03-10-2022, 02:48 PM
Back in the good old days -- decades ago, when I was applying to college -- a 3.5 would have been plenty to get into Stanford. The valedictorian of my HS class had about a 3.9, and four members of that class were admitted to Stanford. And then in college, a B average was good enough to get one Freshman honors. Grade inflation in both high school and college over the years has been extreme, and not just recently. In the 1990s when I was teaching in an MBA program at a local college (not Stanford), a student asked me what it would take to get an A. I answered, master the material and show me you really understand it. The student felt that was extreme and complained to the administration. I was called on the carpet for my answer.