difference between an A and A+?

[Lindsayvarkula]

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Does it make a difference to Adcoms whether you received an A or an A+ in a course?

 

[Narmerguy]

LizzyM recently said no (for her school). I can't imagine it would make too much of a difference at other schools.

 

[Lindsayvarkula]

LizzyM recently said no (for her school). I can't imagine it would make too much of a difference at other schools.

How else can you show an upward trend in grades if your grades are already pretty high?

 

[theseeker4]

How else can you show an upward trend in grades if your grades are already pretty high?

....If your grades are already high, you don't NEED an upward trend...that is only important for students who struggled at first.

Most colleges don't give out A+'s. Most do give out A's or the equivalent. Having an A+ mean more than an A, when the person with the A at college X may easily have done better than the person with an A+ at college Y (since most schools set A as the highest possible grade) wouldn't make any sense.

 

[Lindsayvarkula]

....If your grades are already high, you don't NEED an upward trend...that is only important for students who struggled at first.

Most colleges don't give out A+'s. Most do give out A's or the equivalent. Having an A+ mean more than an A, when the person with the A at college X may easily have done better than the person with an A+ at college Y (since most schools set A as the highest possible grade) wouldn't make any sense.

Thanks for the clarification, I have just seen so many posts emphasizing the importance of an upward trend, and it confused me.

 

[theseeker4]

Thanks for the clarification, I have just seen so many posts emphasizing the importance of an upward trend, and it confused me.

Neurotic pre-meds are neurotic, and you won't find a greater concentration of neuroticism than SDN. You don't want your grades to drop as you get into more difficult material, and you want an upward trend if you have poor early grades, but the fact that your grades slipped a little later on, let alone stayed level, is not a cause for concern. Myself for example: my cGPA went from a 3.81 to a 3.71 between graduating with a bachelor's and applying to medical school. Post-bac GPA was a 3.56, all BCMP classes. Still accepted, despite the attitude that if your GPA drops at all you are finished. Relax, keep your grades high and you will have your choice of schools, assuming you fulfill the other required and recommended EC's, etc.

 

[RookTookIt]

It doesn't matter. On your AMCAS app both A and A+ mean a 4.0 GPA.