High A's/Low A's

aspiringdoc123

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Hi, just wondering...

Do colleges (specifically ones with bs/md or regular medical programs) value high A's in Math and Science the same as low A's? Is a 92 really considered a "big difference" from a 97? If you get a low A in Math and/or Science, does that negatively affect your chances?

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It most likely doesn't matter. When you get to college, there's no + or -. You get an A/B/C/D/F recorded on your transcript.
 
The high school transcript? Ours shows the numerical grade(including the points for taking advanced courses).. and the gpa is calculated by numerical percent I think(for my high school), not 4.0 scale
 
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The high school transcript? Ours shows the numerical grade(including the points for taking advanced courses).. and the gpa is calculated by numerical percent I think(for my high school), not 4.0 scale

As long as your grade point average stays high, I wouldn't think it would matter (97% vs 99%). Now if you go from 99% versus a 92%, it probably depends on the school how much that matters. The main thing is just keeping your GPA high.
 
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I know some professors differentiate their grade scale though. For example, some of my professors has a scale a 93-100 is an A, but some drop the scale or raise it a little. Not sure if thats everywhere though.
 
It most likely doesn't matter. When you get to college, there's no + or -. You get an A/B/C/D/F recorded on your transcript.

Completely untrue! At Columbia we receive both plus and minus grades on our transcript. An A is worth 4, A- is 3.67, B+ is 3.33, and so on. All of this gets reported when you're applying to med school.
 
If you are asking whether the medical schools will care if you got an A- versus an A/A+ in high school, the answer is no they wont. They don't see your high school grades except for dual enrollment classes. Dual enrollment classes WILL affect the GPA that medical schools see when you apply years from now.

If you are asking whether the COMBINED B.S./M.D. programs will care too much about an A- that could've been a solid A, my guess is that they won't worry about it too much especially if you have other classes in math and science with solid A's also. Your GPA won't be as high with an A- than with an A though, and the combined B.S./M.D. programs will probably see in your transcript that you got an A- and not an A. But again, I wouldn't stress too much about it if you are strong academically and hold a good GPA.
 
Completely untrue! At Columbia we receive both plus and minus grades on our transcript. An A is worth 4, A- is 3.67, B+ is 3.33, and so on. All of this gets reported when you're applying to med school.

Oops. I retract my statement then. I was under the impression that most colleges didn't use a +/- system. I know there are still quite a few that don't though.

As for the second part of your statement about the med school applications, do they take +/-s into account even if the college(s) you attended don't use a +/- system?
 
Oops. I retract my statement then. I was under the impression that most colleges didn't use a +/- system. I know there are still quite a few that don't though.

As for the second part of your statement about the med school applications, do they take +/-s into account even if the college(s) you attended don't use a +/- system?

No, they don't. Take a look at the AMCAS grade conversion guide.
 
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