How does Waterloo convert GPA to percentages?

[wingwang97]

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On the Waterloo Optometry website, one of the academic requirements was having an average of at least 75%. In terms of a 4.0 GPA scale, does that mean the minimum is a 3.0? I feel like that's not right because in the "selection process" page, the range for the overall average of accepted students was between 79% to 96%. That means the highest GPA was (4.0 * 0.96) = 3.84?

 

[yetbun12]

Here's the official conversion chart, Waterloo is column 3. Anything above a 90 is a 4.o! I know they say they've accepted a 79%, but none of my classmates have that low of grades that I know of. The average average of those accepted is usually between 86-89% or higher.

Keep in mind that if your cumulative average is 3.9 that does not translate to 89%. They convert the 4.0 scale to a percentage for each course and then take a weighted average. When you apply they provide you with a conversion chart to calculate your grades.

So really the absolute minimum to be considered would be an 80, which is roughly a 3.7, however if you want to be at all competitive you should be closer to the 3.8-4.0 range.

 

[wingwang97]

Here's the official conversion chart, Waterloo is column 3. Anything above a 90 is a 4.o! I know they say they've accepted a 79%, but none of my classmates have that low of grades that I know of. The average average of those accepted is usually between 86-89% or higher.

Keep in mind that if your cumulative average is 3.9 that does not translate to 89%. They convert the 4.0 scale to a percentage for each course and then take a weighted average. When you apply they provide you with a conversion chart to calculate your grades.

So really the absolute minimum to be considered would be an 80, which is roughly a 3.7, however if you want to be at all competitive you should be closer to the 3.8-4.0 range.

How can they convert 4.0 to a percentage if percentages are within a range? Like if I got straight A's, would I have a 90 average or a 100 average?

 

[yetbun12]

They take the midpoint of the range, so if you got an A in a class, that would be converted into 87 (since 3.90 range is 85-89). But they will provide all the calculations necessary for conversion on the application.