<p>To get way back to the OP. I agree, as was said long ago, that 3.0 vs 4.0 is wholly unrealistic. There is no comparison. But two equal GPA's from a top elite private and a mid level state school (NOT Berkeley), would depend on what the person evaluating was looking for. If they were looking to hire an engineer in state, and the mid level state school had a good engineering program, hiring the local kid might be the default answer anyway. This may be even more true if State offers a practical go-out-and-work engineering program and Elite Private offers (or was thought to offer) a theoretical go-invent-a-new-kind-of-proton program. </p>
<p>If it was another elite private graduate school evaluating, they might lean towards the elite private grad- again depending on what kind of graduate program they were headed for. </p>
<p>I tend to assume that anyone who graduates from a huge state school must be much more independent than graduates from the elite privates. This is necessary to survive in that environment. How much that matters depends on what they are looking to do next.</p>
<p>My real point is that you cannot look at small differences in average GPA and interpret them as reflecting differences in grading policy across the university without taking into account differences in the academic preparation of the students. For all its weaknesses, SAT does reflect academic preparation. If you are serious about analyzing grades, then you have to take this into account.</p>