<p>Hello, Future Reed Applicant with high stats (3.97 UW, 2300 SAT.) How hard is it to maintain a 3.5 GPA in majors such as history, english, or art (and specifically environmental studies?)</p>
<p>Is the rampant grade deflation more common in STEM?</p>
<p>The lack of grade inflation affects all departments. Some majors may be considered slightly ‘easier’ than others but I think that has more to do with people’s proclivities than easy grading. Like I think majoring in physics would be really hard but that’s because I’m not naturally good at science. Conversely, STEM majors might find English and History hard. And I know of art majors who have nearly failed out and/or had to repeat a year, so that isn’t a ‘done deal’ either. </p>
<p>Reed actually doesn’t have this typical hierarchy of STEM vs the rest-- the professors are paid the same no matter what department they teach in, there are high expectations of the students in every major, and everyone has to complete core requirements, a junior qual, and a thesis, so it is very equalizing. I like that there isn’t a culture of smart vs slacker kids, easy vs hard majors-- it promotes a healthy respect for your peers across disciplines. </p>
<p>The grades you get have more to do with the effort you put in rather than grade ‘deflation’, so the real question is whether you are willing to put in the effort to maintain a 3.5 gpa. It’s definitely not impossible, in any major, and you seem like you are capable of doing so, so I guess it would come down to discipline, effort, and prioritizing on your part.</p>
<p>Also, chill your beans… people don’t check this forum hourly. ;)</p>
<p>I’m a history major with a GPA above 3.5, which I know because you receive a congratulatory card at the end of the year if your GPA is that high. It has been hard work, often miserable and overwhelming, but also incredibly rewarding.</p>
<p>(Two factors that have contributed to my work load are my tendency to procrastinate and the number of classes I have been taking for the last couple of semesters: five, which is technically an overload. It may be easier to maintain a high GPA if you’re only taking three or four classes per semester.)</p>
<p>That being said, high grades are not easily obtainable if you approach them as an end in itself, at least not in history, classics, literature or philosophy, which are the majors I’m most familiar with. High grades are the byproduct of engaging with the course material at a level above the class average–and the class average is usually very high because Reedies read a lot, outside of the curriculum, and often come to class already having read half the syllabus or even in some cases having gone far beyond it–and earning your professors’ respect in the classroom and through your written work.</p>
<p>What I’m trying to say is that I’ve never received an A or an A- in a class by simply following the professor’s instructions, participating twice in every conference, and turning in competent essays. That doesn’t entitle you to anything at Reed. My high grades have always come in classes that interested me deeply, from essays on works I had returned to again and again over the course of the semester. In all of those classes I can point to at least one paper I submitted that made me proud of myself because I considered it the best writing I was capable of at the time, academic or not. They all stretched me to my limits.</p>
<p>Maybe there are people at Reed who can maintain a high GPA without going to all of that effort in every class, but they are very few (and, perhaps contrary to your expectations, they are most likely math or physics majors). For us mere mortals it is pretty hard.</p>
<p>(For the record, I had a much lower GPA than you in high school and a higher SAT score.)</p>
<p>^ what he said </p>
<p>I hope my ‘your grades are based on your effort’ statement doesn’t come across as too glib. Because that effort shouldn’t be underestimated. At the same time, I don’t think a 3.5 is unattainable if you really, really work for it and make that your priority. However, most Reedies aren’t focused on the quantitative outcome and more on the learning itself…which is why grades are deemphasized in the first place. The classes where I (probably? I’ve never seen my grades but like Ghostt I got some end of the year letter) excelled were ones in which I was already highly interested and dedicated so the work didn’t seem extraneous or brutal. The only really brutal class where I worked my ass off and still felt like I was probably failing the whole time was Chem (though I wasn’t, ends up they graded that one on a slight curve). </p>
<p>Anyway if you’re worried you will get a lower gpa by attending Reed over another school, well, you might (but it will be so worth it!). They do send a little card with your transcript that explains the grading practices and average gpa. It seems like most grad schools understand that Reed is a special place and don’t penalize you for it. Plenty of Reedies get into top medical, law, and business schools (where gpa cut-offs tend to be more prominent). Hopefully your GRE scores, thesis, and professor recs would speak for themselves as well. I can’t really think of any other reasons why you’d need to have a 3.5+…resumes? Does anyone even list that anymore?</p>
