Maybe the problem is the way we average grades to get a GPA. If your course scores were 3.98, 3.99, 3.99, 2.10, the linear average of ~3.5 doesn't capture the o

Maybe the problem is the way we average grades to get a GPA. If your course scores were 3.98, 3.99, 3.99, 2.10, the linear average of ~3.5 doesn't capture the obviously high ability. Perhaps taking the average like: 4.01 - exp(avg(log(4.01 - x_i))) would capture high grades without such a heavy penalty for a flubbed course.