Actually, freshmen don’t fare much worse than upperclassmen. </p>
<p>Fall semester 2007 freshmen had the following distribution of grades (1997 in parentheses):
-A - 30% (24%)
-B - 38% (31%)
-C - 15% (19%)</p>
<p>Spring semester 2006 (1996) freshmen grade distribution was
-A -44% (24%)
-B -36% (38%)
-C -11% (24%)</p>
<p>Effectively, for the first semester where grades are recorded on the GPA, As have nearly doubled and Cs cut by more than half over the past ten years.</p>
<p>In addition to the fact that the average MIT student is probably better prepared than ten years ago (especially the bottom quartile), three other factors have contributed to the upward creep in GPA.</p>
<p>-Elimination of P/NR for the second semester freshmen year. Many fewer students are taking upperclass courses for which they are not qualified. (6.001, 6.002, 2.001, 5.60,…)
-Much better tracking and advising of students with failing grades (5th week flag)
-Elimination of curved classes as a matter of official MIT policy in 2002.</p>
<p>The last element has had a major effect for all undergrads and has contributed to an upward creep in average GPA for sophomores, juniors,and seniors.</p>
<p>Sophomore grades have also been creeping up since the introduction of the exploratory option. the average sophomore GPA is now 4.3 as compared to 4.1 as late as 2001.</p>
<p>All of this detailed in an internal report accessible to all within the MIT community at:
<a href=“Committee on the Undergraduate Program (CUP) | MIT Registrar”>Committee on the Undergraduate Program (CUP) | MIT Registrar;
<p>With an average GPA at 3.3/4.0 (B+) and rising ** it is hard to claim that MIT has any grade deflation any longer (if it ever had any). There has been close to a full one third of a grade increase in less than ten years. **</p>
<p>The median GPA is significantly higher than the average GPA, (90% of all recorded grades are As and Bs) and is around 3.5.</p>
<p>Princeton quotes a slightly lower GPA average of 3.23. It is hard to see with their 35% maximum A policy how it could rise. If anything it will drop. Surveys of Harvard students claim a 3.4 GPA average not significantly different.