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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have a child at Harvard who is doing a science concentration. This quote stood out to me in particular for being inaccurate from her experiences.

[i]Three biochemistry graduate students I knew and trusted all had an identical story. In the introductory course they taught, undergraduates weren’t required to show up at a single lecture or section; they could score in the teens on the final and still pass. The professor’s basis for leniency, they said, was that “they pay too much tuition for us to fail them.”[/i]

In lecture based courses, students are given exams with expectations set to slightly inflated standards (A = 90+, A- = 87-90, B+ = 83-87, B = 80-83, B- = 75-80, etc). The more difficult classes, like organic chemistry, have higher curves (A = 85+, B = 70+, C = 55+), but this is the case at many universities as well [b](Berkeley O'Chem, A= 80+, B = 70+, C = 60+). [/b]In general, students do extremely well, with a median consistently around the 90 range. This is not because they make the tests easier, but rather because the students are exceptionally capable and hard-working. The notion of scoring in the teens and passing seems unimaginable. [/quote]

Berkeley students complain of "grade deflation" so please do not imply Berkeley has grade inflation like some of the Ivies. Plenty of students at Berkeley receive Bs, Cs, and Ds since there are no grade inflation at all! They may curve exams grades etc. but 80+ is not an A.[/quote]

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