<p>Right now Stern's grading curve is posing a SERIOUS dilemma for me and is probably the NUMBER ONE reason that I am hesitating to attend Stern over pursuing my other options, let me outline my problem.</p>
<p>Stern has a reputation for having a tough grading curve, implications:</p>
<p>1) Should I attempt to transfer into Columbia or Wharton, a mediocre GPA would pose serious problems for me.</p>
<p>2) Should I attempt to attend a top law school, once again, GPA is vital for getting into those top law schools and getting an average GPA from Stern would hurt me. FURTHERMORE this makes things worse because I am afraid that by attending Stern I am going to be forsaking opportunities elsewhere and will lock myself into the world of business/finance.</p>
<p>3) May even pose a problem for getting into top biz schools despite the obvious benefits gained from a background at Stern.</p>
<p>So I ask you, are my concerns warranted? Is the grading curve at Stern all that bad? If I try hard enough can I be assured of a respectable GPA that COULD get me into top law/business grad schools?</p>
<p>According to my roommate, it's really not that bad unless the class is super-easy - then the curve is pretty tough. Otherwise, she says that it's generally like 20% As, 40% Bs, etc. Definitely top-heavy. Also, the curve isn't at all universal - it's class by class, professor by professor.</p>
<p>My roommate also suggests that it makes no sense for a pre-law student to be in Stern - the school essentially funnels you straight into a full-time job after graduation. I believe that vast majority of people have an offer halfway through their senior year. If you want to go to law school, stick with CAS or Gallatin.</p>
<p>I was suggested otherwise, I was shown a site with a pre-law advisor for Stern and pamphlets of information for those interested in pursuing law while attending Stern.</p>
<p>If I make a 360 and decide business is something I don't want and law is my true goal then I would consider transfering out, but even then the grading curve will make a difference there depending on where I want to transfer out to...</p>
<p>Obviously business is my primary choice (hence the interest in Stern in the first place), but Im worried that finance, or business in general, might not work out for me. I'm a debater and law has always caught my interest, and thus I dont want to feel like attending Stern would harm my GPA to the point that I can't attend top law schools... though I plan on going all out academic-wise at Stern and hopefully I will be riding the front of the curve anyway... but thats optimistic</p>
<p>don't worry if you intend on working hard, you'll be fine. I know that schools like Wharton, Sloam like Stern too have to control the number of A's its professors give out to maintain the value of its degree. as for law, you don't have to go to a liberal arts college in order to go into law school. Why would they have a pre-law advisor if only a handful of students had plans for law school after Stern? I am pretty sure that I saw a Stern placement sample data, on the website that showed people being placed in Harvard and Columbia law.</p>
<p>NYU has a pretty lucrative law program too, top 5 (right up there with Harvard and Columbia, #1 for Internation law)... wouldn't it be awfully hypocritical for NYU to reject a top Stern student from their law grad school?</p>
<p>I've heard both horrible and good anecdotes about Stern grading. My friend managed to pull a 3.925 first semester without studying that much (albeit he was only taking 2 courses from Stern), whereas my sophomore friend said that the competition is so ridiculous when he got ONE QUESTION wrong in the entire semester (midterm/final combined) for this stern subject (can't remember which) the curve gave him an A-.</p>
<p>As for NYU law school, I've heard that it's very competitive even for NYU's undergrads. Out of this year entering class, I believe only two are from NYU undergrad. (This according to a student in the entering class.)</p>
<p>Only 2 from NYU undergrad??? That sounds a little too low....</p>
<p>About the Stern Curve, y17k, how big was the problem that he got wrong and how many problems were there on the test? That seem harsh, almost ridiculous. </p>
<p>But hey, look at it this way. The average SAT for a stern student of 2010 is supposed to be approx 1430 M+V. Among the people I know who got stern scholars, most got 1500 or higher Math + Verbal. This isn't going to be like your high school where if you get a 1500 ur the genius because you're going to be surrounded by kids like that. I figure that since everyone who has been admitted is already of a certain-caliber, it factors out to how hard you work. The kids who are willing to work hard for the higher grades will probably get them.</p>
<p>It does sound low, but I asked again today and I was told that there are like 3-4 NYU undergrads in all three of the current classes. The NYU Law website says that it has students from over 170 colleges and universities, so it's a pretty diverse group.</p>
<p>The "3-4 NYU undergrads across three years of law school" jives with what I've been told about the competitiveness of the law school and what I've been told about grad school in general - graduate schools generally prefer students from other universities in order to facilitate the mixing of cultures and ideas.</p>
<p>If you're really concerned about Stern and law school, the best thing to do would be to get in contact with current Stern and law school students and ask them directly.</p>
<p>Not happening now, UT's McCombs let me in (to my surprise, im only top 11% and they usually keep it to top 5%) and the costs at UT are MUCH lower for instate.</p>
<p>If costs were equal, I would still consider Stern, but the potential for a cheap, but extremely rewarding education at McComb's BHP left me with an offer that I couldn't refuse.</p>
