<p>Grade deflation is probably the worst in intro language courses. Some are particularly bad, like Japanese and Chinese, because those are hard languages to begin with, without tacking on a cap on the number of A’s. Plus, you get some native (or at least experienced) speakers sneaking in to classes that are easy for them, hoping for a gut class. This also happens with intro French and Spanish, where many students will “fail” their language placement test to place lower, in order to take it a bit easy. The same exact thing happens to MAT 103 and MAT 104…you get some people who have had Calc AB or BC in high school re-taking it. So, when in those classes the professor is faced with a de facto cap on the number of A’s, it starts getting a little harder to get an A. I have heard that the averages required for an A in a class like Chinese 101 is well into the 90’s, and we’re talking for a seriously hard course (all my friends who take Chinese complain all the time about the work. But don’t get me wrong, our Chinese program is excellent, and well worth the work…you can go to Beijing the summer after freshman year, etc). </p>
<p>Anyway, what I’m getting to is that though grade deflation is noticeable in those classes, you won’t be taking those classes for four years (unless, of course, you are an aspiring polyglot who likes to dabble). But even then, you have to eventually select a concentration, which is probably something you’re good at. For example, I’m an English major. Since I really care about English and literature, I probably do better in my English classes than, say, my physics major friend who is taking a class with me for a distribution requirement. The same goes (alas, it has already happened) when I take a Physics class. </p>
<p>The bottom line: if your GPA has a rocky start, it will probably rise. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t get A’s (it’s Princeton, after all), and if anything a rising GPA is a good thing. It sounds like you’re going to need a good GPA for med school, so you’ll have to be cognizant of things like grade deflation. But I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Honestly, I am kind of secretly a fan of it, because when I get an A (even if it’s just on a paper or a test), I feel really proud of myself. If Princeton professors handed out As like, say, Yale professors, sure, my GPA would probably be higher, but so would everyone else’s. The biggest problem is that employers/grad schools don’t always know about grade deflation, so they see Princeton GPA’s as the same as Yale GPA’s. But the USG and the administration is trying to fix it.</p>
<p>Hope that clears things up for you! Best of luck in applying!</p>