<p>Grade ‘defaltion’ at Reed, if you want to call it that, is a mixed bag. It actually puts very capable and high-achieving graduates at a disadvantage because graduate and professional school screening algorithms and admissions officers could, for the most part, give a rat’s ass that Reed is more ‘honest’ about grades. They will take the 4.0 GPA from reputable College X (some grade inflation) over a 3.2 gpa from Reed (“aren’t we special, so intellectual”).</p>
<p>@Sslater: Are your comments based on actual experience or on speculation? </p>
<p>I’ve heard the opposite to be true time and again from faculty, alumni, and peers. It also depends on what exactly you are applying for-- admissions officers at competitive grad and professional schools will know about Reed’s grade ‘deflation’, whereas a local AmeriCorps chapter in Indiana probably will not so if GPA is a big factor then you might be at a disadvantage. Reed is also not the only school who publicly resists the rampant grade inflation affecting colleges nationwide-- Princeton, Wellesley, and MIT do as well. </p>
<p>Here is some more info on the subject from previous CC posts and ■■■■■■■■ the internet:</p>
<p>“Regarding grade “deflation,” graduate schools know that Reed has a tough grading scale. Even with what turned out to be a “middling” (read: B+) GPA at Reed, I got into every graduate program to which I applied, both law schools (Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley) and doctoral programs (Princeton and Wisconsin). Why did they admit such a “mediocre” student as me? Because they weren’t focusing only on grades. There are, after all, test scores (LSAT, GRE, MCAT, etc.), letters of recommendation, essays, and the content of your undergrad curriculum (what courses did you take) for them to go on. And those schools are aware that Reed offers a demanding and great education that prepares students well for further study.” <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/reed-college/1224803-gpa-deflation-rumors.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/reed-college/1224803-gpa-deflation-rumors.html</a> </p>
<p>“What’s more, says Wise, “A graduate school admissions office will be more attune to grading practices at individual schools, and how those grades translate into performance as a graduate student, than, say, a business.” Thus, an A from Princeton (or Reed or Harvey Mudd) might mean more to an admissions officer than an A from Brown, where, as of March 2009, A’s made up two-thirds of all letter grades given. You can also cast your grades in a better light if they are accompanied by a stronger overall application. A student with a 3.6 average GPA and excellent essays may well be given more consideration than a student with a 3.9 whose essays reflect a lack of maturity or intellectual curiosity.” [Can</a> Grade Deflation Wreak Havoc on your Grad School Applicat|Vault Blogs|Vault.com](<a href=“http://www.vault.com/blog/job-search/can-grade-deflation-wreak-havoc-on-your-grad-school-applications-and-first-job-search/]Can”>http://www.vault.com/blog/job-search/can-grade-deflation-wreak-havoc-on-your-grad-school-applications-and-first-job-search/) </p>
<p>“At Reed College, where grades are as noted above, substantially lower than those at Duke, placement rates for medical school were 74% over the time period 2003-2008… In fact at Reed, the acceptance rate for those with 3.1 GPAs or better and MCAT scores of 28 or better is 84%… As for other post-graduate opportunities, Reed ranks well above Duke in the percentage of students who go on to Ph.D. study and their students frequently attend all the top business, law and medical schools. Would they have higher acceptance rates and better quality placements if they had grade inflation? My guess is that they would, but the effect would not be dramatic. The fact is that schools with great reputations like Princeton, Wellesley and Reed can deflate their grades without significant penalty in the post-graduate placement game. They can be known as the exceptions and if these places effectively communicate that they are exceptions, these schools can have the best of both worlds: rigor and post-graduate success.” [Forty</a> Questions: Grade Inflation at My Old Stomping Ground, Part 2](<a href=“http://fortyquestions.blogspot.com/2009/03/grade-inflation-at-my-old-stomping_23.html]Forty”>http://fortyquestions.blogspot.com/2009/03/grade-inflation-at-my-old-stomping_23.html) </p>
<p>What really doesn’t add up is how Reed could have the third highest per-capita PhD production in the country if none of its graduates could get into grad school with their ‘lousy’ gpas. It isn’t like they are going to noncompetitive, unknown schools. [REED</a> COLLEGE LIFE AFTER REED](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/ir/success.html]REED”>Life After Reed - Institutional Research - Reed College) has a nice little chart of where Reed alumni most frequently get their graduate degrees, but here’s the top 10 list:</p>
<p>PhDs: 1.UC Berkeley 2.U Washington 3.U Chicago 4.Stanford 5.U Oregon 6.Harvard 7.Cornell 8.UCLA 9.U Wisconsin 10.Columbia</p>
<p>MBAs: 1.U Chicago 2.Portland State 3.U Penn 4.Harvard 5.U Washington 6.Columbia 7.Stanford 8.NYU 9.U Oregon 10.UC Berkeley</p>
<p>JDs: 1.Lewis & Clark 2.UC Berkeley 3.U Oregon 4.U Washington 5.NYU 6.Yale 7.Cornell 8.Harvard 9.Willamette 10.UCLA </p>
<p>MDs: 1.OHSU 2.U Washington 3.Washington U 4.Stanford 5.USC 6.Case Western 7.Harvard 8.Yale 9.U Minnesota 10.U Chicago (John Hopkins is #12 fwiw)</p>