Prefrosh unfazed by grade deflation

The vast majority of prefrosh interviewed for this article said the University’s grading policy is not a key factor in their consideration of whether to accept Princeton’s offer of admission. Some said they had never heard of the policy, but of the 22 who had, only two said it was a major deterrent, and they both added that they were set on going to graduate school.

Florida native Natalie Ivanov, who as of last week was deciding between Princeton and Yale, knew about the University’s grading policy, calling it a “slight, but not major,” factor in her decision process. She, like many other prefrosh visiting campus during Princeton Preview, said the University described the policy as “you get the grade you deserve.”

Aaron Lin, who hails from San Jose, Calif., said, “It’ll be harder academically, but I come from a pretty hard school,” he said.

One New Jersey prefrosh who asked that his identity be kept private said he was trying to pick between Princeton and a seven-year medical program at either the College of New Jersey or Boston University. He said his biggest concern is “getting a high enough GPA to get into med school.”

“I really like it here,” he said wistfully. “I might just tough it out.”

Though Gabe Newstadt from Florida said his personal decision to matriculate at Princeton was not affected by the policy, he added that he’d met several other prefrosh who were very worried about the policy because they wanted to go to law school or graduate school.

Though prefrosh were largely indifferent to the controversial policy, several current students said that, had they known more about the grading policy, they might not have chosen to attend Princeton.

Laura Keay ’10 said she first heard about the grading policy during her freshman year from an e-mail sent by then-USG president Alex Lenahan ’07.

“Honestly, if I had known about grade deflation, I would not have come to Princeton, hands down,” she said. “It’s one of the biggest regrets of my short life right now: that I didn’t research into that.”

Like Keay, Raymond Hsu ’11 first learned of the policy after he arrived on campus, when he read the pamphlet that arrived in his Frist Campus Center mailbox freshman year.

“I absolutely would not have applied early decision had I known about it,” he said. “I mean, back then, I still would have wanted to come to Princeton. But now … I love the school, and I think its one of the best institutions in the world, but my enthusiasm and love for Princeton is seriously tempered by this.”

In her three years on campus, Keay said she has found that the policy makes students more competitive and stressed.

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“I think I’ve been personally disadvantaged … not just my future prospects by my current level of stress and the competition,” she said, adding that she believes the University should “do a little more to look into the effects of grade deflation on student health levels.”

But Chris Troein ’12 said that, while he was surprised to learn that Princeton would enact such a policy when he first heard about it, he was actually pleased with the policy now.

“Now I’m really happy about grade deflation, because I’m a straight-B student, [and] it’s a lot more comfortable knowing that the average Princeton student has Bs like I do,” he explained.

Keay said she anticipates that grade deflation may become an even greater concern for her as she prepares to enter the workforce.

“I’m gonna have to be looking [for] jobs soon, and I’d have to explain how my grades are the way they are,” she said. “I’m affected in classes where the teacher has stood up and said, ‘We have grade deflation, and a third of the class will get As and two-thirds won’t.’ ”

Hsu said the University’s efforts to explain its grading policy don’t make up for the disadvantages students may face as a result of lower grades.

“I don’t think that we should have policies that you need to send a form letter to grad schools and employers, because I think it [sounds like] a whiny excuse for not having a better GPA,” he said. “I don’t think people are really going to care that you have a form letter.”

Derek Grego ’12, a member of the Princeton ROTC, will be ranked against all incoming cadets nationwide when he commissions in the army as an officer after graduating. An equation — in which a large consideration is his “raw, unadjusted GPA,” he explained — will determine what rank he gets and, subsequently, what placement he receives.

Yet Grego, who did not know about the policy until reading about it online last summer, said that he was not deterred by the policy.

“Princeton has more to offer than just getting good grades than going to grad school,” he said. “If I had gone to Penn State or somewhere else, I’d be doing so much better in this equation. But I haven’t lost sleep about it. To be honest, I would have come here if it was 10 percent As.”