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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]As a general matter, grade inflation is higher at Ivies than at many other schools.[/quote]
At HYPSM you’re dealing the academically strongest gunners from their high school cohorts.

For the sake of argument, let’s  imagine that at every school in America only 20% of people get A’s in Organic Chemistry. My claim is that the median Princeton student would likely be in the 20% of people who get A’s at most schools, whereas by the definition of “median”, at Princeton they will not get an A.

Now add on that the 20% assumption is probably not true of many near competitors like Harvard, Yale, or Stanford which likely give out more A’s. Under reasonable assumptions, for an identical student, it is likely much harder to get an A in Orgo at Princeton than at the vast majority of other colleges.   [/quote]

Lots of assumptions embedded there.

Overall, the average GPA at Princeton is about 0.15 lower than at Harvard and Yale.  If you assume that grading is tougher in STEM-oriented courses, which seems like a reasonable assumption, and correct for that factor, taking into account that Princeton is more STEM-oriented that the other schools, the GPA difference would be smaller.  Stated differently, it's entirely possible that grading in Orgo at Princeton is not much different - much less "much harder" - than at Harvard, Yale, or Stanford, but that people may simply assume that to be the case based on lower average GPAs.

Further, you could look like a star upon your arrival at Princeton, yet still struggle in Organic Chemistry, whether you took it at Princeton, MIT, or Virginia Tech.  The admissions department is not looking to fill 1500 seats with kids guaranteed to sail through one of the most challenging courses at any university.  [/quote]

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