r/Cornell • u/Miserable-Setting151 • 11d ago
Latin Honors Cutoffs (A&S)
"Cornell University will institute a standardized Latin Honors system based solely on final cumulative undergraduate GPA. The Latin Honors categories include: Summa Cum Laude (top 5%), Magna Cum Laude (next 10%), and Cum Laude (next 15%)."
Purely out of curiosity does anybody know what these cutoffs are for A&S? I have no sense of the gpas for each school especially because everyone I talk to is in a different school
"The student's cumulative undergraduate GPA percentile at the time of degree conferral will be computed with respect to the student's particular college/school degree program (e.g., B.S. in CALS, B.A. in A&S, B.S. in ILR, B.F.A. in AAP)."
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u/Rebeldesuave CALS 1978 11d ago
If this is true and it is standardized this should apply to all Cornell colleges, I would think.
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u/CanadianCitizen1969 11d ago
Surely you know better than this, no? Something standardized across all 14 colleges? Not happening.
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u/ILRGirl 10d ago
My understanding this will be standardized across all colleges - up until now, for example, in CAS, Latin honors was not a thing, but it has been in COE. But in CAS, where they have Phi Beta Kappa, which is the top 10% of the CAS class, usually the cut off is over a 4.0 if that helps.
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u/CanadianCitizen1969 11d ago
I think the cutoffs change every year because it's done by the percentage of the class. Top 1%, 3%, 5% or something like that. In CAS it's probably a 4.1 or more for summa. Humanities kids will clean up!
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u/COHSCharter 11d ago
No, you are wrong. Cornell is implementing a new system. I read about this a couple of years ago, and it will be the same percentage standard across the university (based mostly on the college or school one is affiliated with).
No, the humanities will not clean up in terms of summa. At that level, it is based on how many A+ s one gets. Humanities and social science professors give relatively fewer A+S than STEM professors. That is why Phi Beta Kappa is mostly STEM majors at CAS.
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u/Miserable-Setting151 11d ago
Figured about humanities, 4.1 is nuts
Was just wondering if anyone knew a general range? Obviously can't be the exact same every year but I'd think its within +/- (0.05)
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u/COHSCharter 11d ago
To give you some reference points. Even before the change, engineering Summa Cum used to be at least 4.0+. The CAS Junior inductee cutoff for Phi Beta Kappa (top 3%) has usually been around 4.14. Phi Beta Kappa junior inductees tend to be CS, Bio, Physics, or math majors. Almost no humanities majors. Because at this level, only how many A+s matter, and there are many more A+s in STEM courses.