TMDSAS/AMCAS GPA Calculation for Canadians

[coolnad17]

Hi there,

 

I am a Canadian/US dual national but did my undergrad in Canada (UWO).

 

I had a couple of questions about applying to US schools:

 

1. I know how AMCAS calculates GPA (its posted somewhere in the forum), but is it by credit hours or by course? For example at UWO, we take 5 courses every semester. Biology + Lab = 1 course. However, in the US, science courses and labs are usually taken differently and assigned credit hours. Bio Course = 3 credit hours. Bio Lab = 1 or 2 credit hours.

 

So how is GPA calculated for Canadians applying to US schools in regards to this?

 

2. I am a Texas resident. Does anybody know how TMDSAS calculates GPA?

 

Thanks for the help in advance (let me know if that first question didn't make sense)!

[kaul]

Hi,

In the US, GPA is calculated based on credit hours. It's basically taking the number of hours and multiplying that by the numerical grade assigned for each letter grade. If you did your undergrad at a Canadian college that does not use the credit hours system, then I'm not exactly sure how they calculate your GPA. You might want to ask that question with the that school you're applying to. Texas medical schools can only accept non Texas-residents up to 10 percent of total enrollment by state law, so it is very competitive for non-Texas residents to get in. Since you mentioned that you are a Texas resident, you might have a slight advantage,

 

People have told me that Texas med schools don't take into account your plus or minus grade. Basically, an A is a 4.0 and a B is a 3.0, though I have yet to confirm that. I found this on their website , which is somewhat indicative of them not taking into account your plus or minus:

"The TMDSAS grading system standardizes the way grades will be reported to your designated schools. TMDSAS grades include: A, B, C, D, F, CR, P, FL, I and NY. The TMDSAS Grade is assigned a numeric value to calculate your grade point average. As you enter your grades, the TMDSAS system will convert the grade to a TMDSAS Grade."

If you want more info. regarding to GPA calculation visit this link:

http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/medical/section_Overview.html

hope that helps

[keith_015]

Its all relative for AMCAS. They convert your "OT (On transcript)" system for you if it isn't in credit/semester hours. My UG school used units and they converted to semester hours.