| Grade deflation is not something to worry about. The average effect on ones GPA will be negligible (I hear it should be about .1), and employers and grad schools keep in mind the fact that different institutions grade differently--that's why they use standardized tests as well. If this is all that's keeping someone away from somewhere like Princeton, then don't worry about it: Princeton will be amazing, and your daughter will have all the opportunities available to her at some other school (and, might I add, probably moreso since it IS Princeton!) I remember the University of Chicago had a speech where the average difference in income from a 2.8 vs. 3.8 GPA at Chicago was about 9%--and that's actually a significant difference, and this is among just students from Chicago. When Princeton's all go down by .1 as a whole, this will not have an effect: employers recognize this and adjust accordingly, and she's not at a disadvantage compared to her peers. All this does is make the humanities grading more similar to sciences (like, might I add, Chicago has been known for doing). |