Inflate our Grades

By John Nnamchi
 
McGill, The University of Toronto (U of T) and the University of British Columbia (UBC) are named as the top institutions in Canada that actively contend against the rest of the world’s best colleges. Within the country, the competition between the big three is always tough: 2016 QS university rankings put McGill, U of T and UBC in 24th, 34thand 50th respectively worldwide, but these numbers fluctuate yearly. Now, logically speaking if we are ranked equally amongst some Ivy League schools of the United States such as Duke (29th) and Columbia (22nd), one should assume a similar makeup of students achieving grades of equal caliber. Surprisingly, this assumption could not be further from the truth.

While most of the US ivy leagues boast GPA averages of about 3.3 (on a 4.00 scale), McGill maintains a mere 2.8, well below what is expected. While some may immediately call up the quality level of students as an obvious reason, countless others have performed extensive research to argue that the “problem” is in fact with McGill, not students. In general, it is said “McGill University has aggressively pursued a dual policy of zero grade inflation and rigorous academic standards” which translates to tough grading and little flexibility. These claims do indeed have some validity: while McGill’s average GPA has stagnated at roughly 2.8 for the past decades, The Economist reported the Ivy league school averages as having increased from 2.3 to 3.4 since 1955. This tendency for students achieving higher grades for work that would have received lower grades in the past forms the basis of grade inflation.

So are the top American schools actually enrolling increasingly smarter undergraduates, or are they taking desperate measures to maintain the most academically competitive student bodies in hopes of achieving higher popularity? Either way, even if students on exchange confirm the comparatively difficult academic standards at McGill, it is in our best interest to do as well as we can regardless. I am reminded every day of the talented students that attend this university, and undeniably, people here have so much more to offer, than just their GPAs.