)</p>
<p>Snuffles: I agree, the Sorbonne has more of a reputation due to its history than the actual academics today (that's why I chose to do the Sciences Po program) but a Sorbonne literature class will still be at the same level as an upper-level lit class in the French Dept. at Tufts.</p>