Gpa

elliegezellie · November 2, 2004, 12:51pm

Hi
I am applying to grad schools in the US and one of the online applications requires me to fill in my gpa. (It won't let me submit without this) My degrees are from the UK and Norway and I have no idea how to translate my grades into the US system. I have contacted them and they replied that I have to fill something in and that I have to find this out for myself (they won't do it for me- I really don't see the point, as they will probably do a much better job judging from my transcripts.)

So - as far as I understand an A= 4 points, B= 3 points etc, but then there's all this stuff about multiplying credits and dividing by hours and I really don't know how to do this. Can I just use my overall finished grade from my bachelor's and master's degrees or do I have to somehow include the breakdown of the specific grades into my calculations? And do I have to divide by the number of hours I have attended the specific courses ? (yikes, I have no idea how many hourse there were...)
Somebody PLEASE help me!!!

elliegezellie · November 3, 2004, 4:01am

I just googled 'gpa' and found the following table on some page from the university of kentucky : A+= 4.3, A= 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+= 3.3, B= 3.0.
Can I just use this ? SO for instance I have a 2.1 (British system) from my bachelor's and a first (british) from my master's. Can I just translate that directly and forget about the stuff about hours, credits etc? So eg, say, a 3.3 (bachelor's) and 4.0(master's)?

Another thing - does anyone know what the general average grade is in US universities? Is it more common for students to get 'A's there than in Europe? Also, it seems the US uses a system that goes all the way up to 100% whereas the british system gives a 'first' at 70 % and rarely gives anyone any higher than this (75 % really = 100%)

Does anyone have any input at all on how to use /understand /think about the US grading system?
Thank you

quetzal · November 3, 2004, 4:31am

Where did you get your masters? Your degrees are good... getting a 'first' in Britain is fantastic, that's like a summa cum laude in a US uni. To be perfectly honest with you, I don't see there to be any point in converting your degrees into GPA. What American universities have you applied to? If they're really international they should be able to understand your degrees as they are without the need of conversion. In my applications I didn't even try to translate my A-levels, grades and timetable into GPA or APs because it's just not possible to convey the European systems in an American light. But then again, US unis aren't my first choice and if they were I would probably be as worried as you in trying to convert my results into some form that Americans may understand. I hope this sorta helps. Good luck!

elliegezellie · November 3, 2004, 8:56am

thank you!!! Well, I have to convert them somehow, coz otherwise they won't let me submit the application! But I guess I'll just do a rough estimate - at least this way, I can write up really good gpa's and say I just didn't understand the system... But they'll have my transcripts so it's sort of embarrassing to write gpa's that are 'better' than they actually are if you get my drift... I don't even know what's considered 'good' in the US , what's average , what's excellent etc. I guess a 4.0 would be like a first?
What's even more difficult are my Norwegian grades- I'm doing graduate work in Norway now and their system is a bit like the British system, but different. Aaaaaaargh! This is so frustrating!
btw I'm applying to Yale - they're the ones asking for my gpa . I saw there was a thread on that here so somehow all you other people must have managed to convert your grades. OH how how how?

Oh you asked where my degrees were from - bachelor's - the LSE(London school of economics,) and master's UCL - (University college london) and now I'm doing somehting like an MPhil in Norway and I am applying to do PhD's at Yale, Columbia, Georgetown, and Berkeley. And Oxford actually but they're British so don't ask about gpa's :)
Anyways, thanks for replying!

quetzal · November 3, 2004, 9:27am

4.0 is excellent! Bachelor's degree at the LSE and MBA at UCL!!! That's awesome, you have a really good chance at Yale IMO. I almost went to the LSE for law with French law but decided to take a kind of gap year and consider options in other countries.

By the way, what do you plan to take up at Yale? And what courses did you take at the LSE and at UCL? Don't worry too much about how accurate the conversion is, at the end of the day, if your gpa translation is 'better' than they consider it should be then it's not really your fault and they won't use it against you. As far as I'm concerned a 2:1 at the LSE should get you very far ( I know someone taking up Economics at the LSE, a filipina, might you know her?). Now I'm starting to worry coz I didn't bother to try to calculate my gpa in my application for Yale....

elliegezellie · November 3, 2004, 12:28pm

thanks - wow it feels great to have someone cheer me on !my family and friends don't really do that coz they don't want me to move:) so I feel like I'm pretty much doing this all on my own. - I'm sure my chances are about the same as anyone else's, no more. To be honest I don't really expect to get in but then there is this silly part of me that doesn't want ot give up hope and just has to aim high, even if it feels unrealistic. There are weaknesses too abt my application, for instance I'm pretty sure I did terrible on the GRE. Am trying to take it again, but I'll be really strapped for time as I'm writing this huge thesis right now that has to be in soon. My subject is philosophy. - Am applying to do PhD's in philosophy. BUt at the LSE I did international relations. I swapped subjects when I started my MA.It's been a few years now since I was at the LSE - I might have known your friend if she was there at the same time as me (graduated 2000) - though I didn't have any close friends that were Filipino.
I wouldn't worry about not having filled in the gpa-thing if I were you - the only reason I'm worried about it is because it's an online app. and it won't let me submit unless I fill it in - I don't want to make it too low, since that might exclude me from the application pile- yet I just think it would be so terribly embarrassing if I overrated myself and they found out & they'll just think oh who does she think she is... :( ?hmmm... well thank you SO much for being so nice to me! I really appreciate it. WHat are you applying to at Yale? ARe you applying for the fall semester 2005?

quetzal · November 3, 2004, 2:49pm

you're welcome... and i'm sure your family and friends just want the very best for you and will be very proud if you make it to any of the ivies that you are applying for.

It is very competitive at Yale or any university at that level, so you are probably right about your chances, and I don't even wanna guess what the stats for admission are at Phd level. WHen you said, "To be honest I don't really expect to get in but then there is this silly part of me that doesn't want ot give up hope and just has to aim high, even if it feels unrealistic," I felt sooo identified. I really think I won't get in but there's something in me that doesn't want to just give up on this chance, coz if i never tried and aimed so high i'd always ask myself: could i have done more or become more?

I understand your problem with the gpa thing now, if you ask around this forum for international students wanting to take up a PHd they probably have had the same problem and might have the solution... I'm applying for international relations/modern foreign languages or maybe even English, it's something I wasn't quite sure of... and yes, I did apply for fall semester 2005, probably not gonna make it but there's always the silly little part of me with hope so.. fingers crossed, for both of us :D

elliegezellie · November 3, 2004, 4:43pm

well, lets cross our fingers... for all we know we may bump into each other putzing around campus in about a year. Then again maybe we won't even notice each other coz both our heads are high up in the clouds conjuring up some new impossible dream. :) Thanx for the advice! I'll start another post looking for grad students. Oh - and about the constant wondering whether 'I could have become more' I totally get ya! Though sometimes I also try to remind myself that I could have become less too. :) I guess I'll try to think of that if /when I don't get into all those Ivies. But at least I'll know I've tried. Good luck to you too!