<p>any idea what a good GPA at the end of the Freshman year at Swarthmore would be....how about just a middling one</p>
<p>I don't think Swarthmore actually calculates GPAs or ranks students, much less at the end of freshman year (I mean, first semester is pass-fail, so it would only go on one semester of grades). </p>
<p>The general culture is that people don't talk about grades much, but having B's and maybe the occasional C isn't a catastrophe at all, from what I understand.</p>
<p>
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I don't think Swarthmore actually calculates GPAs or ranks students, much less at the end of freshman year (I mean, first semester is pass-fail, so it would only go on one semester of grades).
[/quote]
Sure they do, at least as far as GPAs. Students post their GPAs in their profiles they generate at career services, and they also give their GPAs for applications to graduate schools or professional schools.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The general culture is that people don't talk about grades much, but having B's and maybe the occasional C isn't a catastrophe at all, from what I understand.
[/quote]
That really depends on the student's goals. A student who wants to eventually end up at Yale for law school or Stanford for a shot at their Ph.D. program in economics or some other hyper-competitive graduate/professional school really ought to gun for GPAs as close to 4.0 as they can muster. Students with more modest goals can afford lower GPAs, of course.</p>
<p>You asked for "good" and "middling"...she gives "not a catastrophe"...and you berate her for having too low of standards. I would consider "not a catastrophe" a lower level of goodness than "good or middling", and even those are a far cry from "outstanding". Sure, to be the best you want as close to a 4.0 as possible, but clearly you already know that, and I don't see the point of asking a question just so you can rebut responders with beliefs you already hold.</p>
<p>And the fact that first semester is pass/fail certainly does affect what a "good" freshman GPA would be, because it means that any Bs or Cs you make will bring down your GPA as much as having gotten that B both semesters, when in actuality you may have gotten straight A equivalent first semester. Conversely, you could have a 4.0 after pulling straight Cs first semester. This will all be balanced out as you get more grades, of course, but to look at a Swat first-year GPA is somewhat misleading as it's only one semester.</p>
<p>I'd also like the point out that, as opposed to Law and Med school, PhD programs actually care far less about GPA. It is used more as a threshold than a factor that can actually get you in, and major GPA is even more important than overall.</p>
<p>Recent Swat grad here (as in, last weekend). </p>
<p>Swatties don't talk about grades, period. In fact, it's considered a bit of a faux pas, and I've had more than one conversation with classmates where we realized that we shared a feeling of discomfort whenever friends at other schools talked about grades and GPAs.</p>
<p>The only time that your GPA is ever calculated by the college is in the final semester of your senior year when you are evaluated for Phi Beta Kappa. Phi Beta is given to students in the top 15% of the graduating class; in past years, the cut-off has (so I heard once) been around 3.77. Make of that what you will.</p>
<p>If a Swattie is putting their GPA on their college guidance profile or their resume, it's because they are calculating it for themselves. It never shows up on our transcripts.</p>
<p>To re-emphasize what Gilead said-my S also graduated from Swat this past Sunday. He is going on to graduate school in the fall. He told me that he had to do his own calculation of his GPA to put on his applications.</p>
<p>Congrats Gilead on your graduation! It was a great weekend, even with the iffy weather!</p>
<p>Congrats Gilead and momof2sons's son. My son was there too (rising senior) and the day was great, he said. He was there to take photos of his friends who are seniors and to wish them well and party with them afterwards! Looking somewhat forward to his graduation, although I am feeling sad already...</p>
<p>My daughter is a rising junior at Swarthmore and she also attended the graduation. She especially wanted to see her RA graduate, as they are close friends. When she got home from the graduation, she couldn't stop talking about how inspired she was by one of the recipients of an honorary degree, Marcia A. Grant (Swarthmore class of '60). Dr. Grant founded the first liberal arts college for women in Saudi Arabia, and her story made quite an impression on my daughter.</p>
<p>MotherOfTwo--I could have made exactly the same report about my daughter!!</p>
<p>Achat, MotherofTwo and searchingavalon,
The last thing that Marcia Grant said in her speech (and which I hope made quite an impression on my son ;)) was, "and remember to write your thank you notes." All the honorary degree recipients were very impressive. And my S was very impressed with how many undergrads showed up for graduation. He estimated several hundred.</p>
<p>I was almost going to post about her mention of thank you notes. My daughter came home, and, in addition to talking about Dr. Grant's accomplishments, told her that the emphasis on the importance of thank you notes reminded her of me and how I instilled writing thank you notes into her and her brother :) I wrote about this on the "thank you note" thread in the Parents' Cafe a few days ago, although I think I had Dr. Grant's name wrong in my head at that time. (I accidentally called her Dr. Clark, for some reason.)</p>
<p>I meant to say "told me" rather than "told her" above. It doesnt make sense otherwise!</p>
<p>And I was referring to post #27 in the thread I linked above.</p>
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Phi Beta is given to students in the top 15% of the graduating class; in past years, the cut-off has (so I heard once) been around 3.77.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That sounds plausible. The med school guidance office says that the average GPA for Swatties at Ivy League med schools is 3.7.</p>
<p>I think the average GPA is somewhere in the 3.2 to 3.3 range. Keep in mind that grades usually tend to increase a bit as you continue along the four years.</p>
<p>It's a little hard to compare that to other schools. Anything below a "C" in an upper level course doesn't earn credit towards graduation, so Swarthmore's average GPA is not going to include many upperclass students with a GPA below a 2.0. If you've got a 2.0 at the time you need to declare a major at the end of sophmore year, you are probably going to throw in the towel and transfer.</p>
<p>"If you've got a 2.0 at the time you need to declare a major at the end of sophmore year, you are probably going to throw in the towel and transfer."</p>
<p>Does that ever happen? I mean, if you work hard at Swat, is it really possible to earn a 2.0? I don't mean to sound entitled or anything, but clearly most students coming to Swat had 3.8s and up so, a 2.0 is a large departure from high school's GPAs. I'm just terribly worried I won't do well...</p>
<p>fhimas88....,
Not to worry. My S just graduated from Swat so I just asked him this question. He said that if you work hard, you will absolutely not end up with a 2.0, UNLESS you do a terrible job of picking classes. In other words, if you are deep into a major which you are just not cut out for, you may need to switch majors. He said that he did have friends who "struggled" at Swat, but still did not have 2.0's. (Remember, though, that Swat does not calculate GPA, but I get your point. :))</p>
<p>fhimas:</p>
<p>I agree with momof3sons. I would say that the only ways you would likely end up with a 2.0s at Swarthmore would be:</p>
<p>a) if you obstinately stick to the wrong major like George Bush is sticking to Iraq. In other words, if freshman Physics leaves you gasping for air and you try to stick to a Physics major. You'll know during the Pass/Fail first semester if there are majors you are thinking about that you just aren't cut out for. </p>
<p>b) If you don't make any effort to do the work or go to class.</p>
<p>Do (most of/some of) the reading, show up for and participate in classes, and turn in the papers and you'll probably get a B+ in most courses, sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower. I'm guessing that the vast majority of Swatties end up with GPAs in the 3.0 to 3.75 range.</p>
<p>My daughter had just a regular public school preparation. She has found that she puts in a lot of hours in the library (although that includes a good bit of socializing), but Swarthmore hasn't been impossibly hard from the standpoint of having to worry about grades.</p>
<p>All I really hear about are the two or three courses each semester that she really loves. The enthusiasm is pretty apparent listening to her talk about what she is studying.</p>
<p>Okay... thanks interesteddad!!! I feel much better.. or even more excited to go to Swat next year. Well, I better get ready, I graduate from high school today... (tear).</p>