Did a bit of spot checking, comparing acceptance rates to high school GPA, to test this theory that high schools are not inflating grades.
Purdue: Half the enrolled class has a GPA of 3.75% or better, and Purdue accepted 60% of its applicants.
University of Georgia: Average GPA of 4.0 (not clear on the scale) but has an acceptance rate of 52.88% for 2019.
University of Utah: 67% acceptance rate, 3.66 GPA
Texas A&M: 66% acceptance rate, 3.68 GPA
University of Wisconsion: 52% acceptance rate. 3.86 GPA
These are all median admitted GPAs (as far as I can tell), so the students that were using these schools as safeties are not included in the GPA numbers. This means that the average GPA of accepted students is even higher than these reported numbers. It is also safe to assume that, given the reasonably high acceptance rates, the schools are not exactly scaring off marginal students from applying. These schools are simply representative of the large population of very high GPA students that exists across this country.
These are all very good schools, but I have a hard time reconciling the relatively high acceptance rates with the incredibly high GPAs, and reaching any conclusion other than that the applicant pool has inflated GPAs compared to 10 or 20 years ago. How long will it be before all these schools can expect a 4.0 GPA from its applicants? As I have asked before, what will schools use to differentiate applicants when that happens?
On a separate but related not, I bet you will see the “median 50%” SAT score reach absurd levels as fewer applicants even provide scores. How long can the schools keep this statistic inflation game going before the criteria lose all meaning?