<p>When high-achieving students at higly selective schools are graded on strict curve, how can there be grade inflation?</p>
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<p>I don’t think you understand how other schools work…because you can do ALL of these things at them. It’s called an honors program. </p>
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<p>The majority of classes are not curved.</p>
<p>Not all honors programs are the same. Some are pretty worthless, actually. Also, getting into some of the top honors programs is practically as hard as getting into an Ivy!</p>
<p>There is grade inflation at many (most?) of the highly selective schools. I agree that engineering is an exception. However, there is also a recognition that the students at these schools are basically A students or they wouldn’t be there in the first place!</p>
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It may be possible to do several of those things, but it’s certainly not the norm. For example, I don’t know a single friend at OSU who took a graduate class, though all of my friends were in the university’s honors program. Perhaps the opportunities were available and the people I know just didn’t take advantage of them.</p>
<p>I felt that my experience was something like getting in tip-top shape with a really great personal trainer. Sure, you can do it on your own, but a lot more people are successful when they have the personal trainer.</p>
<p>But hey, YMMV. I did not feel that I would have excelled at OSU the same way I excelled at MIT, because I’m not an assertive, bang down the door to get a research job, fight tooth-and-nail for opportunities type of person. But the list I posted is quite explicitly why I chose to attend MIT as an undergraduate. It’s not a mandate for anybody else.</p>
<p>MOW - Agree that honors programs differ in quality. Some are very good and offer excellent opportunities (and money). Some even carry some level of prestige - although nothing like an Ivy or Duke. Others are just “frills” and marketing.<br>
Mollie- don’t think you have to knock down any doors at the honors programs I know. That’s why they’re there - to make it easier for top students to hook up to those perks. Yeah…like having access to a personal trainer…good analogy. But yes, to each his or her own.
One thing I believe - you don’t always get what you pay for AND expensive isn’t always better. Just my personal bias though… :)</p>
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It might be true that Cal is not grade inflated, but it does have the highest Mechanical Engineering GPA out of all the UCs (the only major I checked). I agree it could still possibly be grade deflated relative to student intelligence. But I have seen the data, and Cal does have a higher GPA than UCR (and all the other UCs).</p>
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<p>LaxAttack, I’m wondering how you come by that assertion.</p>
<p>Just fyi, every or almost every courses in our son’s major (can’t speak about other majors) at our son’s school is curved.</p>
<p>No inflation.</p>
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<p>Curved courses are 99% engineering, math, science etc. Courses like poli sci, history, english…pretty much every Arts course isn’t curved. There are far more of these than math/science. The amount of Arts courses that are curved balances out the amount of math/science that aren’t.</p>
<p>For Ivy-caliber undergraduate institutions, I have been wondering how the “earning potential” is significantly more, in comparison to a state school like Umich, when the student is pre-professional (i.e. going on to med school, etc.).</p>
<p>For Ivy Caliber institutions I doubt the earnings potential within careers is more. However it does enable you to more easily get into some careers (notably Ibanking/MC).</p>
<p>For undergrad, for a similarly intelligent student will they make more money in law or the medical field higher? I doubt it.</p>
<p>Could anybody list some of the state U’s with “great” honors colleges?</p>
<p>PSU (Schreyer)
Univ of Texas
Both very good - both very hard to get into. I know there are quite a few others.</p>
<p>U Mich</p>
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<p>Studies have shown there is no relationship between intelligence and wealth…</p>
<p>Yesterday I attended a meeting led by my company’s CEO. We were Fortune 200 (have slipped a little). This man is, in my opinion, one of the great leaders in corporate America today. His undergraduate education was at a lesser Louisiana state school and his MBA was from LSU. He started as a forester. I would like my son to sit down with this man and just chat. I think it could be life-changing. The total lack of ego, the commitment to ethics and ALWAYS taking the high road, the concern for the employees and the obvious intelligence of this person is amazing. Plus- he’s SO funny. It’s really a good lesson about how you DON’T need the elite education and the trips abroad to be a success. The neat thing is that his entire executive team is just like him! Yes, there are a few prestigious degrees here and there, but there are mainly men and women who worked their way up the hard way and by showing they had what it took. I really, really want my son to understand this and to appreciate it as he cruises through the Ivy halls.</p>
<p>MofWC. I would also like my kids to meet with your CEO. Sounds like the most terrific role model. </p>
<p>It sounds like you have a great company to work for.</p>
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Not true. There is a positive correlation. However, I didn’t even mention wealth.</p>
<p>I mentioned <em>making money</em>, which is income. And intelligence certainly affects income.</p>
<p>Looks like [this</a> report](<a href=“http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21618379-2,00.html]this”>http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21618379-2,00.html) is a bit vague about what it means among intelligence, wealth, and earning… Fortunately, I’m too dumb to know I’m poor so I’m set!</p>
<p>Yeah, that study is trash.</p>
<p>[Half</a> Sigma: The correlation between IQ and net worth](<a href=“http://www.halfsigma.com/2007/04/the_correlation.html]Half”>http://www.halfsigma.com/2007/04/the_correlation.html)</p>
<p>Did you read your link?</p>
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<p>So, income may be related to years in school, but not differences in intelligence between similar degree holders. I agree that this makes total sense.</p>