Basically the conclusion of the first set of midterms has recently led to the first set of exam grades in our classes. My friends were stressing about some of their grades so far, trying to calculate a guess for their gpa after the conclusion of this semester and they typically came up around 3.3 and they were absolutely DISTRAUGHT. I typically don’t like sharing my gpa with them becuase I know it’s higher and I don’t want to make them feel weird, but I think they kind of assume it is higher so when I tried telling them that a 3.3 was good they responded along the lines of “you don’t understand”. But I really DID think a 3.3 was good? When did a B+ average become bad? I go to a school “notorious” for grade deflation, which really isn’t true, although I do think it’s safe to say we certainly don’t inflate grades compared to other colleges. What gives?
There can be several factors in play: 1) See 4MyKidz, Post #2 above; 2) They are pre-med, or hoping to attend a highly competitive graduate program where applicants should have near-perfect GPAs; 3) they are enrolled in a STEM program, or planning to major in a department that is “impacted” or has limited number of slots; 4) they have special merit scholarships that require a minimum GPA, and a 3.3 might jeopardize their scholarship; 5) some potential employers have minimum-GPA requirements, surprisingly. My son has close to a 3.5 now, but Amazon demands at least a 3.5 for internships, as an example.
3.3 is not a bad GPA, especially early in college when students are on the steep part of the learning curve that goes with adjusting to college and early adulthood. Unfortunately there are 12 years of school before college where there is so much pressure to have “good” grades and a lot of grade inflation so many are not accustomed to less than near perfect grades. Just listen and accept how they feel, it’s an adjustment, and as some up thread have noted, the pressure hasn’t stopped, scholarships and other goals are tied to GPA.
Good for a college gpa (and good for the majority of HS students who are not looking at top tier colleges). Plus- freshman year of college typically includes courses needed to graduate but not of a student’s interest or forte. Often a 3.0 in classes relevant to a major will be required for admittance to that major. Notice, certain, not all classes’ gpa.
This is college, not HS. Who knows or cares what anyone else’s grades are? Those who do need to get over the HS mentality. The students also need to realize that college grades are usually lower- you are finally being in the correctly challenging environment. Most will not be Phi Beta Kappa (in my U a 3.75 was required while a 3.5 was needed for an Honors degree).
There is a reason for midterms. It lets students know where they are while there is still time to improve. Perhaps good to scare some students into studying more. Also- the final grade may have a lot of weight on a paper of the final exam. Learn what hasn’t yet been learned and the final grade (the only one on the transcript) can be better.
Students are in a new pool with a new standard. Many used to being at the top are now in the middle.
3.3 isn’t a bad gpa…but, depending on major, it isn’t good either.It’s average. According to several sources, the median GPA of students at 4 year colleges and universities in the US was 3.11 in 2011. STEM majors tend to have lower GPAs. A 3.33 was the median across all schools for English majors in 2011. (I can’t link source because it’s in a blog.)
Accordng to online sources, the median GPA at OP’s university was 3.04 in 2011. I’m almost certain that it follows the usual pattern and STEM students have lower GPAs than those in humanities.
I’m sure GPAs have gone up at least a bit since 2011.
So, 3.3 is not a bad GPA, but, absent special circumstances, you’re probably out of the running for med school, a top 50 law school, a top graduate program. Also, if the OP is a junior, after this semester, your friends won’t have enough time left to bring up GPAs substantially by the time they start applying to grad programs and jobs. That realization can also be distressing.
Most Americans don’t have college degrees, so your friends are ahead of the curve if they finish and get their degrees.it’s also unlikely that their grades are below average at your university. Being an average student at your university is nothing to sneeze at. However, they might have had dreams they now see slipping away.
I have two graduate degrees. Admittance depends on the program. The first grad degree used the gpa of the last 60 units & my gre scores for admittance…my overall college gpa was not considered. The 2nd graduate degree used my previous grad degree gpa & gre score for admittance. Not everyone is stuck on prestige. Just like undergrad, there is a graduate school out there that are possible matches. And not everyone is interested in STEM or law school.
