Is Harvard Easy?

I heard that classes are a cupcake at Harvard and people don't really have to do much of anything there. Everyone in the system is so motivated to land students in top jobs I heard teachers do their best to help the students get high grades and I heard its near impossible to get a C in any class there. Is this true?

 

"Classes are a cupcake" might be overstating it. I certainly felt more pressured in high school, but classes here aren't easy. It's reasonably easy to get that B+, but getting an A- takes effort, getting an A is difficult.

 

Veritas, come on man. If you think getting an A- "takes effort" you and I don't go to the same school. I love Harvard and everything but seriously, it is not the academically challenging place I thought it would be. I barely have to go to class to get an A-. And no I'm not gov.

Here's an article that come out last year in the crimson.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=511242

Money quote: "According to that letter, A’s accounted for 23.7 percent of all grades given to undergrads last academic year—the highest level since 1999-2000, and the second-highest level over the past 20 years.

The most common grade at Harvard since 1989-1990 has been an A-minus. Those almost-stellar marks accounted for 25.0% of all grades last year."

Translation: Almost 50% of the grades given out at Harvard are A or A-'s. Give me a fucking break. This place is cake.

PS I think I know who you are veritas...

 

I think it's just the fact that most kids at Harvard are really, really smart. We all know that if some kid with a 1250 SAT took those same classes, he would struggle to get a C+, so you should put into perspective lest some people get the wrong message.

 

"I think it's just the fact that most kids at Harvard are really, really smart." Come on...

That is fucking bullshit and you know it.

Oh and Seanc...I got a 1290 on my SATs. I also took classes at Harvard my senior year of high school. And I will let you in on a little secret, I got the ubiquitous A-, just like the rest of them. No struggling here.

For my money, I wouldn't waste my time at Harvard as an undergrad.

Like was said earlier, if you want to work for grades go to a school like Chicago or Carnegie Mellon. If you want to float through, well go to Harvard. It's your choice and I respect that. But don't sit there and pretend like Harvard is a challenging academic institution. Don't lie to us like that.

 

I 2nd that. I knew two people both taking Intro to Micro, one at P and one at H. The H class's midterm had an average of 92% on the midterm and the P midterm had an average of 65% on the midterm. The H class did not get their grades curved down even though the test was obviously too easy so the grades centered around an A-. While the P class got a curve that centered their grades around a B/B-.

 
y2yankees99:
I 2nd that. I knew two people both taking Intro to Micro, one at P and one at H. The H class's midterm had an average of 92% on the midterm and the P midterm had an average of 65% on the midterm. The H class did not get their grades curved down even though the test was obviously too easy so the grades centered around an A-. While the P class got a curve that centered their grades around a B/B-.

B/B- is still too high... average should be C for econ classes... history classes, etc. bring the mean back up

 

iirc at wharton our econ 1 and 2 classes had like 30% A's, curved to a B. econ 2 was a fuckin bitch though, I did average or above average on three exams and still ended up with a B-... still scratching my head about that one. accounting had a shitty fucking curve too, and i'm glad I'm done with that shit.

 

Isn't the normal curve automatically centered at B/B+. Wouldn't this ensure that not more than top 15-20% end up in the A+/A/A- range? Or does relative grading mean something else at Harvard?

 

Want an easy time through uni? Transfer to the uk. exams once a year, or even more infrequently. Four yrs at LSE rather than the american four. No GPA calculations, we go 1st, 2:1, 2:2, 3rd, pass.

 

Yeah school in Europe is a JOKE!!!!

I have heard a few folks talk about engineers, and I know there are a few on the board.

But, for a moment, let's actually try Michigan's chem engineering program on for size.

Everything is curved, no matter how close the cluster.

I might have a 92% and an A, whilest you might have a 90% and a B-

I graduated with a 3.17, and I am in the top 20% of my class....

300 kids started as sophomores, (meaning AFTER the 2 semesters of orgo and the 4 semesters of calc and the 10 credits of physics), how many graduated?

42

you have about a 14% chance of graduating, the rest of the kids are cut.

I wish I would have gone to Harvard!

