@bluebayou i have seen ads recruiting undergrads for that task on 2 campuses. It’s a fairly common seasonal job.
My daughter went to one school 9-10th grades with 0-100 grading. Then she went to another and did an IB Diploma for 11-12 grades which is 0-7. Never knew what her 4.0 scale GPA was…colleges figure it out. The only time there was an issue was for our State Flagship which awards scholarships based on GPAs , but a quick email sorted that out.
Ok. Maybe you know better than the schools themselves. I just go by what they say and what I’ve seen. (I don’t know why this is even a point of debate. It’s so silly. It’s just a fact many schools do, many don’t. Folks, here is the truth. MANY college, indeed, recalculate. MANY others simply read your numbers in the context of the school profile. EITHER WAY they believe they know how to interpret your school’s numbers in context of all their many applicants. It is simply not that hard to recalculate if a school thinks that makes their process easier and more uniform. That is silly. Some obviously do it. Some have other ways of comparing, but however they do it, they believe they are equipped to handle your school’s grade scale.)
In 2008 Fairfax VA FCPS surveyed 100+ colleges. they reported: “Forty-five (45) percent of the colleges recalculate applicants’ GPAs. Of these colleges, 62 percent use grades from core courses, and 38 percent drop the plus and
minus from grades.” http://www.fairgrade.net/media/fairgrade/GradingPolicyInvestigationReport.pdf
Further, these are all quotes from the school’s actual websites:
University of Fla FAQ. (UofF 34000 applications in 2017) http://questions.ufl.edu/all-questions-by-category/admissions/ “The Office of Admissions recomputes the high school GPA for every freshman applicant. Our admissions officers use the high school transcript provided to our office, and the grading scale included on that transcript. Only academic subjects are used in the calculation — English, math, social sciences, sciences and foreign languages (freshmen are required to have successfully completed 2 consecutive units of a foreign language). Additional weight is added in the calculation to any courses that are Honors, Dual-Enrollment, AICE, Advanced Placement, or International Baccalaureate.”
University of GA website. (22000 applications.) https://www.admissions.uga.edu/prospective-students/first-year/admissions-criteria “Since there are so many different grading scales, not to mention weighting methodologies, we recalculate a GPA for every first-year applicant based only on academic courses taken in the five core academic areas (with the addition of AP Art and Music Theory courses). Using a standard 4.0 scale, we convert each grade earned according to the grading scale in use at your high school at the time the course was taken.”
San Jose State University website: (30000 applicants) “Grade Point Average: Your official GPA for admission to SJSU may be different than the GPA on your high school transcript. This is because we calculate your high school GPA using your 10th and 11th grade a-g courses when considering you for admission. You can estimate your GPA (including honors, IB and AP courses) using the CSU Grade Point Average Calculator.”
Cederville University (
“Any cumulative grade point average indicated as “weighted” is recalculated using the high school’s grading scale. All cumulative GPAs reported in numeric averages are converted to letter grades using the school’s grading scale. Grade point averages are recalculated based on an unweighted 4.0 scale. All grades earned for high school credit are considered.”
USouth Fla "For determining admissibility to USF, we will recalculate your high school GPA based on grades earned in high school only in core academic subject areas, as well as specified AP and IB fine and performing arts courses. USF will add the quality points outlined below for approved AP, IB, AICE, Honors and Dual Enrollment courses provided you earn a “C” or better. "
The UC’s ( 9 schools) recalculate your GPA (UCLA alone has 100,000 applicants)
Michigan did it up until like 2010 or so. (~50k applications.)
And that’s just schools I knew off the top of my head or found in a 10 minute on-line search. There are many more out there.
I hope this put this argument to bed once and for all. The top line is: Many do. Many don’t. All think they can accurately compare grades across schools.