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Seems like there would be a market for colleges that make it very difficult to get good grades because those degrees/grades would then be more prestigious.

deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
ruddzw 18y ago
Here at Cornell, the general consensus among students is that it's really hard to get good grades, especially among some majors. Cornell started a few years ago releasing "Median Grade Reports" so that students would see what classes were easy and hard in terms of grading. The idea was that students would enroll in classes with low median grades so that they could challenge themselves. Instead, people took the reports and took as many classes as they could with high median grades, so they would have an easier time and a higher GPA. Sure, people come here because it's known to be hard. But once they're here that goes out the window. You're trying for grades, not challenges.
- icefox 18y ago
  Why would you go for challenges, your first job isn't going to ask you for how challenging your classes were, but for your grades. Higher grades == more pay.
  - potatolicious 18y ago
    Not to mention many people intend to go to grad school - where grades are king, and nobody really cares if your marks are low because you were challenging yourself. The system shares as much blame as its users. If challenging oneself was rewarded then we'd have more of it.
- RK 18y ago
  When I was an undergrad, organic chemistry was widely considered to be the hardest. They eventually released some grade statistics like the ones you mentioned and it showed that organic chemistry had the highest mean grade and the highest percentage of A+'s of any course. Of course it was full of pre-meds and chemical engineering majors (ie. pre-oil). Draw your own conclusions. The departments that had the lowest mean grades across their courses were physics and economics. I took that to mean that physics was actually a very difficult major (I admit I'm biased here). Economics, on the other hand, was what most of the scholarship athletes majored in (my university didn't offer communications or marketing degrees that you sometimes see). Not to say that economics wasn't difficult, though I never had a chance to take any courses.
jmatt 18y ago
Try most state schools. For example someone with an A+ at University of Illinois is going to be 1 in a few hundred. They were the very top in that class, and most of the classes are large. Even people with A's are likely to be top 10-15%. And there may be no one with A's. Heck, it's likely some people completely failed even when they were trying. Why? Every professor grades how they see fit. Yes, this is department and degree specific. If a department wants to make their degree tough then they do. If too many people are applying - raise the bar until you end up with only the best. It's the difference between an elite education and the rest of us educated people^. Now, this doesn't apply to all the big name schools. I think there is a market for schools that make it tough. Look at which schools hackers think are the best in science/math/enginnering schools CalTech, MIT, Stanford, CMU, etc. They are still tough with less grade inflation. (I apologize if I left your favorite top school out of the list, assume I included it) ^I may not agree entirely but it's an interesting read: http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-elite-education/ http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-el...

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

ruddzw 18y ago

Here at Cornell, the general consensus among students is that it's really hard to get good grades, especially among some majors. Cornell started a few years ago releasing "Median Grade Reports" so that students would see what classes were easy and hard in terms of grading. The idea was that students would enroll in classes with low median grades so that they could challenge themselves. Instead, people took the reports and took as many classes as they could with high median grades, so they would have an easier time and a higher GPA. Sure, people come here because it's known to be hard. But once they're here that goes out the window. You're trying for grades, not challenges.

icefox 18y ago
Why would you go for challenges, your first job isn't going to ask you for how challenging your classes were, but for your grades. Higher grades == more pay.
- potatolicious 18y ago
  Not to mention many people intend to go to grad school - where grades are king, and nobody really cares if your marks are low because you were challenging yourself. The system shares as much blame as its users. If challenging oneself was rewarded then we'd have more of it.
RK 18y ago
When I was an undergrad, organic chemistry was widely considered to be the hardest. They eventually released some grade statistics like the ones you mentioned and it showed that organic chemistry had the highest mean grade and the highest percentage of A+'s of any course. Of course it was full of pre-meds and chemical engineering majors (ie. pre-oil). Draw your own conclusions. The departments that had the lowest mean grades across their courses were physics and economics. I took that to mean that physics was actually a very difficult major (I admit I'm biased here). Economics, on the other hand, was what most of the scholarship athletes majored in (my university didn't offer communications or marketing degrees that you sometimes see). Not to say that economics wasn't difficult, though I never had a chance to take any courses.

jmatt 18y ago

Try most state schools. For example someone with an A+ at University of Illinois is going to be 1 in a few hundred. They were the very top in that class, and most of the classes are large. Even people with A's are likely to be top 10-15%. And there may be no one with A's. Heck, it's likely some people completely failed even when they were trying. Why? Every professor grades how they see fit. Yes, this is department and degree specific. If a department wants to make their degree tough then they do. If too many people are applying - raise the bar until you end up with only the best. It's the difference between an elite education and the rest of us educated people^. Now, this doesn't apply to all the big name schools. I think there is a market for schools that make it tough. Look at which schools hackers think are the best in science/math/enginnering schools CalTech, MIT, Stanford, CMU, etc. They are still tough with less grade inflation. (I apologize if I left your favorite top school out of the list, assume I included it) ^I may not agree entirely but it's an interesting read: http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-elite-education/ http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-el...