Harvard has way higher GPAs than Princeton

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
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<p>Recent Crimson article shows that the average grade at Harvard is A-:</p>

<p>Substantiating</a> Fears of Grade Inflation, Dean Says Median Grade at Harvard College Is A-, Most Common Grade Is A | News | The Harvard Crimson</p>

<p>There was also recently an article arguing against inflation:</p>

<p><a href="A+">url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/10/23/grade-inflation-harvard/&lt;/a&gt;bove but (B-)elow Average | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson</p>

<p>Should the fact that Harvard has higher GPAs be a motivating factor for selecting it over Princeton?</p>

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<p>Do you think that graduate schools don’t know about Princeton’s deflationary policy? Moreover, what’s the value of an A if everyone else gets it? Sure deflation makes life more stressful, but I’d prefer an equally prestigious university (Princeton) with an undergrad focus instead of a school with classes taught by TAs where I get an A that’s meaningless.</p>

<p>The premise of your question presumes everyone’s value system revolves around ease, rather than academia.</p>

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<p>Anyways, the average GPA at Harvard is a 3.45, compared to a 3.31 at Wellesley, 3.28 at Princeton.
If he truly thinks 0.17 points in GPA will make or break his postgrad applications / job aspirations he’s got another thing coming.</p>

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<p>[Top</a> Ten Reasons for Grade Deflation - The Daily Princetonian](<a href=“http://dailyprincetonian.com/street/2013/10/top-ten-reasons-for-grade-deflation/]Top”>http://dailyprincetonian.com/street/2013/10/top-ten-reasons-for-grade-deflation/)</p>

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<p>^ pretty funny</p>

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<p>As per the article, Professors call it “a failure on the part of this faculty and its leadership to maintain our academic standards”, “embarrassing”, and “troubling”. The Education policy committee says it’s “a serious problem” and the Boston Globe once called the grading policy “the laughing stock of the Ivy League”. This should not be a compelling reason to go to Harvard. </p>

<p>I think this is around “I scored 2300 on the SAT, should I retake?” in terms of lacking perspective.</p>

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<p>NYTimes on Harvard’s grading:
<a href=“Opinion | Leaked! Harvard’s Grading Rubric - The New York Times”>Opinion | Leaked! Harvard’s Grading Rubric - The New York Times;