<p>and sumptous amount of financial aid. I want to do my pre-med and do well in MCAT besides crying for 'A's in all classes. Can I say Emroy or Baylor?</p>
<p>Harvard…nm</p>
<p>Podunk University, located in Podux.</p>
<p>Baylor is not top 20, in fact its not even on the same level as schools ranked 48-62 (Texas A&M and UT-Austin)</p>
<p>I go to Emory. Emory doesn’t have grade inflation. Its tough and the pre-med classes here are a lot of work. The pre-med classes have low test averages (roughly 65-72), and having that low of a test average is hard to do, when the student body has an average SAT score of around a 2100 (it goes up and down from 2100, from year to year, but will always stay around a 2100). Some of my professors get mad if the test average in a science class is above a 75, so they make the next test more difficult (some professors actually tell us that they will make the next test more difficult, because the class average on the previous test was a 76.)You can PM me if you want more info, on how much work/difficult the pre-med classes at Emory are.</p>
<p>Emory is grade inflated like most universities except for a few engineering heavy ones perhaps. Average GPA is about 3.38 compared to Cornell’s 3.36 and U of Michigans’s 3.28 (up from 3.0 20ish years ago) in 2008. Anyways, I think this might be a joke post anyways.</p>
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<p>Are you saying that top schools are grade inflated when compared to state schools? Or are you saying that most schools in general tend to be grade inflated (inculding state schools) when compared to engineering heavy schools?</p>
<p>Cornell gives 4.3 for A+ while berkeley gives 4.0 max for A+ – that’s why you get higher gpa. I dunno if other ivies have this grade inflation too, but top state schools are way tougher than private schools. Period.</p>
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<p>This doesn’t matter for med school admissions because when you apply, you send in your transcript and they recalculate your GPA.</p>
<p>I’m saying that most schools tend to be grade inflated, and Emory is right there with the other top schools in terms of inflation.</p>
<p>For top schools, Brown is the no-brainer. It has grade inflation that is almost as good as that college in Cambridge or the one in Palo Alto, but more importantly, it’s add-drop flexibility is not to be missed. As a result, the average graduating senior at Brown has a 3.6. Contrast that to some other Ivies, where perhaps the top third is that high.</p>
<p>Yes, concur that Emory is right up there with a B+ mean, as are most top schools. Check out gradeinflation . com.</p>
<p>^^ I agree, that top schools tend to have higher average gpas, but I think that reflects more on the quality of the student body rather than the difficultly of the classes. In other words, top schools have higher gpas, because the student bodies, ON AVERAGE are more determined to get As and work harder to succeed. (It also helps that many top schools have very intelligent students).</p>
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<p>Not trying to be mean here but don’t break your arm trying to pat yourself on the back. Grade inflation got so bad at Princeton that they have actively sought ways to remedy it going so far as to now be accused of grade deflation. The thought that the “quality of the student body” automatically means that grades should be higher is nonsense; it either means that the professors have gotten lazy or are not actually testing to the supposed upper end of the curve. Regardless of how “smart” a student body is there will always be a top and a bottom of the class. There are plenty of people at “top schools” that do not “work harder to succeed” they are often called legacy admits and development admits or are simply going to school while waiting to inherit daddy’s business and are there because all their ancestors were. That said, there are plenty of “very intelligent students” at state schools as well. As others have stated, many of the state schools tend to adhere to very strict bell curves in pre-med programs which leads to lower GPAs. I’m not saying that is right either, simply stating the facts.</p>
<p>colleges, you seem like a nice person but a few months back you were worried about going to Emory because you feared you would not be able to compete and at the same time dreaded the thought of attending Texas A&M or Baylor. Now you consistently put down Baylor and other schools. Please take this as it is intended…not as a put down but rather a life lesson…try some some humility; it will serve you well later in life.</p>
<p>colleges:</p>
<p>what you say may be true – not that I subscribe to the theory – but the simple fact is that a 3.9/4.0 from any instate public will have a LOT more options than a 3.6 from highly selective U with the same mcat score. If the “quality” of the student body is lower than selective U, that same kid should do better at the instate public, correct? (hint: competition is lower)</p>
<p>Emory’s Average freshman GPA last year was 3.2. There was a link on the Vanderbilt site. It showed Vanderbilt’s freshman GPA was 3.25. These were actually on the low end for top 20 schools.</p>
<p>^^While important, Frosh grades are not what you apply to grad schools with. Plus, the curves tend to get more lenient in upper division classes. In any event, Emory’s mean gpa of a graduating senior was 3.38</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com/Emory.html]Emory[/url”>Emory]Emory[/url</a>]</p>
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<p>^^^ I understand this and I never said this wasn’t true. Why do you group legacy admits and development admits into a group that “won’t work hard to succeed”. At my school, I have friends who are legacy admits (both parents went to the UG) and they work REALLY REALLY HARD, because they have to live up to their parent’s accomplishments. </p>
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<p>I understand that a better gpa and mcat always beat prestige. I was just saying that its not ONLY “grade inflation” that leads to higher average gpas at some schools, but a combination of factors that leads to higher average gpas. I may have come off sounding like there was only 1 factor, but thats not what I was trying to say.</p>
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<p>Like I said above, I trying to say that a variety of factors combine to create higher gpas at universities. </p>
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^^^ When did I ever say that there weren’t very intelligent students at state schools. I have plenty of really REALLY smart friends at A&M, who chose A&M over Emory/Rice/Vanderbilt/Duke for a variety of reasons. In my post, I specifically said ''ON AVERAGE", thats they reason I put it in CAPs. </p>
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I wasn’t trying to put down baylor, and I am sorry if it seemed like that.</p>
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^ ??? (1 instance where I may have come off sounding like that , even though that was not my original intention).</p>
<p>Colleges, I am not saying that top schools are more inflated than non-top schools. I’m saying that all schools are inflated. A lot of schools have gone from a 2.5 up to a 3.3ish across the board, not just at top schools. So, no, I don’t think inflation at top schools is due to the student body because they aren’t really any more inflated than not top schools. I will agree that I think top schools should HAVE a higher average GPA though.</p>
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<p>No I understand what you were saying mmmcdowe. =)</p>
<p>@eadad
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<p>^^ I have said it many times on this forum, and I will say it again. I will be VERY happy if any single US M.D. school SOMEHOW accepted me.</p>
<p>Since the OP is premed, I’m sure your also agree it is generally much easier to have a high GPA if you are not premed as intro science classes (bio, chem, physics) and orgo can be GPA killers for many. The OP also needs to understand there are more students who begin college as premed and change their plans for various reasons(including a low GPA in sciences) than complete the program. Top 20 school students tend to be the best students in the applicant pool and thus classes tend to be quite demanding ie even an average GPA can be challenging. Premed at any top 20 school will be demanding and difficult to maintain a high GPA. With a GPA of 3.38 depending upon your MCAT scores you may have trouble gaining acceptance into medical school. If your sole goal is to get into medical school, I agree attending a state school is probably a better idea as it will be easier to maintain a high GPA. Of course, many people feel there are other advantages in attending a top 20 school apart from medical school admission. If you work hard, you can have your cake and eat it too.</p>
<p>Folks, please evaluate John Hokins/Cornell/Rice for grade inflation from premed point of view. How does it compare with Emory?</p>