In an update letter to admissions, I'm wanting to say, in grammatically correct form: My science and cumulative GPAs increased to 3.9 out of 4.0. What is the most appropriate way to spell "GPAs?" Should I write it out, "grade point average;" should I use an apostrophe, "GPA's?" Thanks.
Grammar Question: "GPAs"
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In my opinion, “GPAs” is the best way. I think “GPA’s” implies possession, which makes no sense in this context. And spelling out “grade point average” seems unnecessary.
I also don’t think it’s necessary to say “3.9 out of 4.0”. Just “3.9” is sufficient.
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You could also forego the acronym and say, "my grade point averages... ."
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I think that people sometimes use "GPA" as an abbreviation for "grandpa."
To avoid ambiguity, you can revise your statement to read: "My science and cumulative GPAs — NOT my grandfathers, mind you — increased to 3.9 out of 4.0."
No apostrophe.
To avoid ambiguity, you can revise your statement to read: "My science and cumulative GPAs — NOT my grandfathers, mind you — increased to 3.9 out of 4.0."
No apostrophe.
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Actually, I originally wanted to say "mongoloids", but I figured today's premeds would want to shoot me because they didn't remember Devo.
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Hahahaha I actually hadn’t heard that song, so I would’ve probably thought you were a terrible person for a sec!
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digoose
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English minor to the rescue!
It depends on which style manual you look at. The Chicago Manual of Style says that you add an “-s” only unless there are periods in the acronym or initialism (and not to be pedantic, but GPA is an initialism, not an acronym). So it would be GPAs or G.P.A.’s (and since no one uses the latter, you’d just stick with GPAs).
There is also some support for using “-‘s” only in the case where the acronym or initialism ends in “S,” such as in “He reads a lot of PS’s.” But that is not universal.
In any case, for your case, use GPAs.
It depends on which style manual you look at. The Chicago Manual of Style says that you add an “-s” only unless there are periods in the acronym or initialism (and not to be pedantic, but GPA is an initialism, not an acronym). So it would be GPAs or G.P.A.’s (and since no one uses the latter, you’d just stick with GPAs).
There is also some support for using “-‘s” only in the case where the acronym or initialism ends in “S,” such as in “He reads a lot of PS’s.” But that is not universal.
In any case, for your case, use GPAs.
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mengoose
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Mongoose is a folk etymology of mungus, which is the Marathi name for the animal. It has no connection to the word goose (like the animal), and its plural is simply “mongooses.” People will occasionally write “mongeese,” though I’d argue that is less correct.
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Linguistics minor here.
I hate to correct all of the posters above, but it's actually: Mongoose, Mtwogoose, Mthreegoose, Mfourgoose, etc.
(Example sentence: "I see mfourgoose on my lawn. They're probably members of the msevengoose that mugged Mrs. Bumbleton last week!")
