Which do you see as being better? What I mean is, I went to Michigan State where you get a 4.0 or a 3.5, but there are no A's and A-'s. Which translate to a better GPA?? Also, what types of schools are seen as hard graders, as in harder compared to what??
Point grades vs. letter grades
- Thread starter scowdeva
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I don't really know what your question is. Letter grades represent GPA points. An A is a 4.0 and an A- is something less than that.
Schools with a reputation for grade deflation are known as hard graders. In other words, a screwy curve with a small amount of As. When somebody says a school's a hard grader, they're comparing it to their own perception of an average college.
Schools with a reputation for grade deflation are known as hard graders. In other words, a screwy curve with a small amount of As. When somebody says a school's a hard grader, they're comparing it to their own perception of an average college.
Ok I guess I'll try to rephrase....I never sat and calculated what would give you a higher GPA. Say you earn a 92%: that would either be an A- or a 3.5 depending on your school. I'm assuming an A- would be equal to about a 3.7 (dont know because I have always received point grades). Therefore, your GPA getting the letter grade would be higher than a person with the same percentage at a school that gives out point grades. Does this even itself out in the long run, or do kids that get letter grades have an advantage or disadvantage compared with getting point grades??
Also, I was asking what SPECIFIC schools are known for being hard graders. I'm just curious because I've seen it on here quite a few times.
Also, I was asking what SPECIFIC schools are known for being hard graders. I'm just curious because I've seen it on here quite a few times.
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Everyone thinks their own school is hard. Outside of MIT and Caltech, I don't think any school stands out for being especially hard.
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I don't know about that, I know cornell has some grade deflating. Although I think its easier to say that there a lot of easy schools out there.....harvard for example....
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And I know that Cornell does not.
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Doesn't the AAMC control for that? I know they have a really complicated system for changing grades to GPA points.
I'm curious where the cutoffs for your school are though. I mean, at my school, there's a difference between an A- and a B+, and that's why the GPA points for an A- is 3.7(ish), and it's only like 3.2 for a B+.
Also, a 92 in my chemistry classes, and my genetics class would translate to an A. You had to have between an 85 and 90 to get an A-. Yet that same 92 would give you an A- in physiology, and the humanities subjects I've taken were ALL subjective (the papers are all given letter grades, not numerical grades).
Well the cutoffs are up to the professor...I had some classes where you could get an 85% and that was a 4.0, but I had a few (some of the hardest, most advanced sciences) where they would expect at a minimum a 93% for a 4.0...I guess thats why I'm happy I have a slightly above average MCAT teamed with a slightly below average GPA...
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So you basically have the A, A-/B+, B, B-/C+, C, C-/D+, D, F grading scale. Well, if you got better than a B, but not quite an A- worthy, you get higher than those with a B+, so it probably evens out in the end.
