Looking for a college with easy As? Harvard apparently.

[BritStudent]

I know sometimes people posting here looking for the 'fastest, easiest' course to get easy grading to up their GPA's, if that's you, have you considered Harvard or some of the other Ivy League colleges?

Lots of articles about this recently, but this one isn't paywalled.


https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/...ng-report/

Over 60% of grades are A's across all classes, rising to circa 79% A or A- grades in some departments, this is despite attendance or classes falling and self-reported out of class study hours decreasing.

Yale and Stanford are two others that have suffered runaway grade inflation over the last 30 or so years, although most of the top colleges seem to be suffering with this. Princeton had a grade deflation policy up until 2014 but it was eventually scrapped due to complaints from students about stress and the need to compete with the other Ivy colleges.

There are a number of reported causes, competitive leniency, professors fear of 'bad reviews', student claims of mental health problems for less than perfect grades, etc.

MIT and Caltech seem to have suffered less with this than many of the others though, and if you're considering that Georgie Tech Cybersecurity Online Masters, you can rest assured you'll earn your A's, they have experienced negligible grade inflation and are known for tough grading.

[LevelUP]

I know sometimes people posting here looking for the 'fastest, easiest' course to get easy grading to up their GPA's, if that's you, have you considered Harvard or some of the other Ivy League colleges?

Lots of articles about this recently, but this one isn't paywalled.


https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/...ng-report/

Over 60% of grades are A's across all classes, rising to circa 79% A or A- grades in some departments, this is despite attendance or classes falling and self-reported out of class study hours decreasing.

Yale and Stanford are two others that have suffered runaway grade inflation over the last 30 or so years, although most of the top colleges seem to be suffering with this. Princeton had a grade deflation policy up until 2014 but it was eventually scrapped due to complaints from students about stress and the need to compete with the other Ivy colleges.

There are a number of reported causes, competitive leniency, professors fear of 'bad reviews', student claims of mental health problems for less than perfect grades, etc.

MIT and Caltech seem to have suffered less with this than many of the others though, and if you're considering that Georgie Tech Cybersecurity Online Masters, you can rest assured you'll earn your A's, they have experienced negligible grade inflation and are known for tough grading.

This has been discussed quite a bit. With the elimination of most exams, it’s easier than ever to earn a very high GPA.

National Trends in Grade Inflation for American Colleges
https://www.gradeinflation.com/

The Top 20 Universities with the Highest Average GPAs
https://ripplematch.com/insights/the-top...s-84ef5edf

Why grade inflation (even at Harvard) is a big problem
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answ...g-problem/

[SteveFoerster]

Note that this report only covered Harvard College, and not Harvard Extension School, whose reputation for challenging coursework remains intact.

(Who's the "real Harvard" now?)

[NotJoeBiden]

Note that this report only covered Harvard College, and not Harvard Extension School, whose reputation for challenging coursework remains intact.

(Who's the "real Harvard" now?)

Coursework may still be challenging, just that grades are higher. 

That being said, these schools are basically pay-to-win. You are all but guaranteed a good GPA and access to strong professional networks. Want to go to Med School, no problem. Average Harvard student has a 3.5 GPA, meanwhile those competing from XX State Schools who are graded on a strict curve have a 3.0

Dont even get me started with Cornell, who grade out of a 4.3 GPA.

[artem]

Is in US a good GPA all you need to enroll? Are there no entrance exams? Or national qualification tests?

[davewill]

Is in US a good GPA all you need to enroll? Are there no entrance exams? Or national qualification tests?

Almost all competitive grad programs require standardized testing. Med and Law, in particular, have their own specific tests. But there are a lot of students who do better on that kind of testing than they do in actual coursework, or can sweat through prep courses enough to pass. Plus, the handful of students who are willing to cheat (hire someone to take the test).

At the undergrad level, there was a push by some schools to eliminate standardized tests as a way to bolster minority enrollment without running afoul of anti-affirmative action laws. However, grade inflation at the high school level (and also the disruption in education by COVID) is making a hash out of that. I just read the other day that UCSD is seeing a thirty-fold increase over 5 years ago in incoming freshmen who need remedial math. Other schools, notably some of the Ivies, have quietly put the testing requirement back.

[bjcheung77]

GPA is one portion of the applicant's information that prospective institutions will look at. I would focus on a balanced application with all, if not most, of their requirements fulfilled. If you can exceed those requirements, the better, if not, meeting them is going to be sufficient as long as you've got something to supplement the application to make it stronger...