Effect of one bad course

[Princess87]

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I heard that using the GPA system (as opposed to the %s that I'm used to in Canada), one very poor grade has a very significant effect on overall GPA. If letter grade to GPA is all the conversion entails then how does this work? (I'm asking because of very poor freshman grades but a very huge upwards trend)

 

[HumidBeing]

How much of an effect it would have would depend on how many credit hours the course was worth compared to the total number of credit hours taken.

A=4
B=3
C=2
D=1
F=0

A "B" in a 4 credit hour course would be 12 points. 4X3=12

Add the total number of points earned.
Divide by the total number of credit hours accumulated.
That's the GPA

So, the more credit hours one has taken, the less the GPA is affected by any single course grade.

 

[cyclophane21]

I hope I am understanding your question correctly.

The GPA= Grade POINT Average--which by definition is essentially a tabulation of points on a scale of 0-4 with 4 being an A, 3 being a B, 2 being a C, and 1 being a D. These points are then given for your letter grades in every class and then an average is found.

For example:
Intro Bio- A
Intro Chem- A-
Fuzzy Wuzzy Was a Bear- B+
History of Montreal- A

Now comes the math. The point value for the letter grade equivalent is multiplied times the total number of credits for the course. (So you get an A in Biology and it is a 4 credit hour class, thus you have a point value of 4(the point value for an A)x4(the number of credits)=16 grade points) Then once you tabulate all the grade points you have for a semester or undergraduate career you divide them by the total number of credits you took.

So referring back to the example we'd have:
Intro Bio- A (4 points x 4 credits= 16 grade points)
Intro Chem- A- (3.67 points x 4 credits= 14.68 grade points)
Fuzzy Wuzzy Was a Bear- B+ (3.33 points x 3 credits= 9.99 grade points)
History of Montreal- A (4 points x 3 credits= 12 grade points)
Total Grade Points for the Semester: 52.67 grade points

Now you divide by the number of total credits (as I described above)

Example:
52.67 grade points/14 credits= 3.76 GPA


So what does all this mean? It means all you have to do is find out the actual letter grades of all your courses and plug the letter grade into the equivalent point value x the number of credit hours of the course...and then when you come up with the final cumulative amount of grade points divide it by your total number of credit hours.

It is is all quite simple...again all you need is your actual letter grades.

Hope that helps.

 

[Princess87]

Oh! So B-/+ has no effect?

Oops sorry-- prev post answered everything. Thanks!

 

[cyclophane21]

Its basically quite mathematically simple.

A 4
A- 3.67
B+ 3.33
B 3
B- 2.67
C+ 2.33
C 2
C- 1.67
D+ 1.33
D 1

It's just a logical mathematical scale.

Hope that helps you.

 

[Bacchus]

I have 97 credit hours. Replacing the grade from a C to an A in a 4 credit course increases my GPA 0.09 and my sGPA 0.11. That's significant, isn't it?

 

[Lokhtar]

Imagine what my GPA would be if I didn't have a F. It makes me want to go back and punch my younger self in the nuts for being so stupid.

 

[MassTransport]

OP, schools are sensitive to upward trends, for what it's worth. Many are willing to overlook poor freshman year performance if there's been a strong improvement over the next two years.