<p>My second child is about to graduate from a big state school. Both of my kids were at the top of their HS classes (one was Val, the other was Sal). They both had to work for their top grades at their state school because they were in challenging majors. </p>
<p>On the Premed forum this subject comes up a lot. Some think that if they are premed at a state school then they’ll emerge with a super GPA. Then reality slaps them in the face. The fact is that the students who are in those pre-med classes (and doing well in them) are all smart kids. they’re all fighting for the limited A’s awarded. </p>
<p>At most schools, professors teaching upper division courses are not handing out A’s for merely showing up.</p>