<p>Although the new grading regulation limit the number of A's in the DEPARTMENT to 35%, it works out that there are 25%-40% A's in any given course. So at worst, 1/4 people will get A's in any given course (i am not sure about writing and freshman seminars tho considering they are not departments and their courses are not hosted by any given dept.). Considering that (and no disrespect intended) there are going to be athletes and legacies in most classes, it means that an A is really not tough to get. This is not true however for PHY and MAT courses which are hard in general. </p>
<p>From anecdotal evidence, after first semester 3.6-3.7 GPA was the cut off for 1st quintile.
(fyi, I am an '08er)</p>