<p>my 2 cents:</p>
<p>grade inflation exists, i think, at some colleges. there will always be courses that are easy A’s in every school, but generally it is easier to get good grades in some schools vs others. </p>
<p>"<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/Brown.html">http://www.gradeinflation.com/Brown.html</a>" avg gpa 3.61
"<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/Johnshopkins.html">http://www.gradeinflation.com/Johnshopkins.html</a>" 3.24
"<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/Duke.html">http://www.gradeinflation.com/Duke.html</a>" 3.44
"<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/cornell.html">http://www.gradeinflation.com/cornell.html</a>" 3.36
"<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/Princeton.html">http://www.gradeinflation.com/Princeton.html</a>" 3.28
"<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/Harvard.html">http://www.gradeinflation.com/Harvard.html</a>" 3.45
"<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/MIT.html">http://www.gradeinflation.com/MIT.html</a>" 3.26 for 2000
"<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/yale.html">http://www.gradeinflation.com/yale.html</a>" 3.51
"<a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/stanford.html">http://www.gradeinflation.com/stanford.html</a>" 3.55</p>
<p>you should interpret carefully. princeton has some grade deflation because they limit the # of A’s given out to 30-something percent I believe. it’s more evident that there is deflation when you compare their avg gpa to harvard yale and stanford. </p>
<p>i dont think hopkins has inflation/deflation. </p>
<p>i’d say stanford, brown, and yale definitely have grade inflation.</p>
<p>so for example a med schools knows brown and yale have inflation but both schools do well in terms of placement at top med schools (but yale>brown but). lors, ECs, mcat, essays etc would matter more for a student coming out of those schools because their fellow students/peers would also be coming out with inflated gpas.</p>
<p>P.S. i wouldn’t pick a school to attend by difficulty/prestige. just go with whichever one you “fit” best in. consider strength of departments you are interested in, opportunities for development (internships, clubs, programs, etc. that are available to students at the university or in the city/area), and your personal quality of life parameters (distance from family, weather/climate, [strength size and diversity of] student body (i.e. their interests as well as talents, geographic diversity, socioeconomic and ethnic diversity, etc.). there really is nothing else like college in terms of the freedom you have, the range of information you can learn, the types people you meet, and the opportunities open to you the over those 3-4 years …so choose wisely</p>