It has come to my notice that the range of grades that is considered to be an “a” in Canada varies from the States. I would like to know if American colleges convert these grades, or leave them as is?
I don’t know, but you & your guidance counselor should include a letter of explanation about Canadian grading to your targeted US schools.
If applying to US colleges & universities that frequently admit students from your school, then talk to your school guidance counselor about your concern so that he or she can alleviate your fears.
If applying to UC (University of California schools), then make sure to clearly show your class rank–assuming that you are in the top 10% of your class.
Top US schools are aware of the Canadian grading system and how to evaluate them.
They leave them as is. But as @TomSrOfBoston correctly says, AOs are well aware of grading standards in other countries, and will evaluate your transcript accordingly.
You should do no such thing, IMO. It is the rare applicant who can “explain” grades without coming across as whiny or as making excuses. If you feel it is necessary (and I would posit that it is not) your GC can discuss on the Secondary School Report.
If the targeted school is unfamiliar with the difference in grading–not a common target school–then why not ?
As far as schools that are familiar with Canadian grading, I addressed that in my second paragraph.
@Paris2018: It may help to know which US schools you are applying to & whether or not students from your school apply to these schools frequently.
Regardless, as I wrote in my earlier post above, class rank is important & could convey enough info.to the US school about the difference in grading.
I’d suggest that it is the very rare AO handling int’l applications that does not understand grading in Canada. But in the hypothetical situation of an applicant targeting such a college, then let the GC talk about it; explaining curriculum differences / grading standards is not what the applicant should spend time discussing on an application.
Now if grades are due to personal/family issues, then yes, s/he can discuss.
Actually, no you didn’t. An AO can understand Canadian grading without ever having had an application from a particular HS.
Note than less than half of US high schools rank, and I would say the percentage is less for international high schools. Additionally, the school profile, which would normally explain curriculum standards at the HS is rare (with the exception of international schools) outside the US, which, again, is why the GC should discuss.
I find it odd that another poster suggests that an explanation of the difference in grading systems would come across as “whiny” or “making excuses”.
@skieurope: Okay. I see the problem. I don’t think that you read my initial post in this thread carefully.
I never suggested that the applicant explain the difference in grading systems, only that the applicant contact his or her guidance counselor & have that person explain the grading system. Maybe I wasn’t clear enough about that in my initial post.