<p>NYU has the Stern Curve, while UT BHP does not. If I go to NYU it seems my grades will be lower than if I go to UT BHP, and so my GPA would not be as competitive. Would this really matter for grad school or will they know about NYU's Stern Curve. Im afraid that when it comes time to go to grad school, the kid with a higher gpa from bhp will beat me out if i go to nyu.</p>
<p>He wasn't asking about firms, he was asking about grad school:</p>
<p>I'm in the same situation (except I cant attend NYU due to $$$, even if I wanted to go).</p>
<p>I want to transfer into BHP as a sophomore, I couldnt get in as a freshman due to their rigorous class rank requirements... anyway</p>
<p>I looked into it, and if I choose to pursue law, there might be a .1 GPA compensation for NYU's Stern... as oppposed to the .2,.3,.4,.5 GPA you might lose there over UT's BHP (which is supposedly known for handing out A's like candy).</p>
<p>Grad schools would probably favor a candidate (all else equal) with a 3.9-4.0 at the BHP over a Sternie with a 3.5/3.6/3.7/3.8... even then at best a Sternie can hope to "tie" with a BHP student... school prestige doesn't really factor into grad school's decisions unless its HYPS or one of the Ivies/MIT/CAL</p>
<p>That's why I chose to attend UT, it will probably serve me better in the long run.</p>
<p>You assume school prestige doesn't apply. Give graduate school admissions officers a little more credit. They're probably aware of the same things we know about colleges because it's their job to do so. NYU's a major school and Stern is very highly ranked so yes, most graduate schools adcoms will probably know about the curve and general grade standards just as most firms will know comparative difficulty at the top schools.</p>
<p>"Grad schools would probably favor a candidate (all else equal) with a 3.9-4.0 at the BHP over a Sternie with a 3.5/3.6/3.7/3.8... even then at best a Sternie can hope to "tie" with a BHP student... school prestige doesn't really factor into grad school's decisions"</p>
<p>I don't think so. you may think you will do well for yourself in a school that "hands out As like candy" but you really won't. Stern really kicks a**. I think the statment should be more like: at best a BHP can hope to "tie" with a Sternie. Many Sternies go above and beyond what a UT graduate accomplishes. first of all, what is BHP? have never heard of it, some state honors program? I understand money was an issue, its understandable you chose UT. But your argument that your lower gpa(hypothetical) will hurt you is very faulty at best. its a good thing that you decided to go to UT, because your presumption that you would not do too well in Stern would have hurt you. this curve is relevent mostly for advanced finance classes, is not murderous by any degree, more than 50% of Sternies take Finance as their first major and they are well aware of the curve, there must be some reason they still decide to take it. There is a reason why Stern produces more i-bankers than any other college in the country. If you think BHP and Stern stand at the same level, you are mistaken. If recruiters are so well aware of the schools, i'm sure that grad schools also conduct their research afterall they are in the academic business. a 99% at a nyc public school like mine is nothing in front of ivy counselors eyes when it is compared to 93 or 92 of student from a top private or prep school, because they know the effort that was put in to get each of the grade. Even if you had a 3.4 in Stern you would do well for yourself. don't look for quantity(gpa) look for quality, something which Stern provides.</p>
<p>Your argument holds somewhat true for business schools, but you underestimate the BHP (Business Honors Program) at UT. There was another thread on this somewhere, but top wall street i-banks also recruit at the BHP (they have a list at the McComb's BHP site) and the starting salary for BHP students that take a job in the NE is very competitive.</p>
<p>You also seem to forget that McComb's at UT (according to US News) is equally ranked to Stern, and both are on the top 5 list for finance majors, with Stern holding a marginal lead. Factor in the extremely selective BHP and McCombs becomes a highly competitive choice.</p>
<p>Now factor in the fact that graduating from McComb's BHP will ensure that you have ~3.9GPA, while the curve at Stern will make a 3.9 a harder achievement and ultimately hurt your college experience because you have to work that much harder to earn a 3.9.</p>
<p>Statistics show that law schools don't really pay attention to marginal difference in schools... I doubt top law school adcom's will really be that aware on the difference in academic competitiveness between McCombs and Stern... unless your attending HYPS or one of the other top colleges, "Prestige," really doesn't seem to factor in... the only reason you will even notice the difference in law school recruitment between say a #20 school and a #60 shool is that the students at the #20 school are gonig to be overall more well rounded and self-selective (and more likely to rock the standardized tests). </p>
<p>For Business Grad schools, I don't know how much weight they put on GPA... but if its anything like the way that top law schools work, a 3.9 at UT McCombs BHP is going to get you farther than a 3.6 at Stern.</p>
<p>You arbitrarily assign a conversion factor from UT BHP gpa to NYU Stern gpa. The difference could very well be .1, .2, or even 0 and then your argument that graduate schools will take the UT student would fall. Point being you have no evidence to make such an equivalency.</p>
<p>Second, I don't know why you think graduate schools don't weigh in the relative difficulties of attaining GPAs at various schools. Just as undergraduate adcoms will know the comparative difficulties of attaining the same gpa at a school like Exeter as compared to a public school in the middle of Kansas.</p>
<p>Think about it; if the APPLICANTS know about the relative difference in GPAs between two programs, don't you think that the admissions officers would know too since, you know, they're paid to make decisions on such factors?</p>