Anybody else out there spend a semester in Australia?

[jmnykrkts]

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I am wondering because I'm a little freaked about the grade conversions. While a 75 at any Australian school is deemed an A, or 'High Distinction', a 75 here is, well, not that fantastic. I spent a semester at UWA (Western Australia) and got a 75 and two marks in the high 60s - the Australian version of an A and two B pluses. Has anyone else out there spent time at school abroad -Australia or elsewhere- and been burned by such conversions?

 

[aamartin81]

I am wondering because I'm a little freaked about the grade conversions. While a 75 at any Australian school is deemed an A, or 'High Distinction', a 75 here is, well, not that fantastic. I spent a semester at UWA (Western Australia) and got a 75 and two marks in the high 60s - the Australian version of an A and two B pluses. Has anyone else out there spent time at school abroad -Australia or elsewhere- and been burned by such conversions?

I studied at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, AU. The classes were graded from 1-7. For my school, we only received transfer credit if we scored a 4 or above, and it was not combined into our GPA. Sorry to hear your home school converted your abroad classes to GPA hours.

On a side note, I've been itching to go back to Australia ever since!
Did you ever travel the east coast?

Good luck,

Adam

 

[jmnykrkts]

Hey Adam,

thanks for the reply. Actually, my grades from UWA were not included in my GPA calculation at home so there's no problem there. My concern is that med schools want ALL transcripts from ALL institutions attended during undergrad so they can calculate their own version of your GPA. In your situation -where a 1-7 grading scheme was used- there is likely no problem since a conversion to percentages or letter grades is probably too unclear to be used. However, I think that when they see those number grades on my UWA transcript they will assume I spent my entire time there drinking Victoria Bitter and trying to develop my surfing skills (not untrue). Worse, I think they will include them in their calculation of my cumulative GPA...

I do miss it over there, big time. I spent my last couple of months there on the east coast, actually. Brisbane, Noosa, Byron Bay, Surfer's Paradise and a bunch of NSW (not including Sydney). coolest place would have to be Noosa (at least of the e. coast places I visited).

 

[stifler]

yea how do they convert the gpa. some foreign schools a B is very good and an A is either impossible to get or its for exceptional students. how is that gpa calculated?

 

[jmnykrkts]

yea how do they convert the gpa. some foreign schools a B is very good and an A is either impossible to get or its for exceptional students. how is that gpa calculated?

I've looked into it at a couple of schools (canadian schools mind you, as I'm a canuck) and they claim that it's too complicated to account for the difficulty of the school when tallying foreign grades into GPA, since there is so much variability in marking schemes across the world. Thus, they just use the grade you got, straight up, and you get royally screwed (unless of course the conversion works in your favour) 👎

seems very unfair....

 

[jon stewart]

i used to live there.......

 

[aamartin81]

Hey Adam,

thanks for the reply. Actually, my grades from UWA were not included in my GPA calculation at home so there's no problem there. My concern is that med schools want ALL transcripts from ALL institutions attended during undergrad so they can calculate their own version of your GPA.

I think I may have some good news for you. Don't take it as 100%, but I think that if you attend an undergraduate foreign University that is not listed in the handbook, a transcript is not required. If your undergraduate school did not convert to GPA hours, list it as P/F. I would imagine that it appears of your UWA transcript as either a number, P (Pass), S (Satisfactory), or TR (Transfer). In these cases, AMCAS should not use it to calculate your GPA. What you need to do is get a hold of your UWA transcript and check how it is listed before moving on. You would need to list the University (as I did with UQ) and indicate that it does not require a transcript as the coursework is listed at UWA.

The list from AMCAS:
• Akita Campus of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
• American College in Jerusalem (Closed in 1976)
• American College in Switzerland
• American College of Thessaloniki
• American University in Beirut
• American University in Bulgaria
• American University in Cairo
• American University of Paris
• American University of Rome
• College of Southeastern Europe
• Deree College
• Franklin College
• Fundacion Universidad de las Americas – Puebla
• IMC – International Management Centres
• Instituto Centroamericano de Administracion de Empresas
• Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
• International College
• Lebanese American University
• The Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary
• The Open College
• Richmond College, The American International University in London
• Universidad de las Americas, A.C.

Noosa was pretty sweet, did you check out the crocodile farm they had up there? Much better than the Croc Hunter place. I tried to learn to surf at Byron, but our instructor took us out over a rock covered beach. Needless to say, my staying up was more a reflection of fear of getting cut from falling than of my picking up the sport... ha! I wish I had made it to the west coast, I heard Perth is a blast.

Hope this helps,

Adam

 

[bostonabe]

I am wondering because I'm a little freaked about the grade conversions. While a 75 at any Australian school is deemed an A, or 'High Distinction', a 75 here is, well, not that fantastic. I spent a semester at UWA (Western Australia) and got a 75 and two marks in the high 60s - the Australian version of an A and two B pluses. Has anyone else out there spent time at school abroad -Australia or elsewhere- and been burned by such conversions?

