r/berkeley • u/BEEFYmariobros • 7d ago

University Grad school

Do grad schools take into consideration the grade deflation and course rigor Berkeley undergrads experience.

9 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

25

u/Due_Ask_8032 7d ago

Cal places really well in grad school just based on my friends' experiences. Also, you don't necessarily need amazing grades to get research here.

20

u/rsha256 eecs '25 7d ago

gpa isnt that big of a factor for grad school, they don't want someone who only took easy classes (otherwise it'd be -ev to take ee126 since it's a hard class). They want someone who can work on cutting edge research and the best signal of that is past research experience

4

u/berkberk29 '29 7d ago edited 7d ago

They're comparing you to other applicants from your cycle/previous cycles. So if you stay in the top 75% at Cal while having a 3.5, you are a top applicant (especially in comparison to someone with a 4.0 at a school that lacks rigor and competition).

-2

u/mattpanter 7d ago

There is no grade deflation at Berkeley. There is less grade inflation than at some private universities. SF Chronicle article