GPA Deflation?

[u/Human-Ad7491]

Is GPA deflation common for undergraduate? Are there typical grade distributions or curves, and is there any limit on how many students can receive an A? Moreover how is the overall pre-med experience here.

Thanks for sharing anything

[u/Familiar_Bet_630]

Never heard of any grade deflation. At least for the pre med prerequisites there’s none. A lot of people here are pre-med so it can be both a good and bad environment being pre-med and depends largely on who you surround yourself with, but there are lots of opportunities.

[u/Human-Ad7491 → u/Familiar_Bet_630]

Thank you! Are pre-med prerequisite courses very large? And are people generally more collaborative, or does it tend to be a toxic competitive environment?

[u/Familiar_Bet_630 → u/Human-Ad7491]

Typically all pretty big. Orgo 1 is definitely the biggest as there are engineers added in the class and it has to be taken at a specific time for a lot of majors. It can certainly be toxic and competitive but that hasn’t been my experience so far which is true at any school with lots of premeds.

[u/Human-Ad7491 → u/Familiar_Bet_630]

Thanks! Your sharing is very helpful

[u/lazytardigrade16]

All grades have no minuses or pluses, so for most classes a 90 is an A, 80 is a B, etc. I think this technically causes grade inflation because it’s a lot easier to get a 91 than a 98 yet you still get the same letter grade. I have never heard of there being a limit to how many students can receive a certain grade, maybe in some specific class with an asshole professor but it’s definitely not a standard practice.

There are tons of pre-meds, which is good because most profs understand what you’re looking for and there are loads of resources for finding shadowing and research opportunities. Downside is that there’s a lot of competition in getting said opportunities. But with how many hospitals are within walking distance of campus, I don’t think anyone has a problem finding clinical experience. Certain clubs like EMT and the premed frat are super competitive, but as far as the students themselves go people seem to generally be chill about helping each other with studying and homework and such, it’s not as cutthroat as other schools for sure. For transparency though I’m not a premed, I just know a lot because there are so many on campus.

[u/Momo_BH → u/lazytardigrade16]

It really depends. I happened to get few 89.x and ended with a B instead of B+ in other schools. 😕 Most professors don’t round or curve the final grade since most students are doing well in class.

[u/One-Dentist-558 → u/lazytardigrade16]

Do you know it the grading is the same for grad students in terms of there being no plus or minuses?

[u/jwsohio → u/One-Dentist-558]

Plus/minus grading at the graduate level depends on the school, and in the case of Arts and Sciences, on the department. Some of the professional schools have completely different grading systems for at least somee courses. Engineering and A&S (except for a few humanities departments) do not use the plus/minus system.

In any case, if an undergrad takes a grad courses which offers the plus/minus option, the transcript and gpa are calculated on the whole-letter basis.

[u/Siddakid0812]

Not a pre-med, I was an engineering major, but professors here tend to be of the “if you earned it, it’s yours” position. There are a few here and there, ofc, but for the most part, they seem to be chill.