Help! I Cannot Get A Correct Answer On How To Calculate Gpa For Bc Undergrad Schools!

[canucks_14]

I don't know how to calculate my AMCAS gpa for UBC, UVIC, TRU, Langara College, and Vancouver Island University.

 

 

All AMCAS says is to look at the conversion guide and see which conversion "fits best". Well none of the conversions under the canadian section clearly fits best. I told them this and they said your best bet is to actually talk to your school. The generic phone numbers for each of these schools all say the same thing: they aren't the ones converting the grades so you should contact whoever is converting your grades.

---Contacting AMCAS is no help because no one there can do anything to with conversions, the conversions are strictly handled by the conversion unit of AMCAS, and there is no possible way to contact them. The only way AMCAS can tell you their calculation of their GPA is if you submit an application (this is what they told me when I called). Anyone who tries to help you through the main unit does not know how to do it for certain, they are just guessing and trying to help. This was very clear when I called them.

 

Here are the details from these transcripts:

There are 5 scenarios for what is listed for my courses on my transcripts:

1) Letter grades  and 4.33 scale (LANGARA COLLEGE)

2) Letter grades (THOMPSON RIVERS UNIVERSITY - OPEN LEARNING)

 

3) Letter grades and 9.0 scale (UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA) --------------->prior to UVIC using percent

4) Letter grades and percent mark  (UBC)

 

5) Letter grades and 4.0 scale (VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY)

 

 

Now the heart of the issue is this. I'm aware that when you submit your AMCAS application, all you enter is two things A) your letter grade, and

b ) the semester hours. And so it would seem all that matters is the letter grade, which would mean you would scroll down to the Canadian section of the AMCAS conversion guide, look at whatever letter grade you got, and then look down underneath to see if it's a 4.0 or 3.7 or whatever. But is this correct?

BUT then how does this play into the aforementioned schools? an 86 at UBC is an A, and an A is a 4.0 for AMCAS as As and A+s are the same weight. But if you look down further to the white rows for the conversion guide there is a row that states 87-100 is a 4.0 and so therefore an 86 would be a 3.7 according to that.

So for UBC applicants, does AMCAS use the percent score or does it use the letter grade? Is an 86 at UBC a 4.0 or a 3.7?

 

For UVIC does AMCAS use the letter grade or does it use the 9.0 grade? if I got an A at a course at UVIC before they started using percent, will that be a 4.0 or will it be a 3.7?

Basically, what is AMCAS going to use for UVIC and UBC? Are they going to use letter grades, or are they going to use the 9.0 or percent marks respectively. All of these scenarios will yield different results!!

And for TRU, Langara, and VIU, I'm fairly certain they will use a letter grade. BUT under the canadian section it seems to only state numeric grades ie. percent or 9.0 scale. So I'm not even sure about this either.

If anyone could confirm what system, or row, will be used for the 5 institutions listed, that would be great.

 

This is all seems very very uncertain, as I'm not willing to "guess" what my gpa is like what others have done. If my As or 86s count as 4.0s, I could easily have a much different GPA than my OMSAS GPA, and I would love to know this for when I apply to American schools so I can get a good idea instead of literally going into it blind. It's just very necessary information. You get my point. OMSAS GPA is a different calculation so it has no relevence (potentially) on what my AMCAS gpa could be.

 

here is a link to the amcas conversion guide

(https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/10/ab/10ab9407-7134-4477-9fc9-140d8acb35af/amcas_grade_conversion_guide.pdf)

[bearpuppy]

Use whatever gives you the best. I think it was fair to utilize the UBC version of an A. AMCAS will adjust your transcript/GPA anyway if they disagree.

 

That said, are you filling out applications now?? I hope not as it is beyond late.

[canucks_14]

Use whatever gives you the best. I think it was fair to utilize the UBC version of an A. AMCAS will adjust your transcript/GPA anyway if they disagree.

 

That said, are you filling out applications now?? I hope not as it is beyond late.

Yeah I just calculated it roughly. It's just weird potentially not knowing the exact number.

 

And no, I'm applying in the future. Next year or the year after. Congrats on your acceptances!

[Frugal doc]

FYI found this calculator online: http://bemoacademicconsulting.com/amcas-gpa-conversion-calculator

[mdjdot]

I struggled with this as well. Hope you figured it out. I don't understand why it's not all standardized. 

[Med School '18]

Yeh - you would of thought they could standardize this by now. It can't be that difficult. Lol

[Medfuture]

In looking at the AMCAS conversion table for Canadian universities, it appears that if your Canadian school is on a 9-point grading scale (i.e., UVic), then a 7 (out of 9) is a 3.3, even though that's also an A-, according to UVic.  Seems to be a very harsh conversion, since a 7 is also an 80-84% (See:  http://web.uvic.ca/calendar2016-09/undergrad/info/regulations/grading.html).  Not sure how else you can interpret the AMCAS conversion table for the Canadian universities, other than as I've just described.  

 

What's harsh is that, based on the percentage scale at UVic (9 = 90-100 = A+; 8 = 85-89 = A; 7 = 80-84 = A-), it would seem more appropriate that both a 9 & 8 should be a 4.0 (perusing the other conversions of percentages to 4-point GPA, on the same "Canadian" AMCAS table), and a 7 should be 3.7 (because it represents an 80%-84%) rather than just 3.3.  Note that an 84% at some Canadian schools (where 84-100 = A) would translate into a 4.0.  So, in other words, an 84 at one Canadian school can be a 4.0 whereas, coming from Vic, that's just a 3.3!