Good question, OP. Wow, 3.3 seems like a good enough GPA but in #6 it looks like that GPA eliminates all kinds of options. I have to ask … is it true that “most” Americans do not have college degrees? I thought something like 80% of Americans now attend college post high school which, of course, is not the same as getting a degree but I would’ve thought, with grade inflation, most do graduate? Right?
Wow, I honestly never knew most of these stats. And yes, I am a junior. 2 of 3 of these friends are seniors applying STEM grad programs and the other is a junior business (I think? Honestly she changed her major so many times already it’s hard to keep up ) looking at grad programs so I guess maybe it is more of a big deal than I thought I guess I am kind of out of the loop on these things since I an not in the same fields as they are and am not looking at grad programs right now…
One of the ways to have a higher GPA is to avoid anything that might be hard and challenging for you. And THAT seems like a waste of an educational opportunity! It’s great to play to your strengths. And it’s important to shore up your weaknesses.
Wondering how many lawyers and physicians wasted undergraduate opportunities to take more challenging courses because they needed “easy A” courses to get into law or medical school…
OP, It happened pretty much when you joined this site. Or when you started talking to the uber competitive kids at school-- the kids who loudly bemoan their stupidity when they get a 92 on a test.
It’s true. The B is the new C. Wish I could get my freshman in H.S. to understand this. Everything is much more competitive than it used to be. I’m hoping the pendulum will swing back. I’m watching a lot of kids burn out including my senior in high school.
@80sMusicParent As of 2014, about 59% of Americans had some college, but only 32% had a Bachelor’s degree (34% of those between the ages of 25 to 29). Only 12% had a Master’s and/or doctorate and/or professional degree. As a comparison, it’s about on par with the EU average.
I would have been thrilled with a 3.3 my first semester in college! I earned a CD (at Mount Holyoke, that was basically a C-/D+) in a class. I’d never made a C in my life and was truly shocked, although I shouldn’t have been, considering my slacker study habits.
I think today’s kids are used to greater grade inflation. Even at Wellesley, which is notorious for what kids call grade deflation, I think there’s still some inflation, at least more than when my generation was in school, but probably a lot less than at other colleges.
Depends on the college. My son goes to McGill which is known for its rigorous classes and ruthless grading. Kids would love to have a 3.3. But then you come to the states where the helicopter parents would never accept anything less than an A and well…this happened: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/12/3/grade-inflation-mode-a/
Nothing whatsoever wrong with a 3.3. Iirc, S graduated with a 3.2 or 3.3 - got accepted into exec training program at Fortune 200 company, spent 1 1/2 yrs there and then jumped to a tech start up where he has been since January. Just got his 3rd promotion - one of three people out of 300 picked to start new Company Growth Analytic Division.
He was a Politics major with History minor at a LAC.
He got a C and a C- (which I remember he was thrilled with) his first semester at college. Very few A at all in four years. His college is not known for grade inflation.
@80sMusicParent - while it is more and more common for young people to continue education/training after HS - there are massive sections of the working population that did not have that opportunity. The last census said that 1/3 of Americans had college degrees - compared to 4% in 1940) And there are still divisions within various segments of society, while the number of African Americans and Hispanics has doubled (more more) still less than 25% have 4 year degrees.
According to http://www.gradeinflation.com/Wellesley.html , Wellesley has had grade deflation since 2000, but that has to be put into perspective, since it was already very inflated (average 3.55 in 2000, down to “only” 3.37 in 2014; even in 1985, its 3.28 average was higher than Harvard’s 3.17).
) looking at grad programs so I guess maybe it is more of a big deal than I thought 
I guess I am kind of out of the loop on these things since I an not in the same fields as they are and am not looking at grad programs right now…