<p>is maintaining a 3.5 gpa from the very start difficult at CAS with a biological basis of behavior major?</p>
<p>also is the scale for grading at upenn this??
A+: 4.3
A: 4.0
A-: 3.7
B+: 3.3
B: 3.0</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>A+=4.0. I have heard though that med and law schools rescale a A+ to 4.3. Either way, you shouldn’t see too many of those so it’s not that big of an issue.</p>
<p>Maintaining a 3.5 GPA as a BBB major isn’t too bad. You’ll have to do well in courses like Bio 101-102, Chem 101-102, Orgo, and your BBB courses. It’s not easy, but people do it so it can be done.</p>
<p>and ive heard its curved? is this true? (is grade curving common among the ivies?)</p>
<p>Grades in most classes are curved. It really depends on the professor and department. For most intro science courses (chem, bio, physics) classes are curved so the average is around a B-/C+. that means if the mean score on an exam is a 75% and you score 75%, you have somewhere between a B- and C+. If you score a standard deviation above that, you have a solid A. If you score a standard deviation bellow that, your grades aren’t doing too well.</p>
<p>Language courses tend not to be curved and have normal grading systems like in high school (93%+=A, 90%-93%=B). Other courses have no curves and you get what you get. Some courses like Econ 1 and Psych 1 are curved up, so if the averages are 90%, there is no curve, but if averages are 75%, it is scaled up so average is a B. </p>
<p>Based on the schools you are looking at, most will have intro science classes that are graded on curves. Only in really small schools will they not grade on a curve. A curve can actually help your grades, and for me that is usually the case. The only times I have been angry at curves were when I took some Wharton core courses.</p>
<p>In science classes I think it’s rare for courses to be curved down (i.e. average is 90%, so a 90%=B-) mostly because averages will be at most 80%.</p>
<p>I remember reading somewhere in the handbook that there are no above 4.0 scores. A+ and A should be 4.0 as far as Penn is concerned, not sure how other schools look at it. Could be wrong though, I read an old handbook online since I was on vacation when they sent mine to me.</p>
<p>Both A’s and A+'s are 4.0. I know from experience some professors don’t give A+. It’s completely their option.</p>
<p>I believe Stanford and Columbia give 4.3’s, so it’s not uncommon at top schools. Recruiters are almost always familiar with a school’s grading system, so it won’t really make a difference if schools like Penn or Princeton have a tougher curve. </p>
<p>Science/math/engineering classes are usually not put on a strict curve (only a certain percentage gets A’s, etc.), but the classes are also more difficult…</p>
<p>so a class with a curve up would be the best sort of class to be in right? or do i misunderstand?</p>
<p>A class that satisfies your intellectual curiosity and career goals would be the best sort of class to be in, regardless of the silly “curve up” and “curve down.”</p>
<p>Intro science classes are hard, so a slightly above average student(within Penn’s class) might perform like this over four years: </p>
<p>3.1
3.5
3.7
3.7</p>
<p>Which is a 3.5 :)</p>