GPA Conversion

[shai]

Does anyone know of a reliable way to convert grades from 0-100 scale to the 0-4.0 GPA scale ?

I'm an international student and have no idea what grades you guys consider as good.

[RedPotato]

The most basic conversion is:

A 4.0

B 3.0

C 2.0

D 1.0

Like I said, thats the most basic, and I would not use that to fill out an application, but it should give you a very rough estimate. On most applications I've seen though, you can write your GPA on a 100 or 4.0 scale.

[poliscistudent]

A= 4.0

A-= 3.667

B+= 3.333

B= 3.0

B-= 2.667

C+= 2.333

C= 2.0

C-= 1.667

D+= 1.333

D= 1.0

D-= 0.667

F= 0.0

[ridgey]

Don't try to convert them in your actual application. For your own information though, WES (lots of schools use or even require applicants to use these guys to evaluate international applicants backgrounds) has buried somewhere in their website a tool for converting international grades to the US 4.0 system.

Have one of your letter writers talk about your performance relative to the rest of the class. If you're applying to a big school that receives lots of applications, the admit committee is probably already aware that different systems grade differently. But it is important to highlight the difference if you think there will be confusion - a UK 80% is a remarkably rare achievement, but would be considered average or worse by an American with no idea how things work elsewhere.

[shai]

All here have regarded A-F to 0-4.0 conversion. How about 0-100 to 0-4.0

I onlt want to know where i stand

[acup313]

For the most part:

90-100 = A = 4.0

80-89 = B = 3.0

70-79= C = 2.0

60-69= D = 1.0

69 and below = F = 0

There are some differences especially in the C through F range, but that should help you with a rough estimate.

[ridgey]

Conversion of your percent to grades on the US scale isn't meaningful unless you earned those percentages in the US system. For example, if you had been to my university and gotten 69% in a course, your grade for that course would be a B-. That doen't mean that my uni is easier than the average US uni, just that scales are calibrated differently - B- work at my uni would be B- work at generic US uni (let's pretend they're all homogenous) but it would be given high 60% here and low 80% there.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, WES seems to be most commonly used by unis for working out how an international degree translates to the US (and I promise I don't work for them!)

Here is a link to their page - all you need to do is choose the country you studied in.

http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/

[shai]

Thanks for all the details. But something doesn't sit right for me - in the end, international students are regarded on a scale (whether it is known to students or not) that position them as well as american students. that's why i fell it important to know what the conversion is like.

what would be the minimum US grade (4.0 scale) for a student to be considered "excellent" or "honor" or whatever word each uni chooses ? where i go, an outstanding student would have a >94 grade.

cheers,

shai

[ridgey]

Thanks for all the details. But something doesn't sit right for me - in the end, international students are regarded on a scale (whether it is known to students or not) that position them as well as american students.

Yes, admissions committees do make some kind of scale - official or not - that ranks on grades. What I'm saying is that any given grade means different things in different educational system, and that (most) universities find out what a grade means in the system it was awarded and use that, rather than the grade per se to rank a candidate relative to other applicants.

This is done because it is about as easy to get, for example, 75% in the UK as it is to get an 'A' in the US, but 75% from a US school is probably not good enough to get in most places.

that's why i fell it important to know what the conversion is like.

And I provided you a link to the best estimate on "what the conversion is like".

Seriously - visit the webpages of a few schools. Sometimes the school arranges credential evaluation themselves, sometimes they expect the applicant to provide a report, but I've seen these guys mentioned more than any others for schools that don't do it in house.

[purplepepper]

Yes, do not convert your grades. If you are confused, call the admissions office who will give you advice on the issue.

Schools are generally familiar with the grading systems in several (probably most) countries. There is really no need to figure out what your GPA would be like in the US. If you are at the top of your class in Country X the unis that you will apply to will know that.