<p>Hi, I have a fairly quick question. I am doing undergrad in Australia at the moment, and strongly thinking of applying to US graduate school to do a PhD.</p>
<p>The problem is, our grading system doesn't really translate well to US GPAs. In Australia, a grade of 85/100 is considered excellent, placing you in the top 2% of your class or so, but when converted to a GPA, it comes out as a fairly unimpressive 3.4. So, my question is, do US grad schools typically have experience dealing with foreign grades? Will they understand that my grades are fairly high? If not, what can I do to get that across?</p>
<p>US grad schools are familiar with the conventions used in grading for most foreign countries and will adjust their GPA expectations accordingly when you apply. US grad schools are research based and are much more interested in your research experiences, letters of recommendations, how well your interests match the program,etc. GPA is only part of the consideration.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply! Yes, I am aware that a PhD programme naturally emphasises research, but at the same time the universities I’d like to apply to are highly competitive, and I imagine every last decimal on that converted GPA will make quite a difference to how well the application goes down. I’d hate for my application to be rejected because of something so silly as international grades conversions.</p>
<p>The applications I’ve been working on all either ask for GPA and then scale of GPA, or have a field to enter “alternative GPA” with a section to briefly explain the system.</p>