<p>I hear contrasting things about Cornell's grading. From some I hear that the grades are very bad overall and that I should expect a low GPA but others say that it is not that bad and recently Cornell has experienced grade inflation. I am entering CAS this fall and am undecided on my major but think I might try to go into English and History. Are these majors generally easier or harder overall? What majors/classes are the easiest? I know that this is the wrong way to look at education really and that I should follow my passion but I really want to go to law school and apparently they don't care about your major or school, its all about the GPA and LSAT to them. I guess I am just trying to win a broken game...</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/1404774-why-cornell-any-answers.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/1404774-why-cornell-any-answers.html</a></p>
<p>This thread may have the info you need.</p>
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<p>The grading is not that hard if you actually try. The mean GPA is around a 3.4. Which major is the “easiest” wholly depends on your capabilities, but I think English and History have pretty high average GPA’s and Engineering/Science type majors will be some of the lowest average GPA.</p>
<p>If you look purely in terms of average GPA, Cornell is grade inflated in relation to most state colleges and neutral in relation to most of its peers (JHU, WashU, UChicago, Princeton, etc.).</p>
<p>Put in the effort and you will not have a problem getting high grades in English or History. In social sciences or humanities classes, going to TA/professor office hours is really key (especially since grading is somewhat subjective). Run your essay ideas by the TA/professor at each step of the process (I used to go and talk to them about my essays even before I had any concrete ideas), and you really can’t go wrong. Also, exams usually aren’t that difficult in social sciences (I’m specifically talking about History, as I have less experience with English courses).</p>
<p>My D knows 2 people that got a 4.0 in Engineering (Engineering School) their first semester, as well as someone in PAM and Human Biology Health and Society/Pre-Med that ALL got 4.0’s their first semester. She didn’t know anyone who got a 4.0 taking all social sciences in CAS because A’s are harder to get than A- in those classes. </p>
<p>As Zenzic said, your grades will depend largely on your capabilities and of course, your effort.</p>
<p>Obtaining a 4.0 in engineering is extremely, extremely difficult. The mean for engineering is a 2.7. Engineering is the toughest major in Cornell hands down.</p>
<p>^smiley, do you have a reference you can point to for that 2.7 average? I’m wondering if that information is anecdotal or official (and documented).</p>
<p>I totally agree. I think they are clearly outliers but it shows that it is possible though to achieve.</p>
<p>Smiley, I’m also curious where you got that info. I’m having a hard time believing the mean is as low as a 2.7. Also, you can’t say engineering is the hardest major at Cornell, as there are many different engineering majors and they vary in difficulty. Moreover, physics, chem, and math are all pretty hard too - engineering certainly doesn’t beat them “hands down.”</p>
<p>Cornell’s Division of Planning and Budget website used to have an internal document that listed average GPA by college in 1996. The College of Engineering’s average GPA was approx 3.0…in 1996. It’s likely in the low 3.0’s today. Anyone who has seen the median grade reports for Cornell knows it is mathematically impossible for the College of Engineering to have an average GPA of 2.7.</p>
<p>What is the grade average for a history and government major?</p>
<p>I’m not sure that information is available, but in government, the median grades of most classes tend to hover around B+ (3.3) or A- (3.7), so the average GPA in govt is probably around a 3.5, or maybe even slightly higher. Can’t speak as much about history, but I’d guess it would be pretty similar.</p>
<p>The 2.7 is likely from the website of Engineering College. What it says is that engineering students need to be above average grades to apply for Master degree programs and in the upper quarter to apply for Ph.D. programs. It mentions this 2.7, because if below 2.7, students need to have recommendations from professors to apply for Master degree programs. It does say, though, that students who applied for graduate programs usually have much higher grades than 2.7.</p>
<p>I think grading at Cornell is pretty fair. It’s hardest for pre-meds and engineering students, but for the rest, it’s manageable to do well!</p>
<p>And it’s really not that bad at all for pre-meds, either! It’s completely manageable.</p>
<p>Inflation. </p>
<p> 10char </p>
<p>Here is from the Cornell Website:
“The average GPA for the past several years was approximately 3.18.” The 3.18 is among the lowest GPA in the Ivies. If this is an inflation, then the other Ivies have a much higher inflation, like Brown over 3.6.
[The</a> Cornell Tradition](<a href=“The Cornell Tradition | Student & Campus Life | Cornell University”>The Cornell Tradition | Student & Campus Life | Cornell University)</p>
<p>It’s unclear over what time period that website was talking about. Anyone who has seen the median grade reports knows that Cornell’s average GPA cannot be 3.18. Cornell has experienced runaway grade inflation in the past few years, one of the reasons the median grade reports are no longer available online. </p>
<p>[Cornell</a> University](<a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com/cornell.html]Cornell”>http://www.gradeinflation.com/cornell.html)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.economics.cornell.edu/bar/MyPapers/grade_inflation_jep.pdf[/url]”>http://www.economics.cornell.edu/bar/MyPapers/grade_inflation_jep.pdf</a></p>
<p>[Grade</a> Inflation at Cornell](<a href=“http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/grade_inflation_at_cornell/]Grade”>http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/grade_inflation_at_cornell/)</p>
<p>Cornell’s average GPA is in the 3.4 range.</p>
<p>When was this page of average GPA 3.18 posted? The Cornell Tradition (akbear’s post)
The university posted it in 2011 and continue with the same information in 2012. 2010 version of this page has a different format without GPA information.</p>
<p>Highligt from norcalguy’s
<a href=“http://www.economics.cornell.edu/bar...lation_jep.pdf[/url]”>http://www.economics.cornell.edu/bar...lation_jep.pdf</a></p>
<p>This is a study of grades in College of Arts and Sciences only.
Page 95 “…we utilize a large dataset of grades assigned in undergraduate level courses at the College of Arts and Sciences between the spring semester of 1990 and the fall semester of 2004.”</p>
<p>Page 105 What Drives Grade Inflation? (no evidence for all other explanations)</p>
<p>A second explanation for classic grade inflation is that it resulted from an improvement in the quality of students……Our analysis found some support for this explanation. University records (at the aggregate level) show that SAT scores of freshmen students entering the College of Arts and Sciences tended to increase throughout the period under investigation, and especially post–policy change.7 We also found that SAT scores have a positive and statistically significant effect on students’ course grades. Hence, the rise in the pace of classic grade inflation in the post–policy change period may at least in part be due to a faster rate of improvement in student quality.</p>