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There is so much grade inflation at schools today that using it as a filtering mechanism for any position seems rather pointless. Elite schools are especially
by Aloisius 14y ago
There is so much grade inflation at schools today that using it as a filtering mechanism for any position seems rather pointless.
Elite schools are especially bad about this. The average GPA at Harvard is 3.45 (it was 2.5 in 1950). Yale is at 3.5 (was 2.5 in 1963). Stanford is at 3.5 (was 2.6 in 1948). At one point, over 90% of the graduating class at Harvard graduated with honors.
If Thiel is requiring a top-tier school, it is because of the network the person brings, not because of the education.
- sliverstorm 14y agoI know you've removed it now, but I thought I'd point out the word is "shudder". Normally I don't care about spelling, but the two are very different words. Apologies; carry on.
- Aloisius 14y agoI'm a bit sleep deprived right now. Not particularly a great time to post on HN. :)
- strlen 14y agoOn the other hand, the average SAT score at Harvard in 1950 was much lower than the average SAT score today (adjusted for SAT re-calibration as well). Grade inflation also applies mostly to non-STEM majors. Average GPA for EECS at many of the top CS schools is significantly below a 3.0. Incidentally, it creates a feedback loop: grade inflation leads people to obsesses over their GPA and to switch from STEM to the majors more susceptible to grade inflation when their GPA falls below a certain point.
- objclxt 14y agoIn defence of Harvard, whilst at one point over 90% graduated with honors it is now capped, so that only 50% of the class will graduate with any kind of honors. I used to get a significant number of students emailing me when final grades came out moaning that because of their B+ they'd never make the cap for honors (I Head TA'd a few courses). I do wholeheartedly agree with you: using GPA as a filter is fairly pointless.