It depends on the school as well. The "3.5 cutoff" is the result of massive grade inflation in recent years. By comparison, my school, Harvey Mudd, has it such that 3.0 is the cutoff for the Dean's list. This seems absurdly low by comparison to most schools, yet doesn't it seem ridiculous for everyone even mildly competent to graduate with a B+ or above?

The current system encourages schools to raise grades solely to get more people to pass the 3.5 cutoffs, allowing them to say that more graduates got good jobs, creating a grade inflation feedback loop.