<p>We all know how hard it’s to get accepted to Yale, but how hard is it to graduate from Yale? Is being a history major at Yale easier than being an engineering major at a non-Ivy school? I’ve heard stories that hisotry professors at Yale never give C’s as grades.</p>
<p>It’s definitely not hard to graduate from Yale, not because the academics are easy. I’m sure professors in every department will give out C’s if necessary; however, Yalies as a general rule never let this happen. There are so many resources on campus to get help if you need it (writer tutors, writing center, science center, personal tutors, professor office hours, TA office hours, and discussion sections to name a few). You’ll definitely never feel overwhelmed or feel that you need to fend for yourself. Finally, as a math and science person I feel that taking history classes to be a daunting task, the research papers and vast amount of information to learn is definitely harder to grasp than deriving equations or understanding abstract concepts.</p>
<p>It’s hard to compare history and engineering. On one hand, engineering has a reputation for being hard because it requires very intense effort in math and science courses. But on the other hand, as a Directed Studies student this year (very much intertwined with Humanities and History), I found that topics like history in difficult in their own right, but in a different way. In history, you must be able to write well and be able to create and discuss your own complex ideas about what is often difficult reading. I can’t hold a candle to the scientific knowledge and mathematical ability of my suitemates (who are mostly pre-med), but I would give myself a definite edge in coherently discussing Roman social institutions or defending Augustine’s view of free will. I obviously prefer one to the other, but I wouldn’t say that one is easier or harder than another.</p>
<p>As far as grades, I’d say Cs are pretty rare across the board here. It’s definitely true that it is harder to get in than to graduate, and we probably do have a significant amount of grade inflation, but it is likely somewhere between Harvard (extreme inflation) and UChicago (little or no inflation).</p>
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Yoshi explained it best. Yale professors will give out Cs to students who do C work. The vast majority of Yale students will not do C work.</p>
<p>I’m going to actually disagree with both of you. While C’s are rare, there are professors for whom a C is a satisfactory work. </p>
<p>Right now as a History major, I’ve had classes where I’ve put about the same amount of work: an A in one and a C+ in another.</p>
<p>But yeah…generally, as long as you do your work and put Yale-like effort, you should be get a B+ average.</p>
<p>I’ve only been through one semester, but i definitely don’t feel as if grades are inflated. I had to work nonstop this semester to maintain about an A- average.</p>