I’m an international student with Polish Bachelor’s of Technical Science degree (in Information Technology) and I’m applying to M.S. programs in Computer Science in the US. I have a question regarding my CGPA.
According to my transcript it’s 3.64/5.00 (so 2.92/4.00 in US scale). However, my diploma also states that my final grade distribution is following: “1/2 of mean examination and credit grades obtained throughout the course of studies, 1/4 Bachelor’s thesis and 1/4 Bachelor’s thesis examination grades.”, therefore on my diploma document, the overall classification is 4.50/5.00 (3.6/4.0 in US scale).
So, am I allowed to type this 4.5 grade (3.6 US) as the CGPA in the submission forms in graduate applications?
You can use the GPA that includes your thesis grade, but please make sure that that number is reflected on the university records that you send to graduate programs. If American universities only see your transcripts and your thesis GPA isn’t on there, at best your self-reported average is going to be ignored and at worst it will look like an attempt to cheat.
I would recommend reporting your GPA as is (on the 5-point scale) and not converting it, unless you are explicitly instructed otherwise.
If you are instructed to convert your GPA, the proper way to do that would be to convert individual grades one-by-one and then take an average of the converted grades. Scaling your GPA by 4/5 doesn’t work.