<p>I'm going to be attending Tufts next year, and I have a question for current students: how difficult is it to earn A's compared to other highly selective schools? Is there grade inflation, or do you really earn your GPA?
For reference, I'm planning on majoring in either poli sci or IR.</p>
<p>My impression this past year was the bigger the program (IR, Bio, etc), the harder the grading is. Maybe this theory only applies to intro classes, though, or maybe I'm just completely wrong. Hopefully someone else will weigh in.</p>
<p>The average GPA of graduating senior classes usually hovers around 3.15, or a B+. This shows that there is neither rampant deflation nor inflation at Tufts. </p>
<p>I was an IR major and graduated with a 3.75 but I worked hard. That being said, I saw other people in my major work hard and get a 3.4. So I mean it has a lot to do with what you're personally capable of.</p>
<p>I hear what the people above me are saying, but I'd like to add that it may depend on the professor or department. I took Intro to IR with Taliaferro and he actually stated, "You will not get an A on the research paper. I only give A's to papers that I would personally be capable of writing, that I could publish in a journal. Usually I give out one A per semester." Because of this, I didn't put 100% effort into my paper, reasoning that killing myself to do an amazing job would not be particularly cost-effective if I was assured not to get an A. I ended up with a B on it, but then found out that five people or more received A's. Still, out of a 150-person lecture, that is NOT very many A's to be handed out.</p>
<p>Other professors will delineate very clearly what they expect out of you to get the grade you want. I've had syllabi where, under the "take home final" section, the prof would write out what qualified as an A paper, what was a B paper, etc. One class I took, we had to do these journals where we had to find articles about Japan and relate them to the themes we discussed about Japanese politics/culture in class, and also to relate them to the assigned readings. If you related every one of your articles to one of the readings, you would get at least an A-. That was his threshold.</p>
<p>I've also been told that, for example, the Bio department - notoriously difficult, particularly for the weed-out intro courses, Bio 13 and 14 - will rape you on the exams, but curves final grades.</p>
<p>For IR/Poli Sci, you'll probably be fine. The profs I've had have all been pretty fair, and usually people will agree with the grade they're given. (...Usually. lol). The thing is, many Poli Sci classes only have, like, two grading opportunities: a midterm and final, maybe a research paper. I got really screwed over one time because of that, and got a grade that I felt did not represent my overall ability in that class. Because of that, I've researched what Poli Sci classes offer more grading opportunities - like Democracy and Capitalism in Japan, which is the one I mentioned above, with the journals.</p>
<p>lolabelle: That avg GPA of 3.15 for graduating senior classes could be a show stopper. It is certainly not a number that will help in getting into a professional school like Medical School, Law School or a good MBA Program. Where did you get this number? (Admissions people at Tufts certainly don't talk about it).</p>
<p>First off, the number was supposed to be 3.25. A friend who worked in Student Services rattled it off to me one day -- it sounded right given my experiential knowledge of my own and others' grades, but it could very well be totally off.</p>
<p>That being said, let's say 3.25 is the right number -- the average (grade-wise, GPA overall) Tufts student. With a higher GPA in your major, great recommendations, some good internships/research experience/jobs, etc. you're still a good candidate for great grad/professional programs. </p>
<p>The better-than-avg Tufts student is likely to have excellent chances at the best grad/professional programs.</p>
<p>3.25 actually sounds right. Most schools have 3.5 as Dean's List or its equivalent. Thanks for info and citing source.</p>
<p>Yeah, Dean's List here is a 3.4, and latin honors are:</p>
<p>Cum Laude: 3.5
Magna: 3.65
Summa: 3.8</p>
<p>So, graduating Summa Cum Laude is incredibly difficult in my opinion unless you're majoring in a less intense subject area, such as English or Sociology.</p>
<p>In the science departments the average is usually set to a B-, B for the more generous classes and a B+ for the rare science classes (highly sought after as a gpa booster. If you want to know of a course where the average grade was an A in the bio department that also counts towards your major, PM me). Science is hard. I was trampled on :(</p>
<p>Most professors grade very fairly, but if you want grade inflation, go somewhere else. An average GPA of 3.15-3.25 sounds about right to me.</p>
<p>Besides, a B for Tufts is actually a really good GPA. Here you actually have to earn your good grades, esp. in the popular departments, sciences, engineering, etc.</p>
<p>I do not go to Tufts but was browsing through this thread. I think that Tufts is no harder from other places. I go to a top 15 school and have close to a 4.0 in Economics (not an easy major). I work hard but I think a good gpa is do-able. To say that a B average is a good gpa for Tufts is just ridiculous. That B average will not get u into any top grad program....</p>
<p>
[quote]
That B average will not get u into any top grad program....
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I agree that a B average alone won't get you anywhere, but if you have good work experience and research and recommendations, etc. you may trump your grades. I just don't think it's as black-and-white as your statement makes it out to be. We probably agree on most levels</p>
<p>I had mostly Bs in my biology major but I'm at a top 5 grad school :)</p>
<p>Personally, I know a number of kids from Tufts who transfer out to ivy leagues and they all say Tufts is far more rigorous academically. Part of it stems from the fact that Tufts is trying to claw its way up the US News and World Report rankings along with improving its reputation in general I think. While I don't mean to say those schools are not challenging environments, Tufts is really genuinely quite difficult. Some classes (like one of my econ classes), the scaling/curve was based on class rank. One of my friends had a 92 average and received a B for the class. The professor told him he was only slightly above the 50th percentile and therefore deserved a grade that reflected his performance relative to his peers. Fair? It's arguable, but this system certainly did motivate kids in that particular class to work for their grade.</p>
<p>My daughter has about a 3.2 GPA. Based on her experience I would say that Tufts grades rigorously. She has had to work extremely hard for any A's that she has received and even for the B's. My daughter is a Peace and Justice Studies major and those courses are certainly difficult. She also has taken a few art history courses that have also been very demanding. My daughter is an excellent student, she had a 3.7 GPA at a private college prep high school and was a National Merit Finalist. So if she finds Tufts demanding, I think that most other students would find it difficult also.</p>