<p>Grades in one context cannot be compared to grades in another. Quite simply put, a 3.3 at Cal is very different than a 3.3 at your local community college.</p>
<p>The grading standard is simply defined in such a way so that people have lower numbers than that of several private institutions.</p>
<p>For example, in my major (EECS), the guidelines state that the average upper division class GPA should be a 2.9, or slightly lower than a B average. If you have research experience, even a 3.3 will be a competitive GPA for graduate school. However, a 3.3 at, say, Stanford (who generally have much higher numbers) will look really bad.</p>