Does an A- hurt your chances of getting into a college?

<p>First off, I apologize how stupid and petty this post must seem. I honestly do not mean to come off as an elitist or unhappy with an A-, which I do know is a pretty good grade. I am simply wondering if colleges view an A- differently than a regular A. </p>

<p>In the past four semesters of high school, I have received 4 A-'s, though only in advanced or honors courses. Is it possible that this could significantly hurt me when I apply to colleges? I am planning to apply to top tier schools, ie HYPSM. My school recognizes A-'s as a regular A (4 GPA points) so my UW GPA is still a 4.0 but I was just wondering if colleges will look down on an A- :)</p>

<p>Thank you so much, and I'm sorry for how stupid this post must seem!</p>

<p>I believe many colleges count an A- as a 3.67 rather than a 4, which would make the answer to your question a yes. But obviously not every school does it the same way.</p>

<p>Depending on the college, an A- may count as a 4, a 3.7, or sometimes a 3.67. I’m in the same boat, as I never realized (until this year) that A-'s would be counted differently. As such, I was always fine getting an A-, not knowing that it would possibly be detrimental. I’ve gotten something like 16 A’s, and 12 or so A-'s.</p>

<p>Having one A- in 2.5 or 3.5 years (depending on whether freshman grades are counted) would not change your overall GPA a whole lot even when it is counted as 3.7. The difference would be diluted at least 10 times by other classes and your uwGPA would still be above 3.95 if you have A or A+ in everything else. My D is in the same situation and she trying to raise that final 1% to push her single A- back to A. They will also consider your course load. So 3.95 or 4.0 makes no difference, but a heavy course load and an easy one does.</p>

<p>That’s very reassuring, debater and billcsho! Thank you for your responses, I’m definitely a lot less worried about my A-'s now :)</p>

<p>Obviously not if an A- is a 4.0.</p>

<p>My school uses a 4.33 gpa system (A- =3.67, A+=4.33)… do colleges re-calculate it using their own scale?
I’m going to be getting an A- this semester, does this mean I no longer have a 4.0? (Even if my other gpa is 4.25?)</p>

<p>Colleges will typically recalculate, so that all applicants are equal. It just depends on the college, as to whether or not they calculate all A’s the same way, or A-'s differently.</p>

<p>Does anyone know what colleges calculate A-'s differently?</p>

<p>^ I’d also like to know this, if anyone knows!</p>

<p>Look for the GPA calculators from different schools. Many schools do not count subgrades. Some only count core courses. Some do not count freshman grades. You should look up the admission office page of the school you are going to apply to find out. There are too many to list out. UC do not count subgrades or freshman grades.</p>

<p>If I’m not mistaken all major universities use the standard A-4, B-3, C-2 and so on … this is based on what I’ve read and all of my friends and what not … Honestly to me there is no difference between getting a 96 and a 93 especially if you can make a 96 but your teacher screws up or you just get lazy so from all the schools I’ve looked at I haven’t seen this.</p>

<p>UMich has stopped recalculating GPA, so all your subgrades on your transcript will remain on the application.</p>

<p>SkeezeyJay, I certainly hope that you are correct. If you are, I have almost a perfect GPA.</p>

<p>I haven’t heard of sub grading and it didn’t effect my brother or any of my friends if colleges do</p>

<p>I’ve heard of it just not at major prestigious institutions</p>

<p>Wait, what do you mean by sub-grading? And yeah I hope the A-4 B-3 system is correct too.</p>

<p>I mean like colleges cutting your transcript up by 91-93 is a 3.67, 94-96 is a 4.0, 97+ is a 4.33</p>

<p>Oh yeah, ok… So does that mean if colleges do that for A-'s, they would do that for A+'s too?</p>

<p>HYPSM aren’t going to recalculate. They will look at your transcript. In general, an A- isn’t an issue, from a competitive high school. But, you must have rigor and balance your stats with some impact in your EC’s. It’s really not good enough to just be a star in your own hs. You have to climb out of the ordinary hs box.</p>