<p>[Dean</a> of the College Nancy Malkiel to step down - The Daily Princetonian](<a href=“http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2010/09/08/26207/]Dean”>http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2010/09/08/26207/)</p>
<p>Most of the favorable comments seem to come from alums; most of the unfavorable comments seem to come from current students.</p>
<p>It’s because a lot of students unfortunately need someone besides themselves to blame about their grades being lower. I personally didn’t have a problem with the grading policy, of course I’m a science major, and the majority of science classes here haven’t changed their grading policies in decades (ha, 35% A’s in the sciences is a gift, actually).</p>
<p>She did bring down the overall grades though - why should we not blame her? You could basically be adding 0.1 to your GPA if Malkiel hadn’t pushed for grade deflation. Hell, I have over a 3.8 but I still blame her for making my GPA lower than it could be. Most med schools either don’t know or don’t care that we have grade deflation.</p>
<p>On the other hand, you did choose to attend Princeton. That’s not the med school’s fault.</p>
<p>I agree with Peyton. Lower gpas for the folks in Humanities/Social Science makes us scientists/engineers look better, even if we’re still just as smart/dumb as we were before grade deflation.</p>
<p>Ha, random, if you have a 3.8, you are in fine shape anyway! Now, the guy with a 3.4 resume facing a 3.5 GPA cutoff at Human Resources, that’s a different story …</p>
<p>But I think the faculty overwhelmingly supported the 35% grade cap, too, so you can’t blame it all on Dean Malkiel.</p>
<p>anyone think the grade deflation policy will change with her resignation?</p>
<p>I don’t know.</p>
<p>But I have not yet met someone who was actually affected by grade deflation who supported it, FWIW. Then again, there aren’t many who really do.</p>
<p>@Random - if you can manage a 3.8+ even under the grading policy, I’d be willing to bet your GPA wouldn’t be any different at all if there wasn’t such a policy. That said, a 3.8 is amazing, so kudos to you on that accomplishment. I cannot boast the same achievement, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>But in all honesty, is the Princeton administration at fault for trying to curb grade inflation, or are other schools at fault for allowing rampant inflation to occur in the first place? Personally, the grading policy makes me work harder, and even if my grades are impacted, I still feel like I’ve worked hard and learned quite a bit. Granted, I’m not aiming for law school or med school, so my overall GPA isn’t nearly as much of an issue. I can understand completely why people interested in those fields feel negatively impacted by the 35% cap policy with respect to their competition at schools such as Harvard or Yale where the average GPA is 0.2+ higher.</p>
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<p>Why? I’ve gotten B+'s and A-'s in classes that had 35% A cutoffs when there weren’t any 5-6 years ago (writing sem, introductory social science class, and an engineering class). If they were giving 45% A’s then I would likely have gotten A-'s and A’s in those classes (if 35% of the grades are supposed A’s and A-'s, then they give both fewer A’s and fewer A-'s than if 45% of the grades are supposed to be A’s and A-'s).</p>
<p>This is quickly becoming a grade deflation thread…</p>
<p>Anyone want to discuss some of her accomplishments?</p>
<p>^Maybe, maybe not. There really is no way you can tell for sure. Maybe some of those B+'s would have been A-'s. But the point I was trying to make was that despite the grading policy, you still obtained a great GPA, so it really doesn’t matter, for you, if grade deflation exists or not. IMO, the current grading policy makes your 3.8 look that more impressive, really.</p>
<p>Yes, I believe that the residential college system is a huge success and worth promoting. I do not, however, want to see it used as a way to socially engineer the campus, in particular away from the eating clubs. But they are fantastic.</p>
<p>Kinda funny how one unpopular decision can, in the eyes of many, define one’s quarter century’s worth of input.</p>
<p>Yeah but in the grand scheme of things does the opinion of a couple hundred undergrads really matter? Doubt it.</p>
<p>For most people who actually matter (in her life), all the popular and positive things she contributed are what define that quarter century’s worth of input.</p>
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<p>My theory: grade deflation makes alumni look better without themselves having to suffer from it.</p>
<p>Ugh. Someone tries to make Princeton into a college respected for its academic rigor, and she gets blasted for it. You know that America’s system of higher education is broken when deans are forced into resignation for decreasing their college’s average GPA to a mind-blowing 3.3. God forbid students work a little harder for their grades!</p>
<p>In my eyes, Princeton’s desirability went up considerably in the last few years with Malkiel’s new policies. Then again, I guess I’m one of the few people who care for academic rigor any more. Guess that’s why I didn’t even consider applying to any Ivy Leagues.</p>
<p>Yep, you decided not to lower yourself to the level of applying to the Ivy League. You settled instead to just post on their message boards, right? Oh exalted one, how enlightened ye are. Let there be much rejoicing.</p>
<p>Oh by the way, you’re kind of an idiot.</p>
<p>hahahaha +1 ^^^</p>