mashrur

Hey,
I have a question for Canadians at Wash U because other people do not seem to be able to answer this question. My question is how do canadian grades on the american grade system of 4.0 GPA... Here, 80 plus is A and i have two 80-85.. 3 85-90 and 1 90+... So basically all As and i am in IB so it is harder than normal Canadian schools. how do i look? .. what kind of grades did you Canadians have when entering Wash U? Does A mean automatically 4.0 GPA?? Thanks for your help!!

mtldad

Some of the better American colleges are aware that Canadian high schools grade "harder" than American high schools. At most high-level Canadian high schools, you will very rarely see averages exceeding 95.....even if the student is a so-called "rocket scientist". However, if your school has a guidance counselor that is oriented towards American colleges, you should request that they emphasize to your potential schools that the grading system is scaled differently "north of the border".

mashrur

well, yea 95 is honestly unheard of .. 90 + is easier to achieve in normal Canadian schools but still 1/15 rare... however, since i am in IB 90 + is like 1/40 hard to do... i have 85+ in freshman and sophomore.. hope that is good enough.. i will try to do a bit better in Junior year when it matters most.

gprime

Grades are always considered relative to the system in which they were earned. Provided your GC can articulate how excellent your marks are, and how infrequently such a GPA is earned at your school, there is no reason to believe that your marks will be handicap here. The main question really is whether the rest of your application, including SAT scores, are adequate.