I’m going to add my input as a current student as to explain the high average gpa at brown:
- Most students who would have ended up with C’s end up dropping before finals, so naturally professors give out less C’s
- Majority of those who would get C’s are taking the class S/NC, thus “less” C’s as a result
- The caliber of the students–enough said. Most professors, in my experience, really do know the level of the work we’re capable of.
IMPORTANT to know: I also want to add that this does NOT mean classes are easy at Brown. In fact, they’re just as rigorous and mind-boggling as they are at other ivies. If you don’t believe me, take a course on Operational Analysis: Probabilistic models in the applied math division. That will challenge you, I promise. Many people struggle throughout the semester fulfilling deadlines, projects, midterms, coding projects, labs, theses, capstone projects, reserach projects, independent projects, etc.