I told my kid after he got into Stanford REA that if he goes to Stanford over a state school where he got near full scholarship, he may not even be in top 50% of his class in GPA or even be in bottom 10% – I said this to help him choose among the accepted colleges – and he said “Dad, I rather get worse grades and learn more from my peers than get good grades and think I am a top dog.” While admiring his bravado, I do worry somewhat. I am one parent who is happy that Stanford like Harvard has a reputation of grades inflation, so that he will not flunk out. lol