UBC gpa --> American GPA

[cure4cancer]

I heard that anything above a 80-85% from a Canadian school counts as a 4.00 GPA at any american school .. can anyone verify that?

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[jefguth]

I can't provide you with any evidence, but I don't think that is true. 80-85% is still a 3.7. However, maybe if the UBC transcript counts a 80-85% as at least an A (and not a A-) then it could possibly be counted as a 4.0....

 

[cure4cancer]

I can't provide you with any evidence, but I don't think that is true. 80-85% is still a 3.7. However, maybe if the UBC transcript counts a 80-85% as at least an A (and not a A-) then it could possibly be counted as a 4.0....

O crap... is a 3.7 considered competitive in the states?

 

[osjx-82]

no "o-craps" plz. 3.7 is very good. fellow UBC'er btw.

 

[cure4cancer]

no "o-craps" plz. 3.7 is very good. fellow UBC'er btw.

yeah, sup osjx this is fungmanx on the ezboard!

 

[osjx-82]

haven't seen you on ezboard....
maybe u've seen me on it before cuz my screen name there is the same one as this one

 

[osjx-82]

just called amcas to ask what the grade point conversion scale for ubc is. the answer I got is "I don't know".

There you go. I guess nobody really knows until they apply.

 

[sunny123]

Hey guys, it's me sunnynee from ezboard as well!! I really wanted to get the username sunny123, but it was taken ... anyways, jus sayin hey.

 

[leishmaniac]

I had a 83% average from UBC and it converted to 3.4 on AMCAS. Perhaps I used the wrong scale. Nevertheless, I got in US but not Canada.

 

[jefguth]

I had a 83% average from UBC and it converted to 3.4 on AMCAS. Perhaps I used the wrong scale. Nevertheless, I got in US but not Canada.

Unfortunately, the 4.0 GPA system is also an indicator of the variance in your grades... get one less than stellar (or even a mediocre) mark and that 4.0 or even 3.7 starts to erode quickly.

 

[cure4cancer]

I had a 83% average from UBC and it converted to 3.4 on AMCAS. Perhaps I used the wrong scale. Nevertheless, I got in US but not Canada.

Hey leishmaniac, you think u can help give me some info of your stats and what school u got accepted to?

 

[cure4cancer]

Unfortunately, the 4.0 GPA system is also an indicator of the variance in your grades... get one less than stellar (or even a mediocre) mark and that 4.0 or even 3.7 starts to erode quickly.

Do you know what a B would convert into on the 4.0 GPA scale?

 

[docbill]

Do you know what a B would convert into on the 4.0 GPA scale?

Isn't it something like this?

A+ = 4
A = 4 (85%+)
A- = 3.7 (80%+)
B+ = 3.3 (75%+)
B = 3.0 (70%+)

This is what I thought it was... maybe I am mistaken. I thought it was on AAMCAS website. I applied through AACOMAS so that is what it was.

 

[jefguth]

It is very much like that, but here are the ranges (I think)

A+ = 4 (90+)
A = 4 (85-89)
A- = 3.7 (80-84)
B+ = 3.3 (77-79)
B = 3.0 (73-76)
B- = 2.7 (70-72)

This could also vary a little bit depending on your school and what you are applying to...

 

[docbill]

It is very much like that, but here are the ranges (I think)

A+ = 4 (90+)
A = 4 (85-89)
A- = 3.7 (80-84)
B+ = 3.3 (77-79)
B = 3.0 (73-76)
B- = 2.7 (70-72)

This could also vary a little bit depending on your school and what you are applying to...

Is this AAMCAS range or UBC range?

 

[osjx-82]

to docbill and everyone else:

If you go to the AMCAS 2005 main page, there is a pdf file that has all the possible AMCAS grade conversion charts. Under the "Canadian schools" category, there are 3 conversion scales. They're are all very different, for example, one of them says 75% is a 3.7 another says 80 is a 3.7.
I called AMCAS to ask them which of the three scales UBC fits under, and the shrewd answer I got was "I don't know". I guess nobody would really know until they complete the application.

 

[jefguth]

Is this AAMCAS range or UBC range?

