<p>So this semester is finally over and I ended up with A- in honors English 11 (blame zeros on homework). In my school, A-, A, and A+ are all 4.00 on the weighing scale, which is great. But how do top colleges look at A-'s? I plan on going to the University of Michigan, and I know that they do not recalculate GPA, so I'll have a perfect (4.00) unweighted GPA anyway. So should I worry at all?</p>
<p>^this is a bit extreme even by CC standards…</p>
<p>No. A-'s are still As, especially considering it was in an honors course. If you already know it keeps your 4.0 GPA, why are you even concerned?</p>
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<p>They’d have to, at least some. How do they compare GPAs on different scales?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about it. In some schools the percent that got you an A- would be considered a B, but even that isn’t a big deal unless you have a lot of them.</p>
<p>I know for sure that they don’t recalculate GPA anymore. They just look at the one on your transcript. They know about the different schools and their grading scales so it’s not a problem.</p>
<p>At our school an A- is 3.67 for regular classes, 4.67 for Honors. </p>
<p>I haven’t gotten any A-'s yet in freshman or sophomore year, but we’ll see about junior year.</p>
<p>I know Purdue takes A-'s into account when looking at whether someone is qualified for Honors College. Not Top 25, I know, but the Honors College requires a 3.8 UW, which is similar to a T25 requirement. </p>
<p>For UMich, you’re fine because of how they calculate GPA. Other top schools, who knows, but to be on the safe side, think of 3 A-'s = 1 B. So a significant scattering of A-'s(6 or so) would be like a couple of B’s, which isn’t a deal-breaker but isn’t great either.</p>
<p>I know Princeton counts A-'s as 3.7s so don’t get a ton. On a side note, I also got my first A- in honors English 11.</p>
<p>does your transcript say A-? if so, there may be a small impact(but i wouldn’t worry about it since its a 4.0 anyways…). if your transcript doesnt differentiate at all between A-/A/A+, then you’re fine .</p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>Yes, if you get anything besides a 9.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale), you’ll be rejected from every single top tier college. Sorry about your loss bro.</p>
<p>^ I know I sound silly with this thread, but the whole college application process is driving me crazy. So don’t bash me if I sound like I’m exaggerating. Thank you</p>
<p>Anyway, looks like I’m getting mixed opinions. I personally think A-'s are as good as A’s. I hope that Umich realizes that A-'s and A’s weigh the same and are equally good by my school’s standards.</p>
<p>In the end, it won’t come down to the numbers on your application, especially with top tier colleges like UMich.</p>
<p>^but if you dont have the numbers then you’re screwed regardless…</p>
<p>ilovediannaagron, how many times do I have to explain to you that you’re wrong?</p>
<p>Given past threads of yours in the past (“if I get a B in an AP class am I’m going to be rejected from X?”), I can assume you know NOTHING of the selective admissions process and I’d highly advise you not to attempt to give other people advice (especially when it’s completely erroneous).</p>
<p>Yall are both right. If you have a 1.0 GPA and an 800 SAT score, you’re not getting in. But if you have a 3.7 and a 2100, you’re not going to necessarily get in either.</p>
<p>(A case can be made for a 4.0 and a 2400 and no ECs for non-Ivyesque schools)</p>
<p>@relativelysmart: i was NEVER saying that numbers are all colleges care about. i’m not stupid, i know that there is more to a person than just gpa and sat. but i get extremely annoyed when people underestimate the importance of numbers. remember, colleges want their student body to be able to handle the academic stress at their institution. without a baseline academic qualification(lets say 3.7 gpa and 2100, in rare instances maybe lower) there is nearly no chance that a top college will want a student.</p>
<p>What would y’all say for a case where a student had ok grades (As and A-s) but with a 2400 SAT and strong ECs (stronger than let’s say 3/4 of the other applicants)? I know test scores almost never compensate for subpar grades, but in the case of grades like A- (which isn’t horrible) and a 2400 (which is pretty unique) would you say a student who had half A-s on their transcript could do well with a 2400 (and assuming the A-s are not in their projected area of study)?</p>
<p>Admissions Officers at selective colleges do not ignore plus or minus signs. (A+ show more excellence than an A or an A-, but all of those grades are excellent – so no worries.)</p>
<p>What you need to remember is selective college admissions is not a meritocracy. Students with the highest grades and test scores DO NOT always get accepted over a student with lesser grades and scores. For example, a student with straight A pluses and a 2300-2400 SAT’s might be rejected, while a student with straight A minuses or even (god forbid) some B’s and a 2200 SAT might be accepted. Much of the applications process is subjective and comes down to how an Admissions Director “feels” after reading your teacher recommendations and essays and compares your file to all other applicants.</p>
<p>Actually they do recalculate based on the scale set by College Board. Here is the scale</p>
<p>[How</a> to Convert Your GPA to a 4.0 Scale](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>How to Convert (Calculate) Your GPA to a 4.0 Scale – BigFuture)</p>
<p>It is probably similar to your schools GPA scale but I am not sure.</p>
<p>I’ll probably take some hate for this, but UMich is not technically a top 25 undergrad school…</p>
<p>bump 10char</p>