<p>While I have no problem with curbing the general epidemic of grade inflation, it seems like attending the FIRST school to enact grade-caps would put one at a disadvantage post-college. What I mean by this is that Harvard/Yale students will have higher comparitively GPAs and no job recruiters will know any better.</p>
<p>In addition, I'm not a major fan of having an arbitrary limit for the number of As, as it seems like it will only encourage cutthroat competitiveness.</p>
<p>What do you guys think? Does this change make you want to attend Princeton any less?</p>
<p>(BTW, there are so many other great qualities about the school that I could easily overlook this.. it still irkes me though)</p>
<p>It doesn't make me want to attend Pton any less, but it does raise some serious concerns about the competitive environment issue as you mentioned. Will classes become cutt-throat? Will my classmates and I no longer feel comfortable helping out other students? Will it mean I have to forfeit intellectual exploration of subjects that might compromise my GPA? Those are serious questions.</p>
<p>It also makes me worry about the GPA and applying to graduate schools. Hopefully Harvard and Yale will join us, otherwise I'm sure that dispite Pton's best efforts to inform all the graduate schools of their change in grading policy, there will be a few discrepancies and a few people may end up slipping through the cracks. Not good.</p>
<p>Yeah, the atmosphere is slightly different when you know you're competing against others for only 35% A's (even less for introductory classes because they like to help majors out). Esepcially in pre-med classes....</p>
<p>I personally got negative curved by a 35% cutoff first quarter. Oh well, Princeton is most definitely still worth it.</p>
<p>Assuming:[ul][<em>]You took 5 classes a semester for 4 years (40 classes total)[</em>]Everyone attending Princeton was equally smart...[li]Thus, you recieved an A exactly 35% of the time (by the new curve)[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Your chances for a 4.0 GPA would be a whopping 0.0000000000000000579%
Encouraging, eh? :)</p>
<p>I say don't worry about it. Work your butt off, do your best, talk with your advisers often, and don't stress over it. Thirty-five percent is not a steadfast number, as I read in a newspaper article a couple of weeks ago. Some give higher, some give lower. I personally agree with the move to reduce grade inflation, and I think that with all this hullaballoo surrounding it, grad schools will note the change in Princeton's grade policy. So no, there's no reason for it to make you want to attend Princeton less.</p>
<p>if they find they're getting too many As, then obviously the classes just aren't hard enough</p>
<p>at oxford or cambridge, A grades are rare, even though all the students are super-smart (actually that's true at any UK university. an A is meant to be exceptional)</p>
<p>it does annoy me that it seems easy for US students to get As. I got almost all As at a UK university, which here is a really big deal. but when i apply for grad school over there, they won't know that and it won't seem like such an achievement</p>
<p>At this point no one can really tell how it will all pan out. Students who are serious, hard-working, and willing to go the extra mile are still doing very nicely, however. Although some complain that the atmosphere is more competitive, overall the students seem to be as gregarious as ever.</p>
<p>Princeton is wasting a lot of energy on this issue. It will be way past my lifetime before anyone questions the integrity of a Princeton transcript.</p>
<p>i have no problem with curbing grade inflation in theory, but i think quota's will be the wrong way to go. Being in a class knowing only 35% will compete for an A grade will bring unnecessary competition and give Princeton a cut-throat atmosphere, and THIS is something I don't want in a college.</p>
<p>I don't mind a college that grades fairly, but I am turned away from college's that go out of their way to ruin the learning atmosphere.</p>
<p>i think this is the right way to go. Private universities (especially prestigious ones) have been handing out A's left and right. It does produce a much more competitive atmosphere however, but then, if you do pull off straight A's at P-ton, it will be MUCH more impressive.</p>
<p>I personally hate the idea of grade caps, but at the same time, it'll make me work harder. And, if I get into Princeton in the first place, I'm sure I'll be able to handle the work load.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I personally hate the idea of grade caps, but at the same time, it'll make me work harder. And, if I get into Princeton in the first place, I'm sure I'll be able to handle the work load.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>All of your peers will also have "[gotten] into Princeton," so that doesn't get you much in a competitve system, does it?</p>
<p>My understanding was that the 35% isn't THAT stringent. It's a guideline and something that should be more or less adhered to, but I can't see professors denying someone who deserved it their A. It'll just mean that there will be tougher curves...</p>
<p>To whoever said that grade caps are un-American...if I understand correctly, you mean that America is a meritocracy and therefore everyone should be able to succeed? Or am I reading into it too much? Because Americans are very competitive and you know what, not everyone who deserved X job will get it. So yea you have the opportunity to go out and earn your A's or try for a job, but nobody said that if you do so and so amount of work you will get it.</p>
<p>Who's to say that more than 35% of Pton students wouldn't get A's at other colleges? Grad school adcoms look much more at GPA than name of the school, therefore making it harder for Ptonians to get admitted. I'm not sure what effect those notices will have; most grad school adcoms seem a little hard-headed for not considering major and college attended as much as GPA and GRE/LSAT/MCAT.</p>
<p>Well, when comparing a 3.2 at Princeton to a 3.8 at Johnny Come Lately State University, I don't think the first thing that comes into their mind is "Oooh, they're out of that top 35%. But they probably wouldn't have made an A at JCLSU either." From what I've come to learn, grad school adcoms look at GPA within the context of the school at which it was obtained.</p>