 

Since UVic has relatively recently changed its transcripts as of 2014, perhaps someone can talk to AMCAS about revising the conversion.  See "What is percentage grading" at:  http://www.uvic.ca/current-students/home/academics/grades/index.php), which says this:  “Since summer session 2014, instructors [now] submit grades in percentages rather than letter grades. The percentage grade, the corresponding letter grade and comparative grading information is displayed on official and administrative transcripts.”

 

Hopefully UVic students can comment on this issue.....

 

MORE:  Seems like someone should go to, say, Univ. of Guelph, where they report grades in percentages and the highest group is "85-100".  (See:  https://www.uoguelph.ca/uaic/faq/grades/how-do-i-calculate-gpa-using-my-guelph-grades).  Then it appears that your 85% percentage will, on the AMCAS scale, convert to a 4.0! (applying the 84-100 category/line on the AMCAS table for Canada, which is closest scale to the Guelph system).

 

Also, looking at the transcript, it may be that AMCAS looks at the percentage and picks one of the other lines--like OMSAS does....  

 

I would be interested in someone responding with info on the AMCAS conversion for UVic....  Maybe only someone who has applied from UVic a U.S. med school can answer that question.

[bearpuppy]

Honestly guys, I think you are fretting over things that aren't really that important. Use whatever number gives you the best conversion (be percentage or letter grade: however, make sure it shows on your transcript). AMCAS will usually accept whatever you report as long as it's backed up by what's on your transcript. For instance, UBC reports both percentages and letter grades (as far as I remember), but I think the letter grades were more forgiving, so use that.

[Medfuture]

Hey Bearpuppy,

 

Thanks for the suggestion.  

 

In the case of UVic, they only changed the system to add percentages in 2014, and so the 2015-vintage AMCAS conversion chart would still need to account for the pre-2014 era grades that only showed the 9-point scale.  But now (since 2014), the face page of the official transcript shows two different so-called "grades":  (1) percentage grade; and (2) letter grade (including +/-, as applicable).  And then, in the next column, is the so-called converted "grade point" which is basically converting the percentage/letter-grade into the UVic 9-point scale.  

 

So now UVic's actual official "grades" are now both (1) percentages and (2) traditional letter grades.  So, I think it would be most acceptable/safe, for AMCAS application submission purposes, to enter either the percentage grade or the letter grade.  That avoids any anomalies from the "old" pure 9-point scale (which, as I say, was the only "grade" provided on the front of the transcript before 2014).  It seems safest (i.e., to avoid a conversion anomaly) to use the official letter grade from the UVic transcript, so that, the AMCAS translation would be as follows:  A+/A = 4.0; A- = 3.7; and B+ = 3.3.

 

Note also that UBC's own medical school states this for applying to UBC Medicine from UVic:  "University of Victoria students and Queen’s University students: Enter letter grades when your transcript shows only letter grades and enter percentages when your transcript includes percentages."  (From: http://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/admissions/help-guide-2016-2017, under the "Transcripts” drop-down menu).  Thus, UBC itself is now completely ignoring the separate 9-point "grade point", for UVic applicants, and saying "just put in the percentage or the letter" (with a preference, in the case of UBC, for the percentage grade, if available).

 

Cheers,

Medfuture

[canucks_14]

Hey bearpuppy, thanks for the reply, it is actually the sort of reply I'm looking for. I did not have a way to figure out your assertion, as I did not think the entire American medical admissions system depended on quasi - self reporting that is open to interpretation, for their principal selection criterion, as I did not think that was a logical scenario. But thank you for your reply, I'll do my best to try to relax enough to believe it and accept it, and I'll try to stay cautiously optimistic in the mean time.

 

On a side note, at an American undergrad university, what is considered an A? Is it 93 for an A? Are science courses scaled? I'm thinking of doing a post bacc but I don't want to shoot myself in the foot with an institution or department being incredibly hard to get straight As in.

[bearpuppy]

Hey bearpuppy, thanks for the reply, it is actually the sort of reply I'm looking for. I did not have a way to figure out your assertion, as I did not think the entire American medical admissions system depended on quasi - self reporting that is open to interpretation, for their principal selection criterion, as I did not think that was a logical scenario. But thank you for your reply, I'll do my best to try to relax enough to believe it and accept it, and I'll try to stay cautiously optimistic in the mean time.

 

On a side note, at an American undergrad university, what is considered an A? Is it 93 for an A? Are science courses scaled? I'm thinking of doing a post bacc but I don't want to shoot myself in the foot with an institution or department being incredibly hard to get straight As in.

Hey there

 

(1) AMCAS will correct your grades if they think they're wrong. This is why it takes time to have your application verified-- they actually look at your transcripts.

 

(2) it is school dependent, and class dependent. I am taking some grad classes at CWRU and it's weird because in one class the prof says 85% will get you an A, and in another it's 90%. CWRU (at least grad level) also doesn't do step grades, so it's just A, B , C, etc.

[Medfuture]

To:  Canucks (or anyone else applying from UVic) - Please follow-up if you're applying to U.S. med schools, to confirm how it went for the final accepted conversion of UVic grades by AMCAS, as I would like to confirm how AMCAS treats it now.  Thanks.