Mentioning Highest GPA in Class

[TvP]

Hi all,

I wanted to see if its ok to mention the highest GPA in my class in my SoP ? my GPA is 15.63 out of 20 which would be about 3.2 and some unis rejected me last year because they believed that my GPA is not high enough while the highest GPA in my class is about 16.80 and I'm ranked 4th in my class !

[acrosschemworld]

I don't think it is a good idea for you to mention it. It would be better if you asked one of your recommenders to mention it in their letter instead.

[Usmivka]

I wouldn't do this in the SOP but I would do it in your CV.

"15.63/20, 4th in class"

This is highly pertinent. You went somewhere that doesn't have grade inflation (at least to the degree that it exists in the US), and there is no way for admissions committees to know this unless you tell them!

[TvP]

I don't think it is a good idea for you to mention it. It would be better if you asked one of your recommenders to mention it in their letter instead.

I wouldn't do this in the SOP but I would do it in your CV.

"15.63/20, 4th in class"

This is highly pertinent. You went somewhere that doesn't have grade inflation (at least to the degree that it exists in the US), and there is no way for admissions committees to know this unless you tell them!

I have mentioned it in my Resume but I feel like they don't really notice it ! Because still some of the faculty members told me that my GPA is low ! So I thought maybe I should emphasize on it somewhere other than in my resume ...

yeah Maybe having it mentioned in my recommendation letter might be a good idea since they read it more carefully I believe...

[Rachel B]

Is your university a reputable or well-known school? If they are looking at your GPA, which translates to a 3.2, they probably won't care too much since your application is being compared to people across the globe and not people whom you went to school with. Just because you have a high GPA among others at your school doesn't mean you have a high GPA period. If it is due to a lack of grade inflation, I would have a recommendation writer point this out since it's more credible to hear it from a faculty member.

[TvP]

Is your university a reputable or well-known school? If they are looking at your GPA, which translates to a 3.2, they probably won't care too much since your application is being compared to people across the globe and not people whom you went to school with. Just because you have a high GPA among others at your school doesn't mean you have a high GPA period. If it is due to a lack of grade inflation, I would have a recommendation writer point this out since it's more credible to hear it from a faculty member.

Its not one of the best universities in the world but its one of the top unis in my country. Actually its due to a lack of grade inflation; our department's average is about 14/20 (less than 3 out of 4) and I think our class' average is even less than that !

How do you think my adviser should mention this in my recommendation letter ? Should he talk about grade inflation first or he would better just say something like "The highest GPA is xx and the department's average is xx and Sahand has ranked xx in his class" ?

[Usmivka]

The latter.