<p>I believe that the 15% of As you are referring to is reference just straight As and not A minuses. The total number of As and A minuses together is actually around 30%, just like Princeton. The curves at both places are very similar. In both places though, companies are aware of the differences in grading schemes among colleges and adjust their expectations accordingly. They would know that if they did not do that, they would miss out on prime talent. The only place that may hurt slightly is grad school, but most Whartonites have no need for grad school. The career service reports show that those that do want to go to grad school go on to top programs: some pursued grad degrees in Chemistry and Public Policy at Harvard right after graduation. Others pursued degrees in medicine from Penn med, and still others went onto become fullbright scholars and study at Peking University in China. This is proven by the fact that despite Wharton’s curve, companies still hire more Wharton kids than kids from anywhere else. (And that is significant because the Whartonites who have the very highest GPAs go straight to private equity, hedge funds, and other high finance positions, and yet despite that Wharton still sends more kids than anyone else to the BBs, for instance. The bottom line is: grad deflation does not hurt career prospects at Wharton or Princeton; well, not as much as some people would have you believe.</p>
<p>Ah, thanks. In my defense, I used the article as my source:</p>
<p>“According to one chemistry course syllabus, the average grade in a class is usually a C+, and the general rule is that you’ll get an A if you are one standard deviation above the average in a course — or in about the top 15 percent of the class. That leaves an overwhelming number of smart students — especially those involved in extracurriculars — with a C.”</p>
<p>Serves me right for trusting disgruntled undergraduates :-P.</p>
<p>The curve varies with the course and professor. Some classes aren’t curved at all whereas others will really nail you.</p>
<p>The student body at any university is large enough that you will always find like minded people though so go with what seems to fit best. Given that you’ll find intellectuals at both institutions, I would recommend choosing based on the strength of the academic programs offered.</p>
<p>Lol. I’m sorry Baelor for being a bit rude, but you’re right, I’m quite dissatisfied with the life here at Princeton. It all comes down to fit. Growing up in a big city with tons of girls in skirts and partying in clubs on the weekends, grabbing some great food at a particular steakhouse is just my way of life.</p>
<p>When Baelor said, “You could go watch plays, go to movie theaters, play instruments, it’s all there.” Lol. Sorry bro, but coming from a big city those things are already taken for granted. I mean…those are pretty simple pleasures in life if you ask me, not anything terribly exciting. I’m from a place where you go surfing on weekends, hit on girls at bars, speed on highways, smoke some weed…just chill out. haha</p>
<p>So yes, Baelor is right. It depends on what YOU want. It all comes down to fit, really.</p>
<p>For me, Princeton is like rural pothole with dirty eating clubs (Terrace taproom is a filthy mess, man) with beer spilled all over the floor. It’s a junky ****hole here, and thank god it’s April and I’m graduating out of this place. You can only take too much of Princeton before the solitude, boredom, and mundaneness just suck you up. LOL.</p>
<p>And given you’re nearly 2000 posts on CC, Baelor, you clearly don’t know how to enjoy life. Nerd. Haha</p>
<p>As disgradius says, the grading comes down to school/departmental/professorial. All of the pre-med courses are graded on a curve, but none of the English courses are (at least that I knew of). The course I took in Wharton was curved, but I imagine that the upper level courses aren’t?</p>
<p>Also when Baelor says there’s “100 people at an eating club” he means 95 guys and 5 girls. The other half group of guys just jack each other off. Be honest bro, I want this kid to make the right decision. While Princeton academics is great (if you wanna nerd out all day like Baelor, sure you’ll learn a lot), go to Wharton for equally good post grad opportunities (better w/o grade deflation) and more social life.</p>
<p>I definitely do not nerd out. :p</p>
<p>Baelor, I can picture you doing your problem set right now while surfing on CC to satisfy your desperate yearning for entertainment in Whitman probably. On the other hand, I’m happily surfing his forum while jacking off in Butler until my girlfriend gets off from work in Frist. lol</p>
<p>Pennalum-
I do NOT view Penn as “Penn is just some party school that would readily trade off learning for money and fun.” In fact it will offer me better career options. Furthermore, its not just social life, its the WHOLE CAMPUS FEEL. It feels more like a state-school or something because of its size and all but at the same time the students seem very “together” if that makes any sense. School Spirit is not some old guy walking around with a sweatshirt, school spirit happens during those four years and how you feel about the 2500 or 1200 people in your class. Go to a BBall game at the Palestra and see if that translates to everyday life at either school.</p>
<p>People before were making the distinction between Intellectual and Preprofessional- I don’t subscribe to this, but I was merely clarifying what their definitions were. The opposite of preprofessional would clearly be someone who learns without thinking about their future career plans too …
Intellectual means I invest myself in my work not so much in the quantity of it, but the amount of thinking I do about things. I also tend to be very rationally conscious of the world around me and of the implications of my own actions. It means that I allow what I learn in school or by reading etc to seriously influence my everyday life. </p>
<p>More importantly, What did you read about in the NY Times???</p>
<p>Penn Alum
I DO NOT view Penn as “some party school that would readily trade off learning for money and fun.” Wharton would lead to more money anyway. Furthermore, It’s not so much the partying as the overalll CAMPUS FEEL. Penn feels like a state school in many ways, but at the same time I feel a “togetherness” if that makes any sense</p>
<p>School Spirit is NOT some old geezer walking around in a sweatshirt. Allow me some digression, but whatever school it is is completely different from when he went to school or even when my parents went to school—School spirit is how you feel about your 2500 or 1200 classmates. Go to a basketball game at the Palestra, and see how it translates and connects with a normal day at UPenn. </p>
<p>People were comparing Intellectual and Preprofessional, so I was defining it in that sense. I do not subscribe to them as opposites. Intellectual means being invested in your work not by quantity but by how much thinking you do about it. Intellectual is being rationally conscious of your close surroundings and also the implications of your actions on the world. It means allowing lessons you learn in school (whether by literature or sciences) to seriously influence how you live your life. </p>
<p>You do have a point with the NY Times article. I originally thought people might be blaming too much on it, but it seems pretty real </p>
<p>“In a survey last year by the undergraduate student government, 32 percent of students cited the grading policy as the top source of unhappiness (compared with 25 percent for lack of sleep).” </p>
<p>–Lack of sleep probly influenced by that</p>
<p>"The undergraduate student body president, Connor Diemand-Yauman, a senior from Chesterland, Ohio, said: I had complaints from students who said that their professors handed back exams and told them, I wanted to give 10 of you As, but because of the policy, I could only give five As. When students hear that, an alarm goes off.</p>
<p>Even with all this (maybe fact or fiction)- I still have a hard time turning Princeton down</p>