<p>Hi! I'm a rising senior thinking of applying to Cornell. I heard that at some Ivy schools that there is a quota for the number of students who get what grades. Like the top 1/3 get A, middle 1/3 get B, and bottom 1/3 get C. Is that true at Cornell? Thanks!</p>
<p>Nope it’s not true at all. They don’t do it by top 1/3 or 1/4 but they do have a grading curve which is different for different classes. On top of everything else, all it matters how you study, if you work hard enough you will shine everywhere regardless what field/major/university you study.</p>
<p>you also have to be somewhat smart to do well, no matter how hard you work.</p>
<p>The curve for most classes in my experiences isn’t a bell curve and it hugely depends on major. An A in say History isn’t as hard as say an A in an Engineering class (broadly speaking). This is mostly due to the nature of the material. What is considered “A-level” mastery in History is easier to attain than A-level mastery in hard sciences/engineering. I don’t mean to pick on History classes either, it’s just one of many examples. </p>
<p>This example isn’t the greatest, but like being a great tennis player is a bit more complicated/time consuming than being a great ping pong player. So if I was to offer Tennis 101, A-level mastery of the basic techniques would be more difficult than A-level mastery of ping-pong shots. I know, terrible metaphor, but hopefully it clarifies the point (even though I think it probably confuses it).</p>
<p>In many majors, most students are in the B-range, in other classes, most students are in the A-range. I don’t think there are many classes where the number of C’s is near the number of A’s. From my experience, in harder classes professors try to cast a wide net for students to get in the B-range, but still make sure at least the top students get A’s.</p>