<p>Is it true BU gives out Cs and Ds to most students? How far does this apply to a math or Computer Science major? </p>
<p>I’m afraid this will lower my chances of getting in to a prestigious grad school. :/</p>
<p>BU’s grade deflation was one of the biggest factors when I decided against attending - I didn’t want a mediocre GPA cost me a good grad school. BU is very well known for their terrible grade deflation, especially in STEM.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t grad schools know this and be able to adjust their evaluation of the application when they saw the applicant went to BU?</p>
<p>@immasenior - Not that I’m aware of. I know of people who were at a severe disadvantage in grad school admissions because they chose schools like UChicago and ended up with 3.2-3.3 GPAs but had fantastic entrance exam scores (because of their rigorous preparation at a school as challenging as UChicago) and were still barred from top grad schools because they couldn’t reach the average GPA thresholds of 3.8+. I do not think that many grad school admissions officers will be particularly merciful to BU applicants. </p>
<p>Certainly grad school admissions people would see a trend in GPA from a particular school? If they do see the trend but ignore it, they are effectively labeling all BU applicants less qualified. That is dumb.</p>
<p>@immasenior - What type of grad school are you referencing? I’m most familiar with law school admissions and I know that to a law school admissions officer, a Stanford senior with a 3.2 and a 170 LSAT is in worse standing than UNebraska senior with a 3.9 and a 170 LSAT. It would be no different for BU. </p>
<p>UChicago Law even rejects UChicago seniors with abysmal GPAs despite being acutely familiar with UChicago grading trends. </p>
<p>Thanks for the insight. :)</p>
<p>It exists for STEM for sure.</p>
<p>It is incorrect to think grade deflation effects grad school admission Stellar scores on GRE/MCAT/GMAT are really all that matter ( as well as what you DID in school) if you get poor grades and have no published research to show grad school interest you will be denied. </p>
<p>Getting into grad school is more about WHO you know than what you know. If your research adviser is connected to the school you want to attend and she is willing to support your candidacy you are golden. You need to show ability for research/business/medicine whatever.</p>
<p>I had many students who had less than stellar GPA even at state schools ( and good exam scores) that did 1-2 year rotations in my lab and they got into Penn, Georgetown, Columbia, Virginia etc because they were smart and driven and I made a few calls…</p>
<p>After college you will learn its more about connections and impressing people with your actions than numbers.</p>
<p>@Jssaab1 - Does what you say hold true for law school admissions? Because of everything I’ve read and of the lawyers I’ve spoken to - both young and old - state that the two biggest components in one’s law school application is their GPA and LSAT. If one or the other is lacking, then breaking into the T-14 is a no go. Nothing else can really compensate - even individuals hailing from rather prestigious, well connected institutions like UChicago and Cornell can find themselves between a rock and a hard place if they don’t have a strong enough GPA for their peer grad schools. </p>
<p>Don;t really know anything about law schools, I do’t know anyone who ever wanted to be a lawyer</p>
<p>i go to a hs with grade deflation and my college counselor said colleges see us the same as those who went to an grade-inflated school. sucks but life is unfair</p>
<p>Had discussed this the current dean of my med school. No only do they know about how different schools inflate or deflate but they compare you to the averages for students in that school and even in specific classes. They are well aware of this practice if the average grade at Princeton is B- in organic chem and you got an A- they know how well you performed and its better than and A- in a school with A- average in class just to make their student look better. When I asked him this question he basically said in a friendly way “do you thinks we are idiots?”</p>
<p>My son graduated from McGill University, another school noted for “grade deflation”. His best friend graduated from there with a 3.4 GPA and was admitted to Tufts, BU and UMass medical schools. He had a very high MCAT though. </p>
<p>Thats my point. They know what McGill grades are like, if the kid got a 3.4 where the average kid gets an overinflated 3.7 they aint gettin’ in to med school</p>
<p>The medical deans might take the A- at princeton over the A- at another school but the real determining scenario is do they take the B at princeton or the A- at NYU. Keep in mind that BU medical dean won’t write you a letter of rec depending on your gpa.</p>
<p>There is a lot of misinformation here regarding what it takes to get into grad school, if you are talking about a PhD program. Applications for PhD programs in science are reviewed by faculty in the department you are applying to. GREs matter but by no means are all they look at. Grades should be decent, but not necessarily straight As. If you have Ds you might as well forget it. Cs not so good either. What they really look for is your potential for research. Having research experience helps, and therefore a letter of recommendation from a research mentor is very important. That person does not have to be well known. @Jssaab1 it is a little disappointing to read about your calls and such. I hope you don’t reveal where you work and I certainly hope you do not serve on the admissions committee at your University. Must be one crap program if you only care about GREs and get people in through connections. Shameful.</p>
<p>@Lbowie You will learn that connections are more important than other things one day. Yes you need to be bright but for research it is more important to be able to connect dots than getting good grades. Part of connecting the dots is connecting with people… just the way it is ( on an intellectual level not personal, no reason to confuse the two)</p>
<p>Yes, I have been on faculty reviews of students while at the university and I can assure you a call from a respected researcher about someone’s ability to “connect the dots” weighs more heavily than grades or scores. But anyone worth their salt for a PhD will easily ace GREs, if not I can assure there I would not have gotten a call recommending them.</p>
<p>I ran the research department of the worlds largest pharmaceutical company ( we all know who that is) moved to run research at the world largest medical device company and am now leading a tech start up. I have hired hundreds of PhD from various programs and can assure you I have no idea what any person scored in any particular class. I myself got a D in organic chemistry ( man i hated that) 25 years later and I have never needed that information so why would it matter?</p>
<p>When I interview, nearly everyone I ask who their mentor was (which is more indicative of their training than any course work), what their research was about. This is why people care about who they study with for grad schools and not where they go ( of course many of the best are at top schools but many are not and clearly in some areas State schools prevail.</p>
<p>Hmm, we probably know each other. But seriously, you would ignore a good student from, say, a LAC whose mentor is unknown due to the fact the s/he teaches at a college with no grad program and hence less opportunity to publish? Kudos to you. I have served on admissions committees as well. And, no, I don’t know which is currently the biggest pharma because it keeps shifting.</p>
<p>I can reply about grade deflation and getting into law school. My son is going into his 3L year at BU Law having come from UNC Chapel HIll undergrad, a school also known for grade deflation. His GPA from Chapel Hill definitely affected where he was admitted to law school. He has stated that he would have attended another school had he known that grade deflation restricted where he was accepted to law school (nothing against BU Law, but that was not where he wanted to attend law school). </p>