<p>I’m speaking from a practical point of view. An adcom at a graduate program, a recruiter for IBM or a consulting firm… what if said person wants “the best of the best” demonstrated in some tangible way? They already know that, in the above case, Pomona students are among the very best high school graduates of their year. What if that does not practically solve their problem of identifying the top 5% or 10% <em>from Pomona</em>? If the average GPA at a school is 3.5, this assume on average that 50% of the students in a class receive an A mark.</p>
<p>As an adcom or recruiter, a more differentiated, more spread GPA distribution makes it more likely to identify and reward those students who have performed to a higher level (through any combination of native intelligence, creativity, interpersonal skills, hours dedicated to the work) than their peers.</p>
<p>As I say, I was never among that group of select few. I often wondered how their brains were wired differently than mine, but I can step back to analyze this in a non personally threatening way… the very best deserved to be identified, even if that group does not include me :)</p>