 

In the middle of my finals revision for oxbridge degree. Have been going at it 10-12 hour days 7 days a week for 3 months. My entire degree is based on eight exams over six days. The stress is killing me. I was in the library at 4am last night and you couldn't get a seat.

Only saving grace is seeing american visting students struggling to keep up with the pace.

 

School in Europe.....Europe is a big place with lots of schools, with many systems and many languages. I wouldn't make too many generalisations.

Also, many degrees in the UK are capped at (approx.) 78%. That means nobody in the history of the degree has ever gotten more than 78% in an exam. This, of course, applies more to degrees like Law and English, etc.

If an Engineer is expected to get 92-100% on average, I will argue that he doesn't make a great engineer (or analyst, for that matter). Engineering is about making appropriate assumptions and coming up with a reasonable answer. You can prove as many physical theorems as you like, and you may get the correct numerical answer 100% of the time through your degree, but if you can't make real-life assumptions, you might find valuations pretty difficult.

It's a different school of thought, and doesn't apply to all schools on either continent/country. I've seen Americans in Europe do extremely well, and I've seen some hate it. I know many Europeans who find American (top) schools easy, and others who wish they didn't have homework and midterms every two minutes. It depends on the person and the school, eh?

 

Just for comparison, here is a sample grade distribution from GT Fluid Mechanics: Students: 34 Course GPA: 2.2 % A: 8 % B: 26 % C: 32 % D: 14 % F: 5 % Withdrew: 11

To better put that one course into perspective, the overall course GPA for all Fluids courses (going back to about 2002) is 2.48. That doesn't sound like an A- to me.

Conclusion: Harvard is easy.

 

I remember that class. Got a 9/25 on the first test and had a B. A 13/25 on the 2nd test and got a C. Ended my semester w/ a C.

But this is the hardest undergrad class (other than DSP) that GT has to offer. There are some laughable classes at GT.

fraser24gt:
Just for comparison, here is a sample grade distribution from GT Fluid Mechanics: Students: 34 Course GPA: 2.2 % A: 8 % B: 26 % C: 32 % D: 14 % F: 5 % Withdrew: 11

To better put that one course into perspective, the overall course GPA for all Fluids courses (going back to about 2002) is 2.48. That doesn't sound like an A- to me.

Conclusion: Harvard is easy.

 
<span class=keyword_link><a href=/resources/skills/finance/buy-side>Buyside Noob</a></span>:
I remember that class. Got a 9/25 on the first test and had a B. A 13/25 on the 2nd test and got a C. Ended my semester w/ a C.

But this is the hardest undergrad class (other than DSP) that GT has to offer. There are some laughable classes at GT.

fraser24gt:
Just for comparison, here is a sample grade distribution from GT Fluid Mechanics: Students: 34 Course GPA: 2.2 % A: 8 % B: 26 % C: 32 % D: 14 % F: 5 % Withdrew: 11

To better put that one course into perspective, the overall course GPA for all Fluids courses (going back to about 2002) is 2.48. That doesn't sound like an A- to me.

Conclusion: Harvard is easy.

Yea, there are some, but they seem to be few and far between. Except down in management. Those, from the one's I've taken, are all damn easy.
 

I cannot comprehend how Harvard can be easy, even if students there get higher marks than at "GT". No offense to Fraser24gt, but I've never heard of GT until I read this thread, but I'm not from the states. Harvard students are clearly the best and brightest in the world; their higher marks is likely a result of all of them being overachievers.

 
Best Response

saying all kids that go to harvard are smart and that’s why they get a's is ridiculous. you should be judged against your peers in your classes. for example at ucla, where the average hs gpa is above 4.0, econ classes have a set b- curve, with a make up of about 15% a's, 25% b's, 45% c's and the rest d's and f's. this curve is strictly enforced. harvard, if it had sack, would have a similar curve, such as MIT, however they are probably worried that if they get a reputation for being hard kids won't want to go there and they will lose kids to other grade inflated ivy schools. harvard doesnt want to piss off a bunch of rich parents paying the big bucks for their angle to go to harvard only to end up with b's and c's.

as an anecdote, i recall headlines a couple of years ago where a harvard professor posted kids grades and then mailed them the grade they should have actually received. needless to say this caused a controversy and a bunch of snotty kids got all worked up.

