<p>@afan your deduction is valid for the overall student population. Cal overall student gpa is around 3.2-3.3 and princeton’s is probably a bit but not much higher. There is obviously no comparison in term of the average student academic ability between the two schools. In fact, Cal takes in 1500 CC transfers each year, most of whom have lower stats than the freshmen.</p>
<p>But in the context of premed, I would disagree with your deduction. </p>
<p>First, Grade inflation at Cal, as in most other colleges, is primarily casued by overly lenient grading in non-STEM courses. Majortiy of the premeds at Cal major in biological sciences such as MCB/IB/HB. Grading in these majors is by no means inflated. MCB average gpa is around 2.8. And of course, they have to go through the infamous BCMP weeders. </p>
<p>Second, while Cal admits many academically marginal students under the guise of holistic evaluation, it does admit plenty of academcially capable students. Many of these students have academic profiles comparable to those of Princeton freshmen. Keep in mind that Cal enrolls 4 to 5 times more students than Princeton. Most of the better students gravitate towards premed, engineering, and business.</p>