<p>I'm going to the university of minnesota - twin cities, premed, undecided, but planning to transfer to the Institute of Technology next year. I was wondering how difficult will it be compared to a non-ranked public high school in getting a 4.0?</p>
<p>Does the school give A-minuses? If so, it will be hard to maintain a 4.0. But you don’t need a 4.0 to get into med-school.</p>
<p>Unless you go into one of the easiest majors, very very hard. If you do go into one of the easiest majors, remove one very. </p>
<p>I mean, a 4.0 is all As, nothing less ever. They don’t happen very often, at any school.</p>
<p>Even I only have a 3.7; only two others in engineering have a higher GPA at my shcool.</p>
<p>I go to your school (I’m in CBS), so I can’t really compare with other schools, but I don’t know anyone with a 4.0. I have a 3.79 after freshman year and I worked my butt off for it. I never had to work very hard in high school, and I always did really well, but college is a very different game. I think most people I know (I’m in honors, so keep in mind that most of these are honors students in CBS and IT) went into college secretly expecting that they might get a 4.0, or at least wouldn’t have trouble keeping their GPA’s very high. Most of us had a 3.9+ (unweighted) in high school and didn’t really have to work for it. The first couple rounds of midterms first semester knock everybody down a peg or two. Or three. At some point everyone stops freaking out that they won’t get an A and starts freaking out that they might get a C. Basically, just don’t expect a 4.0. It’s not realistic for someone in difficult major (like anything in IT will be), no matter how good you are at science, math, etc. Just do your best, work hard, get help if you need it – whether from your prof, your TA, the tutoring program, or a friend who is way smarter than you are (really try and make some of those, they’re priceless) – and don’t expect too much of yourself. You should be fine.</p>
<p>You’ll need to find people familiar with those UMinnesota campuses to get an answer specific to your situation. The difficulty of getting a 4.0 obviously varies by school (and major, but that’s another point). At my school, between 1 in 100 and 1 in 50 students graduates with a perfect GPA (we don’t have +/- modifiers). At some unintensive schools, I imagine getting a 4.0 would not be difficult at all, and then you have schools like Harvey Mudd, where only 1 student gets a 4.0 roughly every 10 years.</p>
<p>Why do people ask questions like this??? No one knows how hard you work or how intelligent you are… if someone says it’s impossible, would that stop you from trying?</p>
<p>I’ll get back to you in December.</p>
<p>Most schools I believe less than 1% of students get 4.0 and in more science and math related majors I believe the percent drops even further. I am a math and physics major and study all the time, but I can’t pull a 4.0…pretty close to a 3.9 though.</p>
<p>4.0s are crazy. I know one person who has kept it up past sophomore year. But it’s stressful as hell (he’s doing it because it’ll determine what government job he gets/whether he can go to grad school), and he’s one of the most intelligent, dedicated people I know. Although I could have gone to ASU: there, they have A+s worth 4.3, so if you get an A- you can negate it with an A+ (though they still don’t give higher than 4.0 GPAs). That makes a 4.0 much, much easier, but I still can’t imagine more than a few very dedicated students achieving it.</p>
<p>depends on the classes and school.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about how difficult it will be or whether it’s even possible, just work your hardest and see what happens. The question isn’t how hard it is to get a 4.0 but how hard are you willing to work?</p>
<p>What is a reasonable gpa to expect for an above average intelligence student at a top 100 school that puts in significant (but not extreme) effort into their work? Science major’s vs. a humanities major’s?</p>
<p>Science: anything above 3.3-3.5 is usually pretty darn good (at least where I’m at… though we don’t technically HAVE GPAs). Humanities: maybe 3.4-3.6, depending on how well you write. Basically, expect to get at least as many Bs as As, and don’t be surprised if you get a C or two. Though if you aim high, you’re probably less likely to end up with a terribly low GPA, but don’t get depressed because you’re no longer the smartest, highest-achieving person in school. And you’re not going to be perfect anymore.</p>
<p>corey, I would wager 2.5, maybe 3.0 for less-rigorous schools.</p>
<p>As all the posters said above, getting a 4.0 varies from school to school and major to major. That said, there are some general trends to predict what schools will make it easier to obtain a 4.0</p>
<p>A private school is normally more inflated than a public school, meaning private schools give out more As on average.</p>
<p>Southern schools tend to give more As than northern schools.</p>
<p>Humanities tend to have more generous grade distributions than the sciences at most schools.</p>
<p>Grade inflation is at an all time high, meaning it is easier to obtain a 4.0 now then it ever was before.</p>
<p>More on grade inflation- [National</a> Trends in Grade Inflation, American Colleges and Universities](<a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com/]National”>http://www.gradeinflation.com/)</p>
<p>Now, with that all said, time for my two cent. I am currently a rising second year student at the University of Virginia who plans to major in Mathematics and Biostatistics I have a 3.976 after 38 graded credits. The A- I got was in freshman English, go figure. From my personal experience, alot hinges on a 4.0. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Major in something you’re good at. Don’t pursue something you know you won’t succeed at. Science, math, humanities, whatever! Aptitude for your major is a necessity.</p></li>
<li><p>Find the good professors. You won’t believe how much of a difference a professor can make. Some test easier/harder, some grade easier/harder, some lecture better/worse, some curve more generously/harsher. A high GPA hinges on you finding the right professors. </p></li>
<li><p>Work ethic. I had to study around 3 to 5 hours a day to get what I have so far. (that includes weekends too) Every homework, every quiz and every test mean something so study hard. You’re at college to get work, if you don’t want to work, don’t waste your money and time. No one wakes up knowing diff eq, orgo, Australian history or 18th century english literature. That said, go to class too.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>However, in the end what matters is that you are significantly above your school’s average GPA. If you go to a school like BU where the average GPA is a 3.0, a 3.7 or 3.8 makes you a super star, but if you go to a school like Duke where the average is a 3.44, you better get a 4.0 or you won’t stand out. Just do your best, work hard, don’t give up and the grades will come. </p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>It’s easy:</p>
<p>Take 1 class a semester. Get an A in it.</p>
<p>Or</p>
<p>Take an easy major.</p>
<hr>
<p>It’s probably impossible. But I have a 4.0 so far through 4 semesters. 4 more semesters to go.</p>
<p>If your college has A-s like mine, it is even harder! I had to get 94< to get an A in one class. There’s like no room to mess up.</p>
<p>^ Guessing you don’t subscribe to the fact that most think political science is an easy major =p</p>
<p>^ Who said I was a political science major?</p>
<p>Thanks for jumping to conclusions.</p>
<p>I’m in my third quarter and maintaining a 4.0. The classes I have taken are Calc I and II, intro to physics, general physics (this is the calc-based physics on classical mechanics, a standard class in all colleges), and right now I’m taking calc III and intro to chemistry. I also work forty hours a week. Yes, getting a 4.0 is hard, and it takes studying. I did tons of studying before I ever went back to college, I was studying integral calculus at home and power series and the like before I was complete with calc I. Studying is key. And, I won’t lie, the brains and talent God gave you are key as well.</p>