This range is for AMCAS (what a friend told me for ontario schools to AMCAS)

 

[docbill]

to docbill and everyone else:

If you go to the AMCAS 2005 main page, there is a pdf file that has all the possible AMCAS grade conversion charts. Under the "Canadian schools" category, there are 3 conversion scales. They're are all very different, for example, one of them says 75% is a 3.7 another says 80 is a 3.7.
I called AMCAS to ask them which of the three scales UBC fits under, and the shrewd answer I got was "I don't know". I guess nobody would really know until they complete the application.

so use the better scale. And if it is wrong they will fix it.

 

[leishmaniac]

Hey leishmaniac, you think u can help give me some info of your stats and what school u got accepted to?

I was 31 on MCAT, as I said, 3.4 GPA, had an M.Sc., got into a school with #35-40 ranking on USNews (though IMHO, those rankings are research-based, does not correlate with quality of teaching), now AOA and hopefully to UW in Seattle for residency. If you need more info, PM please. There are several of us who did undergrad at UBC and also are in the US currently for MD/DO school because we couldn't get in a Canadian med school.

btw... I agree with docBill on the conversion issue.

 

[docbill]

I was 31 on MCAT, as I said, 3.4 GPA, had an M.Sc., got into a school with #35-40 ranking on USNews (though IMHO, those rankings are research-based, does not correlate with quality of teaching), now AOA and hopefully to UW in Seattle for residency. If you need more info, PM please. There are several of us who did undergrad at UBC and also are in the US currently for MD/DO school because we couldn't get in a Canadian med school.

btw... I agree with docBill on the conversion issue.

It is sad all these Canadians (like you and I with graduate degrees) just being kicked out like that.

BTW, I am also looking forward to going to Washington for Residency. Or if in 4 years, canada increases residency, I will try to come back to BC.,

UW would be the closest to BC. I have been living in Quebec and Toronto for 6 years now.. but you know I would go back to Vancouver to live and work in a heart beat. Everytime I go back to Vancouver to visit family I have a tough time leaving.

I came up with this expression: for one to go west they have to go east. Basicaly meaning that to return to BC and be a success you need to go east to get your education.

 

[EMDream]

I heard that anything above a 80-85% from a Canadian school counts as a 4.00 GPA at any american school .. can anyone verify that?

Not unless it's a 4.0 at your school. There's a conversion chart out there, probably the AMCAS site.

For the most part your Canadian GPA converts to an American exactly as it was. I had no idea of this when I decided to attend a US instituition, believe me, if I'd known I would have stayed in Canada and gotten the GPA boost. You have to work much MUCH hard for an A in the US (93+ is an A), and I don't believe that hooey that a Canadian 80% is quivalent to a US 94. Bull. My highest GPA was at a Canadian undergrad. The material makes no difference, but let me tell you, you work harder for less payoff in the states.

 

[osjx-82]

UWash as far as I know, doesn't accept internationals without a green card.

EMDream, for the record, an A is 85 at my school not 80. and for the most part, Canadian universities don't grade on the curve, which is probably why the discrepency exists across the border.

 

[leishmaniac]

UWash as far as I know, doesn't accept internationals without a green card.

Residency may be a little different - Of the programs I applied to on the west coast (including UW, UCSF, UCSD, OHSU), all offered an interview with full knowledge of my Canadian citizenship and F-1 visa status.

 

[osjx-82]

Residency may be a little different - Of the programs I applied to on the west coast (including UW, UCSF, UCSD, OHSU), all offered an interview with full knowledge of my Canadian citizenship and F-1 visa status.

sorry, I don't think I made it clear. This is an IMG board after all. I was talking about undergrad medical school. You must be right about residencies.

 

[osjx-82]

so use the better scale. And if it is wrong they will fix it.

I know, but it helps to be able to estimate your GPA and sort of know what "range" you are in, so that you can prepare for the next 4+ years of your life. For example, for me personally, my family is planning to move down south ahead of me, so it helps to know where I have a realistic shot at going to med school. Sure GPA isn't the only factor, but it's one of the major factors. My GPA is 3.5 on one of the Canadian scales but if I use another Canadian scale, it's a 3.7. That is a big difference IMO.