<p>I'm an international currently studying for my IB diploma. My school officially sets the IB score of 7 equal to an A+, a 6 to an A, 5 to a B etc. </p>
<p>My question arises from trying to translate this into the American system with the 4.0 max GPA.</p>
<p>I did a little look around and all schools I could find on the internet award a 4.0 for an A+ but also a 4.0 for an A. </p>
<p>So, theoretically, I could have a 4.0 average with all A's only; no A+s?
If this is the case, how important is it for top universities that I have A+s, and not As, if the GPA is the same anyway? </p>
<p>Thanks for any clarification!</p>
<p>P.S. How redeeming is the upward trend in GPA? If I were to have a, say, 2.8 GPA junior and sophomore year, but a 4.0 junior with all A+s except for two As.. am I automatically made uncompetitive by my very bad earlier grades? What if I can explain them with personal/family issues, and back that up by excellent middle-school grades?</p>
<p>Here you go:
A+ means nothing on the 4.0 unweighted scale.
An A is a 4.0
An A- is a 3.7
A B+ is a 3.3
A B is a 3.0
A B- is a 2.7
A C+ is a 2.3
A C is a 2.0
A C- is a 1.7
A D+ is a 1.3
A D is a 1.0
A D- is a .7
Anything lower and you are failing (0)</p>
<p>Add up your semester grades using these point values, divide by the number of classes, and that number is your unweighted GPA on the 4.0 scale.</p>
<p>You said the A+ matters nothing on the GPA. If, though, I have a 4.0 - how much will the colleges care that I get A+s and not As?</p>
<p>And when you say HYPS etc. don't care about upward trends, does that mean I'm screwed because of my earlier bad grades or that I'm fine because I have a 4.0 now.. but the upward trend won't help me? Which one is it?</p>
<p>Let's see...
Colleges will like seeing the A+s even though they don't mean anything GPA-wise, so if this could give you a small bump. As for the upward trend question, it doesn't necessarily mean that you are screwed, it just means it will be harder to get admission. Though your GPA is a 4.0 now, it is not a 4.0 cumulative because of your GPA from Freshmen year. Stanford, I believe, does not take freshman year grades into account when calculating GPA, so your chances are much better there.</p>
<p>Also, you mentioned the diffrentiation between A+, A, A- and so on. At my school and in most schools in my state, there is no difference. A "100" in Honors Chemistry is the same as a "94" in Honors Chemistry as far as GPA calculation is concerned.</p>
<p>Alabamaguy, thanks for your post too. I'm just wondering whether the colleges care more about the A+s than most people around here seem to do.. Seems to me that full A+s are more prestigious than full As even if they yield the same GPA.</p>
<p>My main concern now is the low GPA from earlier years. I had, approximately, 2.5-2.8 GPA in my sophomore and freshman years.. but a 4.0 now. I'm wondering how bad those earlier grades are going to affect me for the Ivies - I'm especially interested in whether the schools will take into account personal/family issues.</p>