cum laude

Cum Laude is the private school equivalent of the National Honor Society. The requirements are exemplified in the motto of Cum Laude, which I actually can't remember right now. The motto consists of three Greek words which mean, if I recall correctly, excellence, dignity/appropriateness, and something involving work ethic.

I would know what the words are and what they mean a lot better if I hadn't been dozing, but as today was the fifth time I have had to sit through the Cum Laude assembly and listen to the speeches about how people in Cum Laude must be hard-working and excellent, I don't.

I would appreciate any further input on what the motto is.

Sitting through the Cum Laude assembly at the University School of Milwaukee was always rather irritating, despite the traditional explanation of the motto by Gardy.

• cum laude is given for a GPA of 3.9 or higher
• magna cum laude is given for a GPA of 3.95 or higher
• summa cum laude is given for a GPA of 4.00

Any of the "cum laude" honors is considered quite an accomplishment usually, and is something many people would even place on their resume.

Note: this GPA is calculated using the total grade points for all of the classes for that particular degree. Classes taken on a pass-fail basis are not used in the calculation. Also, some institutions of higher learning may use a different set of numbers. For example, some universities allow a student to earn a 5.0 GPA because honors classes are given more points.