Could someone explain how college GPA works exactly? (My HS does it weird)

[Gallix23]

Hey everyone,


At my high school, for some reason, we are on a 5 point scale for GPA. However, this 5 is only achievable to some students who take like a zillion AP classes and like some magic has to occur and then you get up there (however I don't think I've ever heard of someone's GPA being above a 4.6...)

I know that college is on a 4 point scale, but I don't really know how that works. To get a perfect 4.0 GPA, do you need straight A+s in every class you take? Or can this be achieved through getting all A-s as well? What's like the lowest possible grade you can get without making your GPA drop below like a 3.7? (I know this varies, but an estimate is fine).

What is the lowest possible GPA that one can have while still having a chance of getting into med school?

Thanks for the help

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[EndangeredPasta]

To get a 4.0 you will need to get straight A's. Most Universities give out out "A-" but not "A+", kinda stupid huh. An A- will put you around 3.7 or so.

 

[jvanewportnews]

Hey everyone,


At my high school, for some reason, we are on a 5 point scale for GPA. However, this 5 is only achievable to some students who take like a zillion AP classes and like some magic has to occur and then you get up there (however I don't think I've ever heard of someone's GPA being above a 4.6...)

I know that college is on a 4 point scale, but I don't really know how that works. To get a perfect 4.0 GPA, do you need straight A+s in every class you take? Or can this be achieved through getting all A-s as well? What's like the lowest possible grade you can get without making your GPA drop below like a 3.7? (I know this varies, but an estimate is fine).

What is the lowest possible GPA that one can have while still having a chance of getting into med school?

Thanks for the help

I know what you mean because my high school is on a 4.5 scale for normal classes and 5.5 for honors, which is unachievable with all 4 years averaged in because you'd have to take the required 9th grade and 10 grade gym classes which are on a 4.5 scale...I wish we were on a 4.0 scale like a lot of other schools are so that I'd be 100% sure of what my real GPA would be when a college looks at my transcripts...oh well...I guess that would just make too much sense

 

[MilkmanAl]

Colleges all do it differently, though there's certainly a lot more standardization. Across the board, A's are worth 4 "quality points", B's 3, C's 2, D's 1, and F's 0. Som schools only award those grades, while others let you get +'s and -'s on those grades. A "+" adds 0.3 quality points, and a "-" subtracts 0.3 quality points. That is, an A- would be worth 3.7 quality points, and a B+ would be worth 3.3. Most schools do not give 4.3 quality points for an A+ or award F+'s. Each course will be worth a certain amount of credits or "quality hours."

To calculate your GPA, multiply each course's quality points by how many credits it's worth. Add those numbers together and divide by the total number of credits/quality hours you've completed to get your GPA. AMCAS, the medical school application service, will calculate your GPA by its own standards, so your AMCAS GPA may be different than your institutional GPA.

 

[Vicviper]

Go go grade inflation in high school! I think I know why your school is going off of a 5 point scale - in my high school, Honors and AP classes added a point, meaning a B would be 4 points, and for regular classes, a B would be 3 points.

I know most colleges do not count A+ as 4.3, as said above, but AADSAS, the dental school application site makes A+ 4.3, so I'm guessing the medical version may as well?

 

[MilkmanAl]

AMCAS and AACOMAS don't count A+'s as 4.3's. They're 4.0's just like A's.

 

[seelee]

Every university calculates GPA different, though it generally follows this scheme

A = 4 B=3 C=2 D=1

GPA = average(class grade*number of hours for class)

However, Med school apps calculate GPA independently from your school. No + or - are used. A- and A+ = A.

 

[Maygyver]

Go go grade inflation in high school! I think I know why your school is going off of a 5 point scale - in my high school, Honors and AP classes added a point, meaning a B would be 4 points, and for regular classes, a B would be 3 points.

I know most colleges do not count A+ as 4.3, as said above, but AADSAS, the dental school application site makes A+ 4.3, so I'm guessing the medical version may as well?

Really? that's pretty lame, my school doesn't even offer A+s.

 

[eventualeventer]

To add to the confusion, some colleges use plus/minus letter grades but do not change the points awarded. I.e., a B+ shows up on your transcript as a B+ but is only worth 3.0.

 

[Gallix23]

To add to the confusion, some colleges use plus/minus letter grades but do not change the points awarded. I.e., a B+ shows up on your transcript as a B+ but is only worth 3.0.

That's awful, why would they do that? Just to show you that "hey, if you worked a little bit harder, you would have gotten that A" hahah.