Do you think it's fair that at some school's it's easy to get an A in a class, but at other schools it's nearly impossible for the same class? I know my overall GPA would be like half a point higher if I went to an easier, but still reputable university. Oh yeah, my school weighs GPA's as well, how does that work when I get 3.67 points for an A- and people at other schools get 4 points with an A-?
GPA unfairness
- Thread starter evoviiigsr
- Start date
- Jan 17, 2007
- 80
- 0
- Status (Visible)
-
- Medical Student
- Oct 9, 2006
- 991
- 2
- Status (Visible)
-
- Medical Student
- May 25, 2006
- 372
- 1
- Status (Visible)
-
- Medical Student
Did you not get that memo? I think it came out sometime in the second grade or so. It read: LIFE IS NOT FAIR. You shouldn't have gone to a school where you wouldn't be competitive.
Tough crowd.
The thing is, someone thought of the same question long before you. So, your medical school application (AMCAS, for most schools) has a thing to "even out" grade points, so an A- = A-. You then have your school GPA and your AMCAS GPA. Second, schools get reputations. Grade inflation exists, and the ad comms are aware of it. Finally, the MCAT exists to allow all students to play on the same standardized playing field.
Good luck.
dc
The thing is, someone thought of the same question long before you. So, your medical school application (AMCAS, for most schools) has a thing to "even out" grade points, so an A- = A-. You then have your school GPA and your AMCAS GPA. Second, schools get reputations. Grade inflation exists, and the ad comms are aware of it. Finally, the MCAT exists to allow all students to play on the same standardized playing field.
Good luck.
dc
I definitely know what you're saying. While you ARE still expected to do well no matter where you are, the reality of it is that some places are going to be harder than others. Don't let all the "boohoohoooers" get to you too much--it's just a reality on these boards.
I go to a good school and have a decent GPA, but I know if I were somewhere else my GPA could be higher--it's just a fact. I took organic chemistry over the summer at a different institution than the one I attend (not a crappy school by any means, but still easier), and I pulled an A in lab and lecture both semesters while working 40 hours/week. So I don't think anyone should tell me that I couldn't have done better somewhere else.
About the A- discrepancy, AMCAS will calculate your GPA according to their own standards, and all those receiving 4.0s for A- will be changed to 3.7. It's part of their service to standardize such things.
As others have said, AMCAS recalculates your GPA by their rules. I used to get a bit annoyed as well, especially when I heard that at some schools if you retake a class it will erase your failing grade (but not on the AMCAS). Believe me, med schools know that GPA X from school Y means something different than GPA X from school Z.
Its a harsh lesson. If you want to be a doctor, its just about your numbers. Go to the EASIEST school you can find and get that 4.0. Ace the MCAT. Voila, you get in no matter how crappy your extracurriculars are. I am an engineering major and asked the schools if they take that into account. They say yes, but you know the Deans just want the high GPA/MCAT average so their school looks better/gets more funding.
Its just a fact of life. Its not how much you really know but your numbers. Sadly I learned that too late.
Its just a fact of life. Its not how much you really know but your numbers. Sadly I learned that too late.
I believe ad comms understand.
I took quantum mechanics and got a B, and my interviewer asked me if I thought it was hard and I said "yeah, it was one of the harder ones."
Then he said "I know. When I took quantum, I failed out."
Then we just laughed and he said he was very impressed with how fearless I was in the classes I selected.
I took quantum mechanics and got a B, and my interviewer asked me if I thought it was hard and I said "yeah, it was one of the harder ones."
Then he said "I know. When I took quantum, I failed out."
Then we just laughed and he said he was very impressed with how fearless I was in the classes I selected.
- Jul 23, 2004
- 11,777
- 1,996
- Status (Visible)
-
- Attending Physician
Talk of "easy" universities and "hard" universities is mostly BS unless you're comparing MIT to Pi$$water Falls U. At most schools in between, there are harder classes and easier classes. If you feel you can't cut it in the hard classes, take it at an easier one.
And if your classes really are all that harder, they'll be reflected by your MCAT score. The fact that not-so-great GPA students at good schools often still get not-so-great MCAT scores tells me something, though.
It's not fair, but there is no way to fix it. It's also never easy to tell who has it easier. Something as simple as having an awful teacher could make your grade lower, which is unfair. My college physics professor was AWFUL. People literally made 0% on many exams [he gave 4 exams a semester, 4 questions each exam]. It was NOT fair to the students who needed a good teacher. It also wasn't "fair" that people like me already took two years of physics in high school and knew 75% of the material already. Going to an easier school will make your grades higher. However, going to some of the top schools in the world will also make grades higher sometimes as well [some of my classmates have told me stories about how shifted all the grading scales were in college for them]. Even having an easier major gives people an "unfair" advantage. So what can you do about this? Nothing. Relax, go wherever you want for college, and do you best. Thankfully we have standardized tests to even things out a little.
- Apr 14, 2006
- 1,993
- 10
- Status (Visible)
-
Many schools just don't give A-'s out. They give a solid A whether you got an average of 100% or an average of 89.7%. That's a 4.0, even by AMCAS standards since the school doesn't give pluses or minuses.
yeah but if you get 89.4 then you get a 3.0 rather than a 3.3 for the B+... it balances out somewhat unless your lowest grades are A-'s
I go to Pi$$water Falls U sister school, Podunk State College!
Not to be mean, but get off SDN and go study. Then you'll get A's instead of A minuses along with a 40 MCAT.
Life ain't fair. Ask the DABs we all hug to get into this medical racket...
Braluk, I hope your flame suit has a polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDEs) lining or you might just have been burnt crispy!
polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDEs) lining or you might just have be burnt crispy!
Glad it was spelled out, just in case I was curious.