<p>One of my friends had a class where a 96% was the cutoff for an A, and something like a 90% was a cutoff for a B. One friend saw he had a 98% going into the final project and slacked off a bit, and wound up bringing his grade down to a 95%. Thought he was safe until the curve came out!</p>
<p>(I didn’t know anyone else in the class, so no clue what sort of grades other people got.)</p>
<p>I did have an experience with classes being taught really unevenly, though. I took a quantum class a year ahead of the rest of my friends. The class was maybe 8 people large with everyone but me being a physics major. The class was taught at a pretty decent pace and tests were tough. The following year all of my friends take the class, about 20 people in it, most of them engineers, and the professor gives easier tests, makes the final optional and open book, and they didn’t get nearly as far with the material (same professor). While I didn’t get the class, my high B would have very likely been an A if I had taken it a year later.</p>