education
The Perverse Tyranny of a Perfect Transcript
Each year, the undergraduate college at Harvard awards the Sophia Freund Prize to the graduating senior with the highest GPA. For decades, the prize went to one student, sometimes two if there was a tie. In 2025, there was a 55-way tie. The top students all had a perfect GPA. Hundreds more were nearly perfect. Last year, flat A’s accounted for 66 percent of grades. A’s and A–’s accounted for 84 percent.
TL;DR
- Harvard proposes capping flat A grades at around 33% to address grade inflation, where 66% of grades were A's last year.
- The current system is described as damaging academic culture by encouraging students to avoid challenging courses to maintain a perfect GPA.
- Faculty report students are less invested in academics, with course choices often driven by the prospect of an easy A rather than intellectual curiosity.
- A similar policy at Princeton from 2004-2014 failed due to inconsistent implementation and increased student anxiety.
- Harvard's proposal limits A grades but not A- grades, aiming to make transcripts more meaningful.
- The proposal has met with widespread student opposition (85% opposed) fearing increased stress, while faculty are divided.
- The author argues that the goal is to foster exceptional depth, creativity, and originality, not just mastery, to train future leaders.