gpa calculations

[cansnowflake]

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Hi,
I know this is a dumb question, but how exactly do I calculate my gpa from a percentage grade? (my canadian university only deals in %) Is it not simply the mark ie. 0.85 x 4? or is there some sort of scale to follow?
Right now I am not sure where I stand in terms for gpa for comparison.
If anyone has a clue, I would really appreciate it!!!!!!
Thanks 😎

 

[rpames]

Hi,
I know this is a dumb question, but how exactly do I calculate my gpa from a percentage grade? (my canadian university only deals in %) Is it not simply the mark ie. 0.85 x 4? or is there some sort of scale to follow?
Right now I am not sure where I stand in terms for gpa for comparison.
If anyone has a clue, I would really appreciate it!!!!!!
Thanks 😎

At ICO & most academic systems this is the system:
A = 93-100
A- = 90-92
B+ =87-89
B = 83-86
B- = 80-82
C+ = 77-79
C = 73-76
C- = 70-72
D+ = 68-69
D = 65-67
F = <65

A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B = 3.0
B- = 2.7
C+ = 2.3
C = 2.0
C- = 1.7
D+ = 1.3
D = 1.0
F = 0.0

So to calculate your GPA:
0.85=B=3.0

Therefore, you have a 3.0 for that class.

To calculate your overall GPA you do that conversion and then divide the by the total possible credits.

ie., Lets say your grades for a semester were this A (4cr), B (2cr), C+ (3cr).
Now the Math:
A=4.0 so 4.0x4cr=16
B=3.0 so 3.0x2cr=6
C+=2.3 so 2.3x3cr=6.9
Total=28.9

Divide the total by your total credits:
4+2+3=9

28.9/9=3.21 This would be your GPA for that quarter.

 

[jefguth]

This seems to be the typical scheme for most Canadian universities:
A = 4.0 = 100-85
A- = 3.7 = 80-84
B+ = 3.3 = 77-79
B = 3.0 = 73-76
B- = 2.7 = 70-72
C+ = 2.3 = 67-69
C = 2.0 = 63-66
C- = 1.0 = 60-52


Now, your transcripts probably have a legend on the reverse side that shows a conversion from the percentage to a letter grade (at least Waterloo does). So you may want to check that just to be certain (somtimes you can find that online).

I'm not entirely sure how complete and acurate that is since i complied it from a number of sources, but basically any of the schools you apply too will review and calculate the GPA for you.

 

[smellsaCan]

At Queen's (in Kingston, ON, Canada), this is the system:

A: 80-100%
B: 65-79%
C: 50-64%
F: 0-49%
Pass: 50%+
Dean's List: 80%+

I remember how taken aback the PCO admissions counselor was when I told her that at Queen's a 65% is a B, and there are no D's! She did say that the US schools regard our Canadian marks very highly, in particular those from the more well-known academic schools such as McGill, U of Toronto, Queen's, etc. But it seems a bit ridiculous that a 65% is a B at Queen's and a D at ICO etc.!

Queen's doesn't calculate GPA's, so I used these values to figure it out:
A = 4.0 = 80%+
B = 3.0 = 65-79%
C = 2.0 = 50-64%
I multiplied the number by the weighting of the course (either a 1.0 or 0.5 credit, which will turn out to equal the US way of using credit hours). Then add up all the numbers and divide by the number of credits, and you have your GPA.

Good luck!

 

[cansnowflake]

Thanks for all of your imput guys, I really appreciate it!

I got to the University of Western Ontario (UWO) and I believe that our marking scale is similar to that of Queens. Its nice to know that our marks are well regarded (I was sort of afraid when I saw that high-eighties are regarded as a B at some American schools).

Thanks again

 

[rpames]

It confuses me how the two systems are at all compatable if the C range (50-64) in Canada is not even passing is the US. If we used the Canadian system here, nearly everyone would be a 4.0.

 

[jd4me]

I don't really agree with how you've calculated the gpa for Western and Queen's on the 4.0 scale. It seems to be making it higher than it should be. I think the best way for you to calculate your 4.0 gpa would be to use the OMSAS conversion that is used by the ontario med schools to convert all of the Canadian university gpas onto the same scale. You can find the conversion table here:

http://www.ouac.on.ca/omsas/pdf/c_omsas_b.pdf

 

[Leroy]

It confuses me how the two systems are at all compatable if the C range (50-64) in Canada is not even passing is the US. If we used the Canadian system here, nearly everyone would be a 4.0.

One of my profs once told my class that in Canada, students are marked and tested harder than in the US, so that "good" mark in Canada is lower than a good mark in the US. He has taught in both Canada and the US.

 

[rpames]

One of my profs once told my class that in Canada, students are marked and tested harder than in the US, so that "good" mark in Canada is lower than a good mark in the US. He has taught in both Canada and the US.

So, are the test in Canada are ridiculously difficult?

 

[KHE]

It confuses me how the two systems are at all compatable if the C range (50-64) in Canada is not even passing is the US. If we used the Canadian system here, nearly everyone would be a 4.0.

I went to undergraduate school in Canada, but optometry school in the USA.

You probably can't really compare optometry school to undergraduate, but I found the undergraduate tests in Canada to be much much harder than I did the optometry school ones in the USA.

I did have the opportunity to take a few classes at a university near where I live, where I sat with undergraduate students. In this same setting, I found the tests in Canada to be much much harder.

So it's probably 6 and one half dozen of the other.

 

[KHE]

So, are the test in Canada are ridiculously difficult?