 

IF you are truly rockstar material, then an inflated grade scale may actually work AGAINST you because you will not be able to use grades as effectively to distinguish yourself from other candidates at your institution.

Imagine how annoying it is to know that you are a top 3 student out of 100 in a particular program, but that all of the top 30 students have very similar GPAs to yours. You lose part of your ability to signal your badass-itude.

 

i don't think anybody is denying that the kids at harvard are probably among the smartest...but ask anybody who goes to school there and they will tell you that it's cake. Now I'm sure they would still get A's at other schools, but they might actually have to but a tiny amount of effort there.

Not to mention that all of them being smart doesn't matter at all when you consider that most other schools curve around a b/b- or so. So even if everybody at Harvard scores 95% on every test, their grades should still be distributed along the curve, and they're clearly not.

 

Totally right about the UK system, though being a law student, I can tell you that clearing 70% overall is almost unheard of. Oh and exams once a year means that your whole grade rides on it, and you end spending two months of 10hrs/day in the library....yep I do sweet nothing all year and then just give up easter. How sweet it is!!

 

The average SAT at Georgia Tech in 2004 (before the scale changed) was almost a 1400. So how would it be possible that only 1% of the student body got over a 1500...makes no sense. You can easily look up average SAT scores and such with US NEWS and WORLD REPORT. With the majority of top tier schools, there really isn't that big of a difference in average SAT scores.

 
nyc9982:
The average SAT at Georgia Tech in 2004 (before the scale changed) was almost a 1400. So how would it be possible that only 1% of the student body got over a 1500...makes no sense. You can easily look up average SAT scores and such with US NEWS and WORLD REPORT. With the majority of top tier schools, there really isn't that big of a difference in average SAT scores.

According to this it's around 1300.

http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/profiles/generalinfo.as…

And according to GaTech itself it's around 1337.

Please don't make stuff up.

 

Et magnam sapiente impedit quae ut. Dolores natus doloribus repellat in ea cumque dolorem. Quasi dolorem cupiditate eum. Quibusdam natus minus nesciunt expedita pariatur debitis nulla. Molestiae minima dolorem ea dolor necessitatibus.

Magnam provident repellendus non fuga explicabo est. Nam odit nesciunt doloribus praesentium. Reprehenderit neque dolor quam officiis rerum. Recusandae quos recusandae quod quia.

Quod atque omnis voluptas commodi quidem aut. Deserunt non aperiam id est quibusdam enim. Fugiat quibusdam reiciendis recusandae possimus velit nemo.

 

Architecto distinctio iste consequatur quaerat ut minima non. Et dolores nihil ut dolores eaque veritatis. Dolorum eos dolorum sint quis reiciendis vel eos amet. Voluptatem sit quam ad perspiciatis provident quia. Vero repudiandae aut maxime qui qui sit. Cumque commodi a et ratione consectetur ab doloremque.

Eaque nisi qui qui dolores. Iste accusantium ex sunt maiores fugit. Qui maxime reprehenderit aut nam temporibus inventore. Quasi vero in quidem vel. Aut sit reprehenderit aliquid nam. Minima ipsum harum numquam itaque culpa qui. Aut nostrum sed nihil.

Nostrum laudantium aut suscipit sunt asperiores. Enim est necessitatibus ut non accusantium. Aliquid reiciendis cumque debitis eligendi.

Sunt omnis ut quasi hic. Voluptatem quia odio ea omnis. Fugit voluptatum eveniet minus error qui quam. Ea nesciunt consequatur natus alias qui. Quasi veniam sed assumenda autem facilis reprehenderit. Officia perspiciatis vitae voluptates autem corporis et. Vero voluptatem in veritatis magnam quisquam quia nihil labore.

 

Maiores et pariatur autem voluptatem eligendi. Est sed mollitia a. Possimus iste aut possimus occaecati natus. Maxime et magnam incidunt velit. Officia ducimus omnis magni et eum.

Sequi voluptatem ut sit saepe earum qui ut consequatur. Optio earum eveniet suscipit. Itaque reiciendis fuga soluta ab porro rerum. Accusamus dignissimos alias et consequatur aut voluptate alias. Quia excepturi quae nostrum deleniti.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”