<p>How hard is it to get above a 3.5 here?</p>
<p>i think i read somewhere in CC about how the competition at w&l is cut-throat</p>
<p>The academic work is said to be intense, so you're going to have to work for a 3.5 just like at any other top school.</p>
<p>I find it very hard to believe that W&L is cut-throat competitive, though. The two things that everyone says about the school is that the students are friendly and the atmosphere is pleasant. Not that I put a lot of weight into rankings, but year after year, W&L makes it near the top of (if not the top of, I can't remember) the "happiest students" list.</p>
<p>I asked about this during my interview, coming from one of the most competitive high schools in the nation, it's always on my mind. Competition at W&L doesn't come to the foreground. People don't talk about grades so the sense of competition isn't as big but everyone does work hard. It would be a welcome change from my school where everyone goes crazy on days report cards are handed out.</p>
<p>Not that I can really say much, seeing as how it is my first semester and I only have one grade back...but that grade is an A (Calc II). Granted, I buckled down and did a lot of studying this semester...but not so much that I didn't have a life. I think it's possible to have a 3.5+, especially if you get the "right" professors (not saying they're not all great, but some whose methods are more suited to your style/aren't as stringent in their policies). Average freshman GPA after the first semester or 2 is usually a 2.9, from what I was told.</p>
<p>rakem, do you have AIM?</p>
<p>It would be nice to talk to a current W&L student.</p>
<p>My AIM is XUrbanTumbleweed. Feel free to ask me anything!</p>
<p>And sorry in advance if I don't reply and forget my away message--just got back home last night so I'm currently getting settled back in here. :)</p>