Princeton limits the # of A's

<p>Patuxent, thanks for clarifying that.
Yes, I know there has been grade inflation but was surprised that there wasn't more in the example.
Don't know about the C's, in general, but do know the freshman grades aren't considered, though of course they would figure in the GPA and rank if there is ranking.</p>

<p>A Princeton parent told me last night that students are up in arms and signing petitions!</p>

<p>i hope they win! But i think a B avg is not so bad from an Ivy and u most likely wont get turned down from a job offer because of it....but still its the principal of the thing as well as the job getting aspect.</p>

<p>It appears that all those Princetonians don't want to compete at the next level. Competition is fine in HS when you are competing to get into Princeton but once in who wants to compete against real peers? An 85 for an A sounds good to me.</p>

<p>Yes, Princeton is shooting itself in the foot. Other people just don't want to admit how much smarter the students at HYPS are. They deserve the A's.</p>

<p>I don't like the new policy :(</p>

<p>mensa160: but the students at HYPS aren't being measured against "other people" anymore but rather against themselves, resulting in higher standards. sure, they deserve an A compared to the general population, but they went to those schools for a reason--to be challenged.</p>

<p>while grade inflation is certainly a problem of growing concern, i don't see limiting the number of As to be the best solution. as many have already said, i can only imagine what a cut throat enviroment this would create. some sugget doing away with the grading scale altogether, which i think is a ridiculous idea. there needs to be a standard with which to compare students and their performance and what needs to be worked on is how we can make this standard more fair and applicable.</p>

<p>I agree with juliusmonkey. I think that % of students should not be getting A's, but limiting the # is not the way, new standards need to be put into place if princeton really wants to combat grade inflation</p>

<p>
[quote]
I think that % of students should not be getting A's, but limiting the # is not the way, new standards need to be put into place if princeton really wants to combat grade inflation

[/quote]
ok, what are they.</p>

<p>stricter than what they are. I don't know, I'm not a professor mensa.</p>

<p>celebrian. sorry if i was brusque. what i meant was that it's hard to say what would be better, that's all.</p>

<p>Hmm yeah - Princetonians are sp smart we probably shouldn't make them take GRE's LSATs pr any of those other entrance tests mere mortals have to take. If fact isn't it a waste of time to actually have them go to class? probably should just give them the keys to executive suite and academic robes with lots of stripes.</p>

<p>It must be nice being 18 and having a head full of nothing but your own self-importance. Then along comes some middle-aged guy who graduated from Rutgers wanting to know where that report is he told you to write and wanting to know if this piece of c**p you handed him is what passes for A material at over in Princeton?</p>

<p>One of the things they never tell you when they talk about all the doors an Ivy education is going to open for you are all the people you are going to meet after school with a chip on their shoulder and an attitude to go with it because they didn't have the opportunity to go to Princeton. Some of those folks are going to be grading you a little harder than they are the guy from U Mass and expecting a little more.</p>

<p>patuxent, is that what they teach people at Rutgers?</p>

<p>I wouldn't know I've never been to Rutgers. But my general point is don't count on everybody in the world being over impressed with your Princeton sheepskin. Competition in this world didn't end the day you got your acceptance letter from the Dean of Admissions. Princeton is doing its students a disservice if they do not grade them based on how they perform against their peers. Grade inflation hurts the better students at Princeton by denying them recognition and harms the lesser students by reinforcing bad habits and rewarding mediocre performance.</p>

<p>What did they teach you at Princeton mensa? I'll have to ask because I won't be able to tell from your transcript since everybody is summa at Princeton.</p>

<p>patuxent, i'm not applying until the fall and i don't know where i will be accepted. but what bugs me is that people underestimate how rare the skills are of those at the elite schools. people always say that there are also many 1550-to 1600 3.9 gpas at state schools. that's a myth. think about it. If about 1/2 of the "perfect" apps apply to Harvard, harvard takes half who apply. a lot of the others who don't apply to harvard apply to yale, which takes half; others apply to princeton, mit, all of who who takes half or more who apply-- after the top 10 schools. So even if as many do not apply to top schools, there aren't that many left for Penn state/ohio state/illinois/etc, as people imply. Basically, i think the people who get in their are a definite cut above 99% of the rest,</p>

<p>Umm yes but my guess is that for a variety of reasons = personal, financial, family, academic, geographic many of the best students do not apply to those eight schools in the frozen tundra called the northeast. I live in a very wealthy suburban county with a population north of 800,000. We have two countywide HS magnet programs that admit by testing about 200 kids between them. That is 200 kids out of a cohort of 10,000 so it is a pretty select group. I am not sure of the actual number who applied but believe it was around 900. </p>

<p>Of the 87 kids who completed the program at the school my son went to 13 went to Ivy league schools including three who went to Princeton. A couple of others turned down Ivy schools to go elsewhere. But guess what? 20 of those 87 opted to go down the street to the state flagship. The rest of the roster reads like a who is who of the top 20 Universities and LAC's. </p>

<p>I am well aware of how rare kids with your stats are but unlike you I know there is a lot of diversity in individual circumstances and that diversity plays a major role in the choices people make. If you don't think there are a lot of rocket scientists out there in non-Ivy schools you are going to be in for a big surprise later on.</p>

<p>
[quote]
If you don't think there are a lot of rocket scientists out there in non-Ivy schools you are going to be in for a big surprise later on.

[/quote]
It will be a surprise, but a pleasant one I think. My parents are not Ivy grads at all, but they have good jobs and stuff. They feel more like you do, but I think that's the way they live their life, and I'm pretty certain I want something more special, I guess would be the word. We'll see....</p>