GPA

[Justin123]

So I saw on the results page that a lot of candidates who get accepted have a GPA>3.9. Some even have a 4.0 GPA. I am not from the US so this is a little confusing to me. How come having such a high GPA isn't that rare?

 

 

[BeakerBreaker]

I think it is pretty rare. I'm sure I've read somewhere that the average GPA of incoming students in many of the top-tier PhD programs is closer to 3.5-3.6.  That's still reasonably high, of course, but you have to consider the demographic of people applying to PhD programs and caring enough to monitor the results page -- it tends to select for high-achievers, I think.

[Justin123]

I think it is pretty rare. I'm sure I've read somewhere that the average GPA of incoming students in many of the top-tier PhD programs is closer to 3.5-3.6.  That's still reasonably high, of course, but you have to consider the demographic of people applying to PhD programs and caring enough to monitor the results page -- it tends to select for high-achievers, I think.

Thanks for the answer. I hope it's true because this forum really freaks me out. I was proud of my 3.73 uGPA until I saw how common this kind of GPA is on this forum....  (plus I'm an international applicant so my chances are very low...)

[microarray]

Thanks for the answer. I hope it's true because this forum really freaks me out. I was proud of my 3.73 uGPA until I saw how common this kind of GPA is on this forum....  (plus I'm an international applicant so my chances are very low...)

 

Most people on this forum are the good students, trying to figure out how to make our applications even better. Your GPA is definitely competitive. People with 4.0 seem to be going for Biochem or something like that - and maybe the expectation is to have a 4.0.

 

I highly doubt that being an international student will hurt you as long as you have relavant research experience, great LOR, and great SOP. I think a lot of grad programs are full of international students

 

Best of luck!!

[darwingirl]

I agree with the other responses, most of the people that post here are probably in the top half of applicants. If it makes you feel any better my undergrad GPA was very low (~3.1 overall, though much higher in major classes) so not everyone is in that range. However, I'm doing a masters and my grad GPA is a 4.0 so I hope that'll work in my favor and show that I've improved and am much more serious now. The lovely thing about applying to PhD programs is that they really do take into account your whole application.

[katethekitcat]

Anyone have thoughts on grade inflation? The average - average! - grade given out to undergraduates at Harvard University is an A-; the most frequently awarded grade is an A. When I was an undergraduate, I did research at other universities during the summer and got A's for work that would have gotten me a C at my home instiution. My alma mater is investigating the possibility of listing the average grade received in a course on the transcript next to the grade you recevied - an A looks a lot better if the rest of the class was averaging C's.

[DirtyLabCoat]

Anyone have thoughts on grade inflation? The average - average! - grade given out to undergraduates at Harvard University is an A-; the most frequently awarded grade is an A. When I was an undergraduate, I did research at other universities during the summer and got A's for work that would have gotten me a C at my home instiution. My alma mater is investigating the possibility of listing the average grade received in a course on the transcript next to the grade you recevied - an A looks a lot better if the rest of the class was averaging C's.

My University did just that for a few years now...It really is a benefit

[ss2player]

Anyone have thoughts on grade inflation? The average - average! - grade given out to undergraduates at Harvard University is an A-; the most frequently awarded grade is an A. When I was an undergraduate, I did research at other universities during the summer and got A's for work that would have gotten me a C at my home instiution. My alma mater is investigating the possibility of listing the average grade received in a course on the transcript next to the grade you recevied - an A looks a lot better if the rest of the class was averaging C's.

 

Inflation is a real problem at private institutions. Both my 2-year school and my state school were not afraid to give out C's, D's, whatever you earned; even with a curve, the brutal classes like orgo would average in the C range.

 

Awesome graphs for us stat heads: http://www.gradeinflation.com/