<p>I’m not a physics major, but by observation this is my assessment: </p>
<p>Physics, not unlike mathematics, is in general fairly dogmatic in instructional process until a student reaches the upper levels, which probably means graduate level and above. Since most physics majors are usually quite bright - evidenced by the ability to survive the regimen of the basic program - this to me indicates a reasonable and fungible level of academic ability across virtually all quality universities teaching physics. The standards of performance in physics appear universal; you either thrive or you choose another major. These standards do not change from one (major research university) school to the next - it can’t, as research is measured by standards. Therefore, assuming a quality program at a major research university i.e. Penn State, Florida State, or even MIT - the graduates will all pretty much be the same. There will be individual differences, but in the main it’s a talented group of kids regardless of the alma mater.</p>
<p>A 3.0 in the honours program at McGill would be considered very good in econ, a 3.3 would be considered good for honours poly-sci, english, etc. (these guidelines were set by the school to get an “honours” degree, not my own subjective bias). That’s for the arts faculty, I think engineering a good GPA would be even lower. Most kids in Canada don’t care about going to grad school in the states, and are ok with the grade deflation. For me, it absolutely sucks…people who go to NYU and BU are still under the impression that their school is harder and more prestigous because they pay more, yet get to do 1/10th the work to get the same marks. Luckily, most employers are actually aware of how hard the academics are; most I-banks say their cut-off for McGill grads is a 3.4…still very hard to maintain, but much lower than the GPA expected at many top U.S. schools. To get into Oxford, Harvard, etc. for grad school you need around a 3.7, which is really a huge leap from a 3.4 in terms of your whole lifestyle/ level og commitment.</p>
<p>I think that it’s not as simple as that, parent2noles. It’s true that physics is often taught similarly at the introductory level between different universities. But introductory physics is not all that there is — what if one wants to do research, or take graduate courses? I’d wager that MIT is a better place to do these things than FSU.</p>
<p>i think my college was 3.3 to graduate with cum laude, 3.7 to graduate magna, and 3.9 to graduate summa. needless to say, in my entire major we had 1 person with magna, and 1 person with summa… out of a good thirty or so people. Talk about a hard major.</p>