I had a very similar problem as you, but much worse, for several reasons.
1. I was in Australia (University of Sydney) for 2 semesters
2. I was taking science classes, so the grades were included in my BCMP
3. My home institution converted HD,D,CR,P,F grades to A,B,C,D,F.

Although the grade conversions were only to award credit and didn't affect my home institutions GPA, it allowed AMCAS to use the converted grades to calculate my GPA, which dropped it by 0.2, as well as indicated a downward trend in my academic performance.

After months and months of trying to resolve the issue (it was like moving a mountain, by the way) I finally convinced my home institution to adjust my transcript and show credit as opposed to letter grades, so AMCAS could not use the converted grades to calculate GPA.

If I were you, I'd send a letter to the admissions committees, explaining the differences in the grading system, with perhaps a conversion chart, explaining what a 75 means. Stress that you worked hard while abroad and that you actually did very well. Be honest and send all transcripts--it shows you are not trying to hide anything.

 

[jmnykrkts]

I think I may have some good news for you. Don't take it as 100%, but I think that if you attend an undergraduate foreign University that is not listed in the handbook, a transcript is not required. If your undergraduate school did not convert to GPA hours, list it as P/F. I would imagine that it appears of your UWA transcript as either a number, P (Pass), S (Satisfactory), or TR (Transfer). In these cases, AMCAS should not use it to calculate your GPA. What you need to do is get a hold of your UWA transcript and check how it is listed before moving on. You would need to list the University (as I did with UQ) and indicate that it does not require a transcript as the coursework is listed at UWA.

The list from AMCAS:
• Akita Campus of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
• American College in Jerusalem (Closed in 1976)
• American College in Switzerland
• American College of Thessaloniki
• American University in Beirut
• American University in Bulgaria
• American University in Cairo
• American University of Paris
• American University of Rome
• College of Southeastern Europe
• Deree College
• Franklin College
• Fundacion Universidad de las Americas – Puebla
• IMC – International Management Centres
• Instituto Centroamericano de Administracion de Empresas
• Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
• International College
• Lebanese American University
• The Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary
• The Open College
• Richmond College, The American International University in London
• Universidad de las Americas, A.C.

Noosa was pretty sweet, did you check out the crocodile farm they had up there? Much better than the Croc Hunter place. I tried to learn to surf at Byron, but our instructor took us out over a rock covered beach. Needless to say, my staying up was more a reflection of fear of getting cut from falling than of my picking up the sport... ha! I wish I had made it to the west coast, I heard Perth is a blast.

Hope this helps,

Adam

That's great, I hope you're right about that. I had a look myself on the AMCAS website to try and find more info but was unsuccessful. Where did you find this list?
I do know however, that my grades were listed as numbers on the UWA transcript so I guess that bodes well.

Thanks for all the help.

Never checked out the crocodile farm in Noosa but did wander around the national parc. koalas sure are sleepy... had a dolphin literally jump over the front of my surfboard (5 feet from my face) while I was sitting in the water there too. I nearly crapped myself....

 

[jmnykrkts]

If I were you, I'd send a letter to the admissions committees, explaining the differences in the grading system, with perhaps a conversion chart, explaining what a 75 means. Stress that you worked hard while abroad and that you actually did very well. Be honest and send all transcripts--it shows you are not trying to hide anything.

Probably a good idea, unless what aamartin said is true, in which case I likely don't have to worry about even sending the transcipt at all... 🙂

 

[blahman]

3. My home institution converted HD,D,CR,P,F grades to A,B,C,D,F.

Wow, I think that is absurd. I find it ridiculous how a home institution would attempt to equate a foreign institution's grades to their grades. For one, I don't think they use a bell-curve over there. Furthermore, some courses do not give any HD due to the scaling system.

 

[aamartin81]

Probably a good idea, unless what aamartin said is true, in which case I likely don't have to worry about even sending the transcipt at all... 🙂

They will see the numbers as listed on your home institution's transcript (UWA). You will not be required to provide a transcript from the foreign school, unless it is one of those listed - from the 121 page AMCAS handbook. If UWA did not convert to a GPA grade, I cannot see how AMCAS will. It will most likely be listed as transfer work under the "Pass" category. This is how mine was processed, though it appeared as "TR" on my undergrad transcript. The one way to know for sure would be to call AMCAS before submitting. If it turns out they will convert, I would try to do as another poster suggested and have UWA change how the credit appears on your transcript.

Good luck,

Adam

 

[Coloradohockey]

I studied at the University of Melbourne for a semester and the credits appear as transfer credits on my home institution's (Michigan State) transcript. As far as AMCAS, if it appears as such they will NOT require a transcript and in no way will it affect your computed GPA. I am 100% sure on this and the only difference would be if your grades from Australia were actually converted and placed on your transcript by your home institution's credit evaluation department.

Hope that helps...oh, and I would have to say either scuba diving in the reef off Cairns or my stay in Fiji on the way to Australia was one of the most amazing things I have ever done.

 

[stifler]

so let me get this straight:

if i study abroad at any foreign institution (that isnt listed my the AMCAS?)
whatever grades I get will not affect my med school gpa as long as the grades dont get added to my transcript on my college's gpa AND im not required to send a transcript there...