AMCAS GPA versus Schools GPA?

[Pandaeac]

Has anyone that's been verified yet ended up being really surprised by their AMCAS GPA? Or is it mostly the same as you expected?

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[AdrianVeidt]

My AMCAS cGPA was exact same as my school's, but my sGPA was slightly lower than I hoped for due to one class not being classified as science.

 

[AndyB]

Where does AMCAS list your GPA?

 

[AdrianVeidt]

Where does AMCAS list your GPA?

It's on your printable application but only after you've been verified.

 

[AlgernonMed]

Has anyone that's been verified yet ended up being really surprised by their AMCAS GPA? Or is it mostly the same as you expected?

I was initially surprised by my verified GPA until I realized that my university calculates a B+ as 3.4 whereas AMCAS calculates it as 3.3....All of those B+'s....I submitted an academic change request, but it was promptly denied.

 

[nctw]

My school counts A+'s as 4.333, so my school GPA will be higher when I inevitably do apply. They count A-'s as 3.666 and B+'s as 3.333, so there's a little give and take.

 

[MsTeacup]

waiiiiit... my school only has A,B,C,D.. we don't have that +/- system. what should I do on AMCAS? I don't want my gpa to be super low as it is already not too high...

 

[jeghaber]

waiiiiit... my school only has A,B,C,D.. we don't have that +/- system. what should I do on AMCAS? I don't want my gpa to be super low as it is already not too high...

Regardless of how your school calculates GPA, you have to enter your grades exactly as is shown on your transcript, i.e. your letter grades. I believe AMCAS will then use A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1 system to calculate your AMCAS GPA, which will be the one schools see.

 

[MsTeacup]

so AMCAS will calculate the GPA differently depending on what kind of system the school uses? because an A isn't a 4 in a +/- scale

 

[Ismet]

so AMCAS will calculate the GPA differently depending on what kind of system the school uses? because an A isn't a 4 in a +/- scale

An A is a 4.0 in most +/- scales.

AMCAS general scale is:
A+ = 4.0
A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B = 3
B- = 2.7
and so on

If your school doesn't do +/- and your transcript just has ABCDE, the AMCAS scale will still be the same, minus all the +/-. So:
A= 4.0
B= 3.0
C= 2.0
D= 1.0
E/F= 0

For more info on grade conversion: https://www.aamc.org/students/download/181676/data/

 

[wholeheartedly]

Yeah, above.

If your schools does use =/- it generally helps you (+) as much as it hurts you (-) and seems to even out in the long run.

 

[MsTeacup]

thanks guys! I had a minor freak out moment.