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I think that a 3.0 is a fairly common average GPA for a university to have. I'm pretty sure our all-university average is even higher.
People complain about college grade inflation a lot (I remember it being a huge deal at a couple of the Ivies a few years ago) but what they don't seem to recognize is the fact that the average college student these days is infinitely more prepared for college than the average student 30 years ago. When my dad attended the University of Wisconsin 30 years ago, you pretty much had to have a GPA over maybe 2.5 to get in, and that was it. These days you generally need at least a 3.5, above-average test scores and a decent list of extracurriculars, minimum. And don't even get me started on what it takes to get into a really good school these days . . . being valedictorian isn't nearly enough anymore. The kids going to college these days are used to being overextended, they're used to studying all night long, and they're used to being the cream of the crop. That's usually why college GPA averages are so high, not because colleges have gotten that much easier.
Now whether or not the reason that so many high school students have 4.0s is due to high school grade inflation, I don't know, and I'm sure it varies from school to school. I think more of it has to do with the increasing emphasis on workaholism of our culture, though. My parents wouldn't have dreamed of pulling an all-nighter in high school, but me and my sister both did it multiple times. And there have been tons of studies done about the increasing homework load that students these days are expected to deal with.
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