I'm not sure if this is the best sub-forum to post in, so bare with me.
I'm currently finishing my MA at the University of Quebec in Montreal and, as an American, I'm at a loss for interpreting my grades and what they might mean for my chances of getting into the PhD programs I just finished applying to. I finished my undergrad with nearly a 4.0, but I can't seem to pull off an A+ in any of my MA classes (currently at 3.95/4.30). Part of this, I'm guessing, is due to the language barrier. I studied French for a very short period of time before deciding to go to a francophone university, mainly as a personal challenge to myself, but I'm wondering if it's simply rare for students to get A+'s in Quebec. I vaguely recall hearing that this is the case in France, where they also use a 4.3 scale for GPAs, so perhaps it's similar? Basically, I've always been able to rely on my grades as a selling point for applications, so I'm not sure if that's still the case or if I should be pretty worried about my chances of getting into any of the better programs that I applied to.