Do A- look bad?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I want to apply to the University of Michigan, where the average GPA is around a 3.82ish for incoming students. I had a 4.0 UW for my first two years, and a 3.995 or something for the first semester of junior year. However, I think I might end up with two or three A- on this semester's grades (possibly only one, but I'd say s minimum of one.) Will these few A- hurt me?</p>

<p>My schedule:
Chem II A- the first semester
AP Biology
Calculus
English
Spanish III
Physics II
World History</p>

<p>Senior year schedule:
General chem I, II (university)
General Physics I, II (university, calc based )
Calculus 2, Calculus 3
Computer Science I, II
Psychology, Sociology
English 12
Art</p>

<p>Am I looking good at this point, even with a few A-? </p>

2

<p>It really depends on a couple things:

  1. How you’re school calculates GPA. Some high schools calculate GPA so that an A (A-, A, or A+) = 4.0, B (B-, B, or B+) = 3.0…I refer to this as the “As an A”. Whereas others use a more traditional collegiate system for GPA calculation - A = 4.0, A- = 3.75, B+ = 3.25, B = 3…This is important mainly because it affects your class rank (to some degree).
  2. How the college calculate GPA for applicants. Some colleges use the “As and A” system Most colleges use the “As and A” system for freshmen admission, but you can always check with their admissions office. This is important for obvious reasons.
    In general though, the distinction between an A and A- is not worth fretting over. No college will deny you admission/rescind your application because you score an A- vs an A.</p>
3

<p>Will the A-'s hurt you? No, no they will not. Plain and simple. </p>

<p>Without your SAT scores/etc. we can’t really tell if your application looks good or not so far (and we probably could never tell with 100% certainty), but your course rigor looks pretty good, and your GPA’s on point. </p>

4

<p>When UM recalculates GPA, they dropped all the subgrades. Anyway, if you have all A/A+ but just a few A-, your uwGPA will still be well above 3.9. That should be fine for UMich even if they do not recalculate your GPA. For 2013 admission average, the uwGPA is 3.85 (3.9 for engineering). You should put your focus on other part of the application such as test scores and EC.</p>