do liberal arts colleges deflate grades?

ccclay
Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:23:56 +0000

I dont think that it is a universal LAC trend, but many do (esp. williams and swarthmore).

Grade deflation is actually a boost to the higher people in the class, even if their GPA is lower. It really doesnt hurt people until you reach the middle of the pack because then the difference starts becoming too noticeable.

If someone comes from williams/swat with a 3.8 and harvard with a 3.9, adcoms dont really have a hard time believing that a .1 difference at that high a level is material if nothing would indicate otherwise. But if the average GPA at harvard is 3.4 or yale is 3.5 (which it roughly is) and the average GPA at swat is 2.8-2.9 (which I never knew until the post above), it is a lot harder to justify a .5-.7 adjustment to balance it out even if that is what the averages would indicate. People always go on to say that people at school X are smarter and therefore deserve a higher GPA, but the difference between your average swat and harvard students is certainly not 2/3 of a grade.