I would definitely agree with that! I never felt like, whenever I would receive a poor grade, that it was unjustified. It was often that I didn’t manage my time properly: perhaps devoted too much time into a class that took time away from others or just dove too deep into an unnecessary hobby. Work Forest is a perfect nickname to its core!
I personally don’t use the term grade-inflation or grade-deflation. I have friends who have 4.0 GPA’s and I have friends with below 2.5 so I often have trouble telling if Wake is balanced or sways to one side. I will say that several of my chem classes had class averages of around a C. For those in pre-med/health, this would pose a problem for admissions. Professional schools place such a heavy emphasis on grades so Wake’s grading might put you at a disadvantage. My upper level biology classes, however, almost always had a B+ to A- average. The same could be said about my liberal arts requirements. It’s hard to exactly say if Wake is balanced or not.
Regardless of GPA, the later success rate of graduates is quite high. I don’t have a statistic for this but most, if not all, graduates that I know from the previous graduating class have a job lined up, grad school position, internship, or fellowship. Wake carries some heft to its name (especially in the Carolinas) along with many resources (Office of Career Development) and connections that lead students to gaining successful careers regardless of their grades!