Do percentage marks matter?

[Link2]

I go to a school where 85% is considered an A (4.0 for GPA), so I've been able to get by with a high GPA. But for admissions purposes, will they just case about my GPA/letter grades, or also my percentage marks? Would 95s looks better than 85s, or would they not care? Most courses at my school have averages of 55-65%, so it is a little difficult getting 95s. I know for grad school in my field, they do care about percentage marks a bit.

Also, like I said, 85% counts as an A for my school. Would they recalculate my GPA using their scales (for example, with 90% being an A)?

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[Lannister]

Does it list the percentage on your official transcript? Or just A/B/C? If the percentage isn't on your transcript it won't be taken into account.

 

[Link2]

Does it list the percentage on your official transcript? Or just A/B/C? If the percentage isn't on your transcript it won't be taken into account.

Percentages are listed along with the letter grade and the letter grade course average on my transcript.

 

[Lawpy]

Percentages are listed along with the letter grade and the letter grade course average on my transcript.

Are you a Canadian student?

 

[Link2]

Are you a Canadian student?

Yes, although I'm applying to the US.

 

[Lawpy]

Not sure how adcoms interpret Canadian transcripts so going to tag @LizzyM @Goro @gyngyn @gonnif @HomeSkool for more input.

Also @NotASerialKiller is familiar with Canada stuff so he can give more specific advice.

 

[Goro]

I look at what AACOMAS gives us.

 

[NotASerialKiller]

Yes your GPA is recalculated. There's a conversion chart that AMCAS uses to put grades from specific Canadian schools into the 4.0 scale. I don't have a link on hand but you should be able to find it without too much digging (try US sub-forum of premed101.com). It'll generally be quite similar to the OMSAS scale, so I doubt 85's would be converted to 4.0's, but you'll have to see how it translates.

edit: If I remember correctly after you submit your primary and it gets verified, you'll see how your grades were converted to the AMCAS scale, but you should be able to find out beforehand so you know what to expect.

 

[Link2]

1) for purposes of admission, medical schools do not see official transcripts. They only see the AMCAS application with courses, credits, the letter grade, along with the AMCAS GPA calculations. They will not see any percentages

2) here is a link to AMCAS Grade Conversion Guide https://wayne.edu/advising/pre-health/pdf/amcas_grade_conversion_guide.pdf

I've seen that link before, but it says to "find the conversion that most closely matches your school’s grading system" and then lists "Five or more passing grades, alpha with +/-" and "Numeric - Percent Type", both of which are used by my school. So how can I find out if they'll take my letter grades at face value or if they'll convert my percentage marks using that scale? Do I just have to wait until after submitting my application?

 

[Link2]

Yes your GPA is recalculated. There's a conversion chart that AMCAS uses to put grades from specific Canadian schools into the 4.0 scale. I don't have a link on hand but you should be able to find it without too much digging (try US sub-forum of premed101.com). It'll generally be quite similar to the OMSAS scale, so I doubt 85's would be converted to 4.0's, but you'll have to see how it translates.

edit: If I remember correctly after you submit your primary and it gets verified, you'll see how your grades were converted to the AMCAS scale, but you should be able to find out beforehand so you know what to expect.

Thanks. I've found that link which is similar to the OMSAS scale. Turns out that it drops my GPA by just a little (makes it closer to 3.9) but the table gonnif posted drops it by 0.5. It lists 93+ as 4.0. My program graduates 15 students a year, and occasionally one of them have an average over 93% (who usually end up going to MIT or Chicago for grad school). Hopefully that's not what they use for all the schools, otherwise, that significantly lowers my chances of getting into a good school.

 

[jazzmetal]

I've seen that link before, but it says to "find the conversion that most closely matches your school’s grading system" and then lists "Five or more passing grades, alpha with +/-" and "Numeric - Percent Type", both of which are used by my school. So how can I find out if they'll take my letter grades at face value or if they'll convert my percentage marks using that scale? Do I just have to wait until after submitting my application?

I'd contact AMCAS and ask.

 

[Link2]

I'd contact AMCAS and ask.

I did, and couldn't get much clarification apart from a link like what was posted above. https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fast...140d8acb35af/amcas_grade_conversion_guide.pdf

 

[de Ribas]

It lists 93+ as 4.0.

That's true for most US schools. 90-92 (A-) is 3.7 and above 93 is an A with 4.0 GPA.

85% should be 3.0 GPA and 87-89.99 is B+, 3.3 GPA

I don't see why your 85% should be counted as 4.0 GPA

 

[Link2]

That's true for most US schools. 90-92 (A-) is 3.7 and above 93 is an A with 4.0 GPA.

85% should be 3.0 GPA and 87-89.99 is B+, 3.3 GPA

I don't see why your 85% should be counted as 4.0 GPA

Shouldn't it be dependent on the school? According to that table, 62% counts as a D-. All my courses have averages of 60-65%.

 

[jazzmetal]

I did, and couldn't get much clarification apart from a link like what was posted above. https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fast...140d8acb35af/amcas_grade_conversion_guide.pdf

Oh really? I'd called while filling out my application with a question similar to yours and they were pretty helpful. Maybe try again next May/June? I had one summer school course with both a letter grade and a percentile, and I'm pretty sure they said they'd use whatever conversion scheme the transcript showed, although it was an 88/B+ which is more standard than the scale that it sounds like your school uses.

 

[Stagg737]

Shouldn't it be dependent on the school? According to that table, 62% counts as a D-. All my courses have averages of 60-65%.

If you're going to take that approach, they'd have to classify and re-scale the GPA from every individual school in the U.S. and internationally which is unrealistic. It's part of why GPA isn't always the most reliable factor when looking at candidates (ie, my 3.4 from undergrad may be equivalent to a 3.7 from another UG, but sucks for me since my school didn't inflate grades and actually deflated many of them), but that's the reality of it. Might be slightly different for Canadians, so idk there.

 

[Link2]

Oh really? I'd called while filling out my application with a question similar to yours and they were pretty helpful. Maybe try again next May/June? I had one summer school course with both a letter grade and a percentile, and I'm pretty sure they said they'd use whatever conversion scheme the transcript showed, although it was an 88/B+ which is more standard than the scale that it sounds like your school uses.

I'll try asking again. I called and emailed them a couple of months ago and that's all they told me.

 

[Link2]

I'll try asking again. I called and emailed them a couple of months ago and that's all they told me.

Asked again, same response. Does anyone who applied from Toronto to US schools know how this works? This makes the difference between having a chance of getting into HMS and not being able to get in any school at all (4.0/525 to 3.6/525).

 

[calivianya]

Not from a Canadian school, but just my experience with a non-standard grading scale.

One of my majors graded on a 7 point scale. The scale went 98-100 A+, 95-97 A, 93-94 A-, etc. 92 was the highest grade you could make for a B+, and I got a 92. It was listed as a B+ on my transcript. I also got credit for a B+ on my AMCAS application.

I wish they'd gone by numbers instead of letter grades in my case. A lot of my GPA for that program would have been stronger - I made a lot of A- that would have been solid As on a 10 point grading scale.