What was Barack Obama's grade point average?

Answer 1

If you want to know, ask her! You can sign the Petition to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to Voluntarily Release Her College Grade Point Average on the Care2 petitionsite. The petition summary and letter offer good reasons why voters should be able to consider this information. And besides, didn't your employer inquire about your education and experience when interviewing you? Were you allowed to refuse information about your performance in college? Why should we be entitled to any less information when considering who to hire as our Vice-President?

Her record does count, of course, but she doesn't have much of one to show for herself. Neither does Obama, but a degree from Harvard Law School with honors (at least a 3.5 GPA) says something in itself. Palin attended 5 colleges, none of which had admissions requirements, to pull together a bachelor's in journalism and communictions. We should not only know her GPA, but she should be able to explain how this education is relevant to the office of the Presidency.

Due to privacy in education laws, the only way we can determine Palin's GPA is if she freely tells us. Tell her you want to know! "Federal privacy laws prohibit the schools from disclosing her grades, and none of the schools contacted by The Associated Press could say why she transferred." Palin switched colleges 6 times in 6 years By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS, Associated Press Writer Thursday, September 4, 2008 (09-04) 17:03 PDT Spokane, Wash. (AP) -- Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin seems to have switched colleges at least six times in six years, including two stints at the University of Idaho before graduating from there in 1987. "Our office was not contacted by anyone," said Tania Thompson, spokeswoman for the University of Idaho in Moscow. Palin, the governor of Alaska, was born in Idaho. Her family moved when she was only a few months old to Alaska, where she was raised. According to a biography - "Sarah" by Kaylene Johnson - Palin and three friends went to the University of Hawaii at Hilo after graduation from high school in Alaska in 1982. But they left after a few weeks because of the constant rain there, the book said. The registrar at Hawaii-Hilo has no record that she ever enrolled, school officials said Thursday. Palin, then known as Sarah Louise Heath, and a friend then traveled to Honolulu and enrolled at Hawaii Pacific University, a private, nonsectarian school. She attended only as a freshman during the fall of 1982, school spokeswoman Crystale Lopez said. She was in the business administration program as a full-time student, Lopez said Thursday. "We're trying to track down someone who knew her," Lopez added. From Hawaii Pacific, Palin transferred to North Idaho College, a two-year school in Coeur d'Alene, about 30 miles east of Spokane. She attended the college as a general studies major for two semesters, in spring 1983 and fall 1983, spokeswoman Stacy Hudson said. "We were not able to track down club affiliations or anything," Hudson said. The school identified one of her professors but he did not remember her, Hudson said. Prior to her selection by McCain, the North Idaho College Alumni Association notified Palin in June she would be the recipient of its 2008-2009 Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award. From North Idaho College, Palin transferred 70 miles south to the University of Idaho, the state's flagship institution. She majored in journalism with an emphasis in broadcast news. She attended Idaho, whose mascot is the Vandals, from fall 1984 to spring 1985. She then returned to Alaska to attend Matanuska-Susitna College in Palmer in fall 1985. Then she returned to Idaho, for spring 1986, fall 1986 and spring 1987, when she graduated. Despite her journalism degree, she does not appear to have worked for the college newspaper or campus television station, school officials said. She worked briefly as a sportscaster for KTUU in Anchorage after she graduated college. The McCain campaign did not have an immediate comment on Palin's higher education record. Palin's biography on her Alaska governor's website indicates only that she graduated from Idaho in 1987.

Answer 2

This information has not been made public. It should be noted that many presidents have not made their college grades part of the public record, nor are they obligated to release that information. We do know, however, that Mr. Obama distinguished himself at Harvard, graduating with academic honors ("Magna Cum Laude") in the top 10% of his class.

Answer 3

First, it should be noted that few modern presidents have released their transcripts, nor are they under any obligation to do so, since these records are protected by federal privacy laws. Not releasing them does not mean the person has something to hide. Second, many conspiracy theories have been found on the internet about Mr. Obama, but there is no proof to any of them. Regarding his college grades, there is something that we do know: his grades from Harvard Law School. It is public record, and was reported in the press of that time (1991) that he graduated in the top 10% of his class and received academic honors (magna cum laude). It should be noted though that the highest honors are summa cum laude which precedes magna cum laude and over 30% of his classmate graduated summa cum laude which makes the "top 10% of his class" statement questionable.

Harvard has since changed its requirements for these two honors. In the old system, honors were determined based on a student's General Average, a number indicating a student's overall academic performance based on a grade scale ranging from 0 to 8. Students with a General Average of 7.20 or higher were designated as summa cum laude, while a 5.8 and a 4.85 was necessary to receive magna cum laude and cum laude honors respectively. This system pretty much ensured that every individual graduated with a minimum of a cum laude.

In the new system, only the top 10 percent of students-- excluding summa cum laude recipients--can be designated as magna cum laude, and only the next 30 percent as cum laude. Under the new system Obama would not even have made the cum laude list.

It is further mistakenly assumed that the Editor of the Harvard Law review during Obama's time was chosen according to academic prowess.

Until the 1970's the editors were picked on the basis of grades, and the president of the Law Review was the student with the highest academic rank. Among these were Elliot L. Richardson, the former Attorney General, and Irwin Griswold, a dean of the Harvard Law School and Solicitor General under Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon.

That system came under attack in the 1970's and was replaced by a program in which about half the editors are chosen for their grades and the other half are chosen by fellow students after a special writing competition. The new system, disputed when it began, was meant to help insure that minority students became editors of The Law Review.

The transfer class that entered Columbia College in the fall of 1981 with Obama was one of the worst in recent memory, according to Columbia officials at the time. A Nov. 18, 1981 article in the Columbia Spectator, "Tight Housing Discourages Transfer Applications to CC," and quoting admissions officials, reported: "On paper at least, the quality of the students accepted [as transfers] has declined along with the number of applicants, the officials say. "Among accepted transfer students, the average combined math and verbal score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test is a 1,100 and their grade-point average at their former schools is about 3.0, Boatti said.

There were 67 transfer students with an average SAT score of 1,100. Guess what that equals on the SAT to IQ conversion chart? It's between 115.51 and 116.55, depending upon whether one uses an SD of 15 or 16. Now, this isn't absolute and conclusive proof that Obama's IQ is 116, as it could well be a little bit higher or a little bit lower. But not much higher, because if he scored even 100 points more on the SAT, he wouldn't have had to go to Occidental in the first place. In fact, based on his transfer class scores, it's probable that 116 is slightly overestimating Obama's IQ. This is because the range from which that average SAT score was calculated was the 67 selected from the 450 who applied. That average was also 100 SAT points lower than the average Columbia freshman score of 1200. So, one would assume that the absolute low end SAT that Columbia accepted for transfers was probably half that gap, or 1050, which equates to a 111 IQ. So, we can reasonably conclude that Obama's IQ is probably somewhere between 110 and 118.

Answer 4

According to my contact, Dean Vernon Wormer his gpa was 0.0.

Let's assume/hope that Answers.com readers realize that the above is a joke.

Answer 5

What was John McCains grade point average in college?

Answer 6

3.85