AMCAS grade conversion

[ZappBrannigan]

So I feel like an idiot that I can't figure this out, but......I don't know how to convert grades for the numeric - 4.0 grading system. If you have grades in between those given...say a 3.6 or a 3.8, do you go one or two grades up or down? And what do all those numbers mean below? In case you don't know what I'm talking about: http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/conversionguide.pdf

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[liverotcod]

...a 3.6 or a 3.8...

Are you saying that your school gives you individual course grades that are 3.6 and 3.8, or only that your mean GPA is 3.6 or 3.8? AMCAS is still going to give a decimal mean, but the potential exists that each individual grade will have a conversion done to it. For example, AMCAS converts all A-'s to 3.7 and all B+'s to 3.3.

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

What grading system are you on? What does it say on your transcript?

 

[ZappBrannigan]

I'm asking about individual grades. If I got a 3.6 in a class, does that get converted? I'm trying to estimate my amcas grade, but the list only has 3.0, 3.3, 3.7, and 4.0. I'm wondering if grades in between get bumped up or down.

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

I'm asking about individual grades. If I got a 3.6 in a class, does that get converted? I'm trying to estimate my amcas grade, but the list only has 3.0, 3.3, 3.7, and 4.0. I'm wondering if grades in between get bumped up or down.

Are you telling me that when you get your grades at the end of the semester, it says something like:

CLASS GRADE
BIO 101 General Biology 1 3.6

Did you get an A, A-, etc. or does it also list a percentile? Where do you go to school?

 

[ZappBrannigan]

Yeah, I get numeric grades for classes, no letter grades. I went to the University of Washington.

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

I got this from http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/front/Grading_Sys.html

My analysis:
You will need to convert to the +/- system in the AMCAS application.
This is a conversion chart TO the +/- system. After you have converted, AMCAS will do a SECOND conversion to their system (where an A = 4, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, etc.)

A 4.0-3.9
A- 3.8-3.5
B+ 3.4-3.2
B 3.1-2.9
B- 2.8-2.5
C+ 2.4-2.2
C 2.1-1.9
C- 1.8-1.5
D+ 1.4-1.2
D 1.1-0.9
D- 0.8-0.7
E 0.0

I hope this helps you.

 

[ZappBrannigan]

Thanks, I was hoping that's the way it would be done. The way they have it one the amcas website is so confusing though.

 

[gdk]

wow, numeric grades. that's interesting. i wonder if my gpa would be that much different if my school had that, or at least +/- on the grades. it would probably be lower overall.

 

[liverotcod]

I did my first degree at a school that had + and - designations, and now I'm doing post-bacc at a letter-only school. I suppose it really depends on the student, but I should think that 4.0 is REALLY hard to achieve for schools that have + and - relative to those that only report the letter. I mean, 4 years without even an A- seems a little much to ask, whereas under letters only you could four years of nothing but A- and still get the 4.0.