AAMC GPA could be lower than school GPA?!

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Septimusseverus

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Submitted my primary app a few weeks ago and waiting to be verified. I'm hearing that AMCAS does some funky stuff with your GPA to create a number of their own when they send the app to medical schools.

Apparently the AMCAS GPA is usually higher than the school GPA... but is it possible that it would be lower??!! I'm really nervous after hearing this.

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They really don't do anything that weird: https://www.aamc.org/students/download/181676/data/

Your AMCAS gpa could be lower than your undergrad institution's GPA if your school gives B+, C+, etc. 3.5, 2.5 etc. instead of 3.3, 2.3, etc. credit like AMCAS. If you retook any courses and your school doesn't count your first grade, that will also lower your AMCAS GPA because the first grade will count. Just make an excel sheet using the rules outlined in the PDF and you'll know your AMCAS GPA.
 
Agreed. You can just calculate it yourself according to their guidelines to see whether it's the same as your school GPA. Maybe it will give you a peace of mind. Mine turned out to be the same..actually 0.01 point higher cause they round up.
 
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Agreed. You can just calculate it yourself according to their guidelines to see whether it's the same as your school GPA. Maybe it will give you a peace of mind. Mine turned out to be the same..actually 0.01 point higher cause they round up.

Do they always round up? So if it's 3.882, it would get rounded UP to 3.89?!
 
If you studied abroad, your AMCAS GPA could be lower than your school GPA. Mine was lower by more than 0.10 points. But if you didn't study abroad, then it probably won't change that much.
 
If you studied abroad, your AMCAS GPA could be lower than your school GPA. Mine was lower by more than 0.10 points. But if you didn't study abroad, then it probably won't change that much.

That one I don't understand. Did you study abroad independently, i.e. not through your undergraduate institution? If it's on your college transcript the credit would be the same as the college and thus the same as your school GPA.
 
So wait. My school 93+=A, 89-92=B+. I have several B+ so how many quality points do they get? I am not seeing a match for them on the document.
 
Your school doesn't use minuses?

i.e. you can't earn an A-, only an A or B+?



Nope. A, B+,B, C+ and so forth. But no minuses are given.

But the percentage for the A- is identical to my B+ on the one scale...
 
Mine went down since the school counts A+ as 4.33 while AMCAS only 4.00
 
Nope. A, B+,B, C+ and so forth. But no minuses are given.

Wow, I've never heard of a grading scheme like that. Not sure if AMCAS will take that in to account, but I'm assuming they won't. Does your school calculate GPA the same as them (i.e. a B+ counts as a 3.3)?
 
So wait. My school 93+=A, 89-92=B+. I have several B+ so how many quality points do they get? I am not seeing a match for them on the document.

That seems to match the second grading system, "ABCD/F with Halfstep Grades" (specifically subgroup 4). It has A as 4.0, B+ as 3.5, B as 3.0, etc.
 
Mine went down since the school counts A+ as 4.33 while AMCAS only 4.00

Yeah that's one of their policies that's not cool! My school counts an A+ as a 4.0 anyway but a boost would have been nice, law schools apparently do give an A+ a 4.3 but that clearly doesn't help here 😛
 
That seems to match the second grading system, "ABCD/F with Halfstep Grades" (specifically subgroup 4). It has A as 4.0, B+ as 3.5, B as 3.0, etc.

This is what I figured, because my school does A=4.0, B+= 3.5, B=3.0 and so forth.

The only reason I was asking was because my school's B+ is an A (89-92%) at most other schools. So it is mildly frustraing that my A is counted as a 3.5, possibly a 3.3, where as others A counts as 4.0 or 3.7. 😡

But I really just wanted to calculate my GPA as accurately (and unfairly) as possible!!

Thanks guys for your imput
 
interesting.

My AMCAS GPA is exactly the same as my school GPA overall but my TMDSAS is a full .1 lower.
 
Nope. A, B+,B, C+ and so forth. But no minuses are given.

But the percentage for the A- is identical to my B+ on the one scale...

Your school DEFINITELY has brilliant admins. I'm stunned by their ever-flowing intelligence.

Unfortunately, your GPA may be lower because a B+ = 3.3. etc.
 
This is what I figured, because my school does A=4.0, B+= 3.5, B=3.0 and so forth.

The only reason I was asking was because my school's B+ is an A (89-92%) at most other schools. So it is mildly frustraing that my A is counted as a 3.5, possibly a 3.3, where as others A counts as 4.0 or 3.7. 😡

But I really just wanted to calculate my GPA as accurately (and unfairly) as possible!!

Thanks guys for your imput

Wait an A=3.5? That's worrisome. Hopefully your AMCAS GPA is higher.

Sorry for thr multiple posts. SDN on my phone is messed up and the mutliquoye doesn't work
 
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