<p>Hello all!</p>
<p>I'm quite excited to have been admitted to Wellesley as a transfer student for the fall! I'm fairlyc certain I'll be attending, but I have a few questions. I saw on the Wellesley website that the mean grade in a course cannot be higher than a B+...this seems like it would foster a lot of negative competition. How hard is it to do really well (grade wise) at Wellesley? I am confident that I'll recieve a fantastic education there, but I feel like even though there is signifigant grade deflation at Colgate, at least here there's not a superimposed curve.</p>
<p>Also, the usual questions I can't seem to find answers to on the forum: general impressions/advice/cautions...THANKS ALL</p>
<p>My senior year was the first for the anti-inflation policy, and the students were quite concerned that it would foster the negative competition you mentioned. From what I understand, it hasn't created that kind of environment. Some departments had more grade inflation than others, and the anti-inflation policy does seem to be helping bring those scores back to reasonable levels.</p>
<p>The policy does not apply to very small classes (fewer than 10 students) or 300-level courses. It also doesn't enforce a curve: there is no limit on the number of A's possible in a given class so long as the median grade does not exceed 3.33. I believe professors can also petition for a particular class if the work submitted is consistently excellent from every student.</p>
<p>The idea is not to artificially deflate grades: it's to curb inflation and return to a more realistic grading scheme. As essay that meets the stated requirements is not an A paper; an essay that goes well beyond the requirements in a constructive and thoughtful way deserves a higher grade than that of an acceptable but not stellar paper.</p>
<p>If you submit quality work, your grades will reflect it. Professors will not devalue your work to meet policy guidelines, but they also won't reward average work with above-average grades.</p>
<p>Having a class median over a B+ defeats the purpose of grades. Because then you have Average (A-), Above average (A), and seven degrees of "below average" (D,C-,C,C+,B-,B,B+) before you get to failing. When I heard about the grading policy, I was like "oh good, as long as I'm an 'average' student I will get some sort of B.</p>