GPAs and Credits

[acretinmelon]

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Question: should the number of credits being taken be calculated into your GPA?

I really don't understand why it isn't. Say, for example, my roommate and I are both taking Bio, Chem, and Calc. They're all 4 credit classes, so technically we could both stop there. Say I go the extra mile and take two MORE classes. If we both get all As in Bio, Chem, and Calc, and I get two Bs in my other two classes, my GPA will then be LOWER than my roommate's even though, overall, I did more work!

Whine whine whine! It's not fair!

I am off to my first ever calc quiz! I would say wish me luck but clearly calculus has nothing to do with luck!

 

[elephino]

Number of credits are calculated in GPA. It's usually called a Quality Point, and it is the grade you received in the class (A=4) mulitplied by the amount of credits in said class (4cr). Therefore an A in a 4 credit class (16 QP) is weighed more heavily than an A in a 3 credit class(12QP).

 

[elephino]

Now that I read that, I wonder if that's what you meant? Oh well, it's early am here.

 

[efex101]

Adcoms really do not have the time and energy to pour over sometimes 5,000 applications and see what and how many classes you took each semester. I am pretty sure that at first there is some gpa/mcat cutoff to pare down the huge applicant pool. Then once that is done and maybe they have a somewhat more manageable number of applications then maybe, they can actually pay more attention to see what each person took and how many classes. Regardless, I fail to see the point that more is better, the bottom line is that you need to know how many hours you can handle. So, if your friend took 12 credit hours and got all A's that is a 4.0, versus you with 18 hours and received two B's well that is not a 4.0 (not that you need a 4.0 to get in). So, take as many classes as you can handle recognizing that a B is not bad, but if you want all A's then take one or two classes less, you will still be full time. Cheers.