What I found was that in Canada, you had to have a much more "in depth" knowledge of the subject matter far beyond what was taught in class. You had to do a lot of independant learning.

I found that in the USA, I could simply study my classnotes and make at least a B every time, and an A most of the time.

 

[smellsaCan]

I don't really agree with how you've calculated the gpa for Western and Queen's on the 4.0 scale. It seems to be making it higher than it should be. I think the best way for you to calculate your 4.0 gpa would be to use the OMSAS conversion that is used by the ontario med schools to convert all of the Canadian university gpas onto the same scale. You can find the conversion table here:

http://www.ouac.on.ca/omsas/pdf/c_omsas_b.pdf

I understand your concern, and I agree with your idea of looking at the OMSAS conversions to compare. However, the GPA I calculated for myself based on the system I described above turns out to be close to that given in the chart. Queen's (and McGill, I believe) use the adjusted grading system to compensate for the higher difficulty of the classes and resulting lower grades as other forum posters attest to. All of the schools received a transcript of my grades as well, so they can see exactly what grades were received. The legend on the transcript explains this as well.

Simply put, not many people routinely get A's at a school like Queen's, and I consider it unfair for students to be penalized for attending a highly academic school. I want to make sure everyone understands that this is not inflating Canadian GPA's; it is actually a school-instituted adjustment to keep students at good schools from regularly having low and non-competitive GPA's due to the difficulty of the classes.

As an aside, because of all this complexity I decided not to submit my grades in GPA form; I left them in percentage form on all my applications, and let the schools worry about conversions. This may be the best solution to the problem!

 

[mahme]

I shouldn't have went to Queen's and gone to Western instead. 😀

 

[mahme]

Actually I know a lotta ppl (myself included) that gets As routinely. They're in Lifesci also....I found chem is hard to get an A in tho. 🙁

 

[smellsaCan]

Actually I know a lotta ppl (myself included) that gets As routinely. They're in Lifesci also....I found chem is hard to get an A in tho. 🙁

Hey! Are you in Queen's LifeSci? That's cool - you're right, I think the average in my orgo section was 61! Unfortunately, checking the amount of LifeSci grads with 'Distinction' beside their names didn't come up with too much, so you should feel very proud! Are you going to optometry school in the US? 🙂

 

[cansnowflake]

At Western I also found alot of class averages to be in the low 60s, if that counts for anything.

It would be so much easier if all of the schools just marked the same.

 

[rpames]

What I found was that in Canada, you had to have a much more "in depth" knowledge of the subject matter far beyond what was taught in class. You had to do a lot of independant learning.

I found that in the USA, I could simply study my classnotes and make at least a B every time, and an A most of the time.

I understand what you are saying, but doesn't having a lower grading scale cancel out the need to know the material in-depth? With the 50-64% scale being a "C," you could get half the questions wrong and still pass the class. In the US, you would have failed the class by 15%

 

[jd4me]

I understand what you are saying, but doesn't having a lower grading scale cancel out the need to know the material in-depth? With the 50-64% scale being a "C," you could get half the questions wrong and still pass the class. In the US, you would have failed the class by 15%

I agree that having a 50-64% equal a "C" is very odd. However, it sounds like the "C" doesn't appear on the transcript and it's simply recorded as a percentage value. Therefore, although the person could say they earned a "C" in the course, they're transcript will show a 50-64%, a mark that's not too impressive by anyone's scale.

 

[rpames]

I agree that having a 50-64% equal a "C" is very odd. However, it sounds like the "C" doesn't appear on the transcript and it's simply recorded as a percentage value. Therefore, although the person could say they earned a "C" in the course, they're transcript will show a 50-64%, a mark that's not too impressive by anyone's scale.

Good point.

 

[Ning]

It may be inaccurate to convert from one system to the other when you don't know what the specific standards each Canada school are. If the schools in Canada get a grade point boost, doesn't it seem a little unfair that the high standing schools such as MIT or Yale in the US that probably have very difficult courses don't get that extra boost?

I understand that most optometry schools take into account the school that you attended, but I think some schools such as SCCO base their interview offers by GPA only (not on the school) and calculate everything on a point scale. They may consider the school later, but after the student has been interviewed. So wouldn't a student that attended MIT with a lower GPA be at a disadvantage when compared with a Canadian student?

I don't have anything against Canadian schools or students...but I was just wondering how this whole thing works. I know that the students at University of Michigan Business School and Chem. Engineering recieve a 4.3/4.0 if they got an A+. In addition, some other schools have a scale out of something more than 4.0. It's just really difficult to judge everything since everyone comes from a different school. I guess this is why the OAT is so important.

Ning-Ju

 

[mahme]

.

 

[KHE]

I understand what you are saying, but doesn't having a lower grading scale cancel out the need to know the material in-depth? With the 50-64% scale being a "C," you could get half the questions wrong and still pass the class. In the US, you would have failed the class by 15%

I can't speak for every program, or every student. But my experience was that even with the higher score generally required to achieve an "A" in the USA, I still found it much much easier to make an A in the USA than I did in Canada. I found this to be true both for undergraduate and optometry school courses.

 

[anchan]

I went to undergraduate school in Canada, but optometry school in the USA.

You probably can't really compare optometry school to undergraduate, but I found the undergraduate tests in Canada to be much much harder than I did the optometry school ones in the USA.

I did have the opportunity to take a few classes at a university near where I live, where I sat with undergraduate students. In this same setting, I found the tests in Canada to be much much harder.

So it's probably 6 and one half dozen of the other.

And all this time, I thought I was just an idiot who couldn't keep up in school....haha...