Canadian University Grading System VS U.S University Grading System

[tennisball80]

Ok, I looked some canadian unversities websites, most of the universities in Canada give a A to those student who can achive like only 80%+ but in the states, you need a 90%+ to get an A.

Is this fair ? As a Canadian, you need a higher GPA to get into a Canadian medical school, but the thing is that you can get a A easier than in the states ?

I am kinda confused.

Edit: So is it easier to get higher GPA in Canada then ? because I think getting a 80% is more easier than getting 90%

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[Depakote]

It's hard to say if it's fair or not.

In medical school I only need to get a 90% to get honors (the equivalent of an A) but that doesn't mean that it's not something only the very top of my class does. Just b/c the bar is lower doesn't mean the class isn't harder to compensate for it.

On the other hand, medical school admissions in Canada hold their applicants to higher GPA standards. So while the bar might be lower to earn an A, you'll be expected to get almost nothing but them.

 

[HumidBeing]

Canada also gives A+'s, and doesn't put the amount of emphasis on MCAT scores that we do down here.

From what I was told elsewhere, not all parts of Canada grade the same way.

Even here, some places grade with a curve, and others are straight %. Even if all grades were uniform, there would be a difference between classes, tests, instructors, etc. So, even when there is an appearance of uniformity, it doesn't really exist.

 

[Nekrotik]

HumidBeing is right.

I don't know what you looked at but grading systems vary according to each school.

There is even disparity between faculties at a same institution.
Here are some examples from where I did my undergrad:

Psychology faculty
-90+= A+ (4.3)
-85-90=A (4.0)
-80-85=A- (3.7)

Applied science faculty
-93+= A+
-87-93= A
-83-87=A-

Education faculty
-96+= A+
-93-96= A
-89-93=A-

It's still pretty hard to get greater than 80. I was a psychology major so most of my classes where in the psych department. On written exams,the value of questions were always high so a few mistakes brought your grade down rapidly. Papers were also graded "tough" meaning you really had to work hard to get 90+...

Also, even if it is "easy" to get a high GPA, remember that it's the same for everyone. Which means the playing field is pretty much leveled.

Med schools also use schemes to put students on the same level:
OMSAS, the organization that takes care of the application process to the 6 Ontario schools, have there way of calculating GPA, according to your undergrad institution. Even schools themselves may look at your best two years or drop some classes.
In Quebec, the three french med schools calculate a "cote de rendement universitaire" (roughly translated to: performance score) which is basically, a Z score adjusted for the force of your program/institution. This means that a 4.3 in psychology is worth more than a 4.3 in history, because it's thougher to get a high GPA and get ahead of the group in psych than history.
So basically, Canadians don't have it that easy!