Princeton University grade point averages are on the rise! For the 2022-2023 academic year, according to a report from the Office of the Dean of the College, the average GPA of a Princeton student stood at 3.562. However, to understand why the Princeton’sGPAs of Princeton students are on the rise, it’s essential to understand how Princeton has been rejiggering its grading policy over the years.

What is Grade Deflation?

Grade deflation refers to a grading policy adopted by some schools, in which a predetermined grading curve is applied to the grades achieved by students in a particular class or across the entire student body, ensuring that the median grade point average aligns with a specific grade, typically a B. In most cases, this means students who would otherwise have an A before the grading curve is applied will end up with a B, and those with an A+ will end up with an A. Whereas most elite schools, particularly those in the Ivy League, inflate grades — thereby raising the median grade point average by not awarding average performance with average grades — certain schools that pride themselves on academic rigor will deflate grades. 

So, is Princeton still one such school, or have they changed their ways?

A History of Grade Deflation at Princeton

As Princeton Alumni Weekly reported back in 2014, “The faculty voted in 2004 to adopt a policy recommending that each department limit A grades to 35 percent for undergraduate course work and to 55 percent for junior and senior independent work. The percentage of A’s dropped from 47 percent in 2001-04 to 41.8 percent in 2010-13.” However, by 2014, unpopularity and unrest among students caused faculty to reevaluate this policy.

Princeton Grade Deflation Policy Ending in 2014 and GPAs Have Shot Up Since

Back in 2014, by a faculty vote, Princeton ended a grade deflation policy that had gone into effect in the early aughts and ran through 2014. The policy had been designed to lower the overall grades assigned to students by their professors.

After the grade deflation policy was no longer in place, the average GPA of Princeton students skyrocketed over the next five years. And while Princeton’s rising average GPA appeared to be leveling off in 2019, the onset of the 2020 pandemic would lead to even more grade inflation. The average Princeton GPA markedly increased during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years. In 2021-2022, Princeton’s average GPA decreased by 0.03 before shooting up again in 2022-2023.

Grade Inflation at Princeton Is Alive and Well

Over the years, we’ve heard from critics that Ivy Coach helps students earn admission to their dream schools, schools they otherwise wouldn’t get into without our help, but how can these students succeed once they get there if they had help navigating the churning waters of the elite college admissions process?

First, a national study conducted back in 2013 concluded that 26% of those considered high-achieving high school students used private college counselors. But, of course, the actual percentage of students who use private college counselors is unknown since so many students would never acknowledge they had help.

Second, as we have long exclaimed from atop our soapbox in elite college admissions, it’s incredibly tough to get into a school like Princeton, but it’s easy to do well there once admitted. It’s not hard to excel academically at Princeton. It’s hard to get into Princeton. The rising GPAs of Princeton students shine a spotlight on this reality.