<p>Interesting question that I thought of the other day: Is it better to have a 3.0 at a HYPS-level school o a 4.0 at a state school? I would argue that the 4.0 at a state school would be better, as it shows more effort and personal improvement. </p>
<p>Please discuss.</p>
<p>Better for what?</p>
<p>For most purposes (grad school, med school, etc), I would agree that the 4.0 from a state school (especially when coupled with a fine performance on standardized grad admissions tests to validate the grades) would be better.</p>
<p>Depends on a lot of things...</p>
<p>Better indicator of acheivement? Depends on department. State school or ivy, some departments are less/more harsh in their grading than others. </p>
<p>Better for grad? I think it, too, depends how they process applicants. Some have minimum GPA. Obviously, then, the 3.00 will hurt you. Others take a more holistic approach. But, even with that, it depends... Some state schools offer excellent academic opportunities. Just because it's an ivy doesn't mean it's superior enough to account for a 3.00-4.00 difference.</p>
<p>It is much harder to get a 4.0 at a state school than a 3.0 at HYPS, so I don't think the comparison is realistic. A more realistic one is 3.0 vs 3.5.</p>
<p>i think what makes the ivy league so great are the oppurtunities that it can open up and then potential within you that can be unlocked by the diverse classes. The academics at an ivy league and state school are probably comparable (and some ivy leagues even have grade inflation, or so I hear)</p>
<p>4.0 at a state school.</p>
<p>Some state schools are very good like the Big Ten schools, so a 4.0 at those schools would be quite impressive.</p>
<p>Even at average state schools, a 4.0 is better.</p>
<p>for grad school, definitely the 4.0.</p>
<p>Getting a 4.0 in college is a damn straight tough road... you would look very good doing it, no matter where it was.... well, except at the "come pay us $20,000 and will give you a degree in 10 minutes" scams!</p>
<p>4.0 = getting perfect on every test??????</p>
<p>No, it means getting an A in every class.</p>
<p>I think mosy Ivy grads are close to 4.0 anyway, right? So, in my view, a 3.0 at an Ivy is well in bottom 50% of the graduating class, maybe even like bottom 25%.</p>
<p>For non-medical school, non-law school admissions, a 3.5 from HYPMS and a 4.0 from a state school are roughly equivalent.</p>
<p>depends which state schools. If you're talking about a top 10 public school, then there is no contest, it's far superior to a Harvard 3.5.</p>
<p>Yea, this question should be a 4.0 at state versus 3.5 at a more academically rigorous private school. Then it becomes more even a question.</p>
<p>I think it completely depends on the school. A 4.0 from Berkeley or Michigan would be FAR more impressive than a 3.5 from Harvard or Yale. But, which would be more impressive; a 3.5 from Harvard or a 4.0 from University of Alabama? Personally, I think a 4.0 from Alabama would be more impressive, but there are probably a lot of different opinions here.</p>
<p>I'd think a 3.5 at Harvard were more impressive. Whats more of a 'fair' factor is probably class rank</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think mosy Ivy grads are close to 4.0 anyway, right?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>LOL that really sounds quite outrageous.</p>
<p>3.5 though is pretty close to avg.</p>
<p>a 3.0 at most of the Ivies will put you well out of the top half, and as the other poster said, possibly in the bottom quarter or worse.</p>
<p>that said, they're still really smart kids.</p>
<p>How many high school kids get into a top 20 school for undergrad? And how many of students from the top 20 undergrad schools get into a top 20 grad school?</p>
<p>Each time, you lose a huge amount of students, it gets more and more selective.</p>
<p>I would say someone in the bottom 20% of Princeton or Dartmouth (say a 2.7) would be a fair bit smarter than being in the top 20% of a top 10 state school (like Penn St.). A lot of the difference in the experience is the interaction with many accomplished people on a variety of levels in comparision to most state schools (probably all but the top five). </p>
<p>A 4.0 at a state school may be better for grad school admissions than a 3.0 at HYP, but not necessarily for just getting a job out of undergrad.</p>