Easier to get a 4.0 in the US?

[nosm_d]

Is it true that it is easier to get a 4.0 in the US? Will adcoms recognize this, or is a 4.0 simply a 4.0?

[MedP111]

I guess it varies from school to school; what McGill says is that it will consider the difficulty of the program, which I assume includes where that program is held, although such a factor is likely (or hopefully at least, IMO) minimal as it is quite subjective given that the med schools probably don't have detailed stats about every program in every school even in Canada, let alone the US. 

To answer your other question, as a US university graduate, I believe that the quality and difficulty of schools in the US have a much higher variance than in Canada, which is perhaps one of the reasons why the MCAT is much more important in most US schools than in Canada. There are many US schools that are extremely easy, and people can cruise by with close to a 4.0. Yet there are many others that are known to be much more difficult. So it's hard to tell.

[JohnGrisham]

Not necessarily, way too much variety in schools to say that. But perhaps.

Either way, doesnt matter does it? Most schools don't consider degree type etc in Canada. Its a numbers game, and then non-academics for schools that consider them.

[Edict]

20 hours ago, nosm_d said:

Is it true that it is easier to get a 4.0 in the US? Will adcoms recognize this, or is a 4.0 simply a 4.0?

I've heard the opposite, that it is easier to get a 4.0 in Canada. I almost never see a US graduate with a 4.0, whereas it does happen in Canada. I'd argue though that it is probably more dependent on school. Getting a 4.0 at a podunk uni in the US is probably pretty doable for the same person who would get a lower GPA at a more challenging university in the US without grade inflation. 

[JohnGrisham]

13 hours ago, Edict said:

I've heard the opposite, that it is easier to get a 4.0 in Canada. I almost never see a US graduate with a 4.0, whereas it does happen in Canada. I'd argue though that it is probably more dependent on school. Getting a 4.0 at a podunk uni in the US is probably pretty doable for the same person who would get a lower GPA at a more challenging university in the US without grade inflation. 

Ironically some of the more prestigious us universities are classically known for grade inflation due to maintaining prospects post grad. 

 

[indefatigable]

Yeah.. generally public universities and community colleges have had less grade inflation.  Private schools otoh generally have had more inflation, due to probably the obvious reason that their funding is more dependent on tuition than government grants.  Princeton was a notable exception, but gave up on its anti-inflation policy several years ago - not a lot of people would preferentially want lower grades on average.  OTOH, the admittance rates are very low at a lot of these elite schools (~5%) and they're quite a bit smaller than Canadian universities -e.g. McGill has several times the number of undergraduates than Harvard.

Regardless, it seems for the people that are admitted and attending these private universities especially, it's becoming a de facto post-grade world, since As are the norm (article).  I mean aside from some PDs it seems, most people don't really want grades in med schools, I guess this is just an extension of that thinking to the undergraduate level.  It would complicated admissions to professional programs, probably making everything a little more dependent on standardized tests, like the MCAT.

[kerenza]

I can attest to this. I went to high school in Toronto and University in Florida. It is easier