how difficult is a 3.5 GPA?

Venkat89
Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:19:28 +0000

Grades in most classes are curved. It really depends on the professor and department. For most intro science courses (chem, bio, physics) classes are curved so the average is around a B-/C+. that means if the mean score on an exam is a 75% and you score 75%, you have somewhere between a B- and C+. If you score a standard deviation above that, you have a solid A. If you score a standard deviation bellow that, your grades aren’t doing too well.

Language courses tend not to be curved and have normal grading systems like in high school (93%+=A, 90%-93%=B). Other courses have no curves and you get what you get. Some courses like Econ 1 and Psych 1 are curved up, so if the averages are 90%, there is no curve, but if averages are 75%, it is scaled up so average is a B.

Based on the schools you are looking at, most will have intro science classes that are graded on curves. Only in really small schools will they not grade on a curve. A curve can actually help your grades, and for me that is usually the case. The only times I have been angry at curves were when I took some Wharton core courses.

In science classes I think it’s rare for courses to be curved down (i.e. average is 90%, so a 90%=B-) mostly because averages will be at most 80%.