I don’t think this a problem at Harvard only.
I remember when I was a kid/young adult, if parents were spending a lot of money to send their kids to a private school and there was a problem, they would look at their kids and tell them “We are spending a lot of money on this school; don’t screw it up.” Now I am more likely to see the parents tell that to the school.
It may not be a Harvard only issue but Harvard seems to be the most notorious for this kind of behavior. The Gentleman’s B has become the Gentleman’s A.
Bitterness is pervasive throughout the article. She goes from a single data point to generalizations based on experiences of a few like-minded friends to a critique of the current president and his grasp of the finer details of policy. Solid B essay at best. I guess since she’s from Harvard, I’ll give her an A-.
@Sportsman88 All the reports cannot be wrong. Harvard has been notorious this kind of behavior for some time now. Speak to any recent Harvard alum/student who is willing to be honest and they will admit this. Definitely not just a Harvard phenomenon, but Harvard is the most egregious offender.
How does such an uncompelling essay make one of the best newspapers in the US?
So the manspreading article linked on the same page was better?
I had to search for it but it made me laugh 2-3 times so, yeah, it’s better.
Hmmm. So a C- at Michigan is equal to an A- at Harvard? 
I’m sure this goes on, and H grade inflation is notorious. But her insights are based only on her own experience and that of some grad friends? Then it’s not really worthy of an article, just a Facebook post!
I don’t think grade inflation is still a big problem at Harvard. During the Vietnam War draft, grades were inflated to keep students in school so they wouldn’t be drafted, and that continued for a time. I have read articles that explicitly say grade inflation is not a problem in recent years.
@compmom Can you post the links to any of these articles? I would be genuinely interested to see. Because all i have seen in the last few years are articles saying how Harvard has a major grade inflation phenomenon. I don’t think grade inflation is really a problem for Harvard, if anything it is rather a great strategic advantage that pays off big time.
But everyone seems to be saying that there is definitely a lot of grade inflation at Harvard.
I liked the article until the author injected politics into it. Ugggh.
@Penn95: http://www.businessinsider.com/many-college-professors-started-using-grade-inflation-to-protect-bad-students-from-being-drafted-into-the-vietnam-war-2013-12
The event that is being referred to in this article is quite old.
Is it a question of entitlement, or a question of how dare someone take me to task? We will never know. Awarding one A in a Harvard class seems pretty severe.
The media and many resentful people like to perpetuate fallacies about elite and prestigious institutions because it serves them in some way, it speaks to a particular narrative they are trying to promote.
Are there entitled kids at Harvard? Sure there are some. The vast majority of students there are not that way. They are hard working incredibly bright young people who are humble and kind.
One of which I can’t wait to give a hug to later today.
Speaking from experience - yes, some students do act like this. But I couldn’t say whether they are the minority or the majority. Most people are type A, so if they think issuing a complaint will help them bump up their grade, why wouldn’t they? I would not say it is 100% the fault of the students, because Harvard definitely allows this kind of behavior. The median grade at Harvard is an A-, so if that doesn’t tell you about the grade inflation here, I don’t know what will. (But as a current student, I’m not complaining)
double posted for some reason
I can’t access the article posted at the top of this thread. If it was a grad student, that is not relevant to the (erroneous in my opinion) reputation which is based on undergrad grading.
I really get tired of Harvard-bashing. There are,um, a lot of bright students at Harvard who earn good grades. In decades past, it was more aristocracy than meritocracy and “gentlemen’s C’s” were more common.
Harvard has extraordinary financial aid, and 70% of students receive some kind of aid. Students whose families make $65k or less go for free, and families with income up to $150k pay 10%.
As for arrogance, it’s tough to stay arrogant on a campus with so many talented students.
There is indeed a lot of kindness on campus, from staff and faculty as well as peers.
The grad student was teaching an undergraduate course, and when she gave the student a grade of A-minus, the student went over the TA’s head and complained to the professor responsible for overseeing the course who pressured the TA to change the student’s grade to A, without even reviewing the student’s work, according to the TA. She says the student was “smart” but was “coasting” through the class, doing work that would merit a grade of C “at an ordinary institution” but “Harvard undergraduate courses aren’t set up that way.”
It could be just an isolated incident, though the former TA claims she heard similar complaints from TAs in other departments.
The last I heard the median grade at Harvard was an A-minus. Which you could take as evidence of grade inflation, or you could say it shows that not all grades of A-minus get changed to A.
She’s now in her mid 50s, best I can get. Finished her degrees some time ago; this anecdote isn’t recent.
There have been other recent studies that showed the average grade at Harvard is an A.