hi, my daughter’s GC recently “recalculated” her GPA to convert it to a 4.0 scale. She has taken honors and CP classes only so far since APs are not allowed at her school til Jr. year (which she just started). I truly cannot understand how her GPA was calculated. The GC told her that it was a 3.94 but I don’t understand how that can be since she never got any grade less than a 95 (which is an A, right?)…wouldn’t that translate to a 4.0? Could someone explain this to me? My daughter is applying to a very competitive internship program and having a 3.94 may be problematic. I cannot understand how you could have anything less than 4 when you have never received less than a 95. Thank you for your input.
Then ask the GC
Why is the GC recalculating GPA anyway? Does the internship application ask the the GPA be converted to a 4.0 scale? If not, it should be reported as the transcript reports. If the internship requires conversion, they should tell you how to convert.
Does your daughter’s school use “-” and"+"s? Did she always get the top grade possible for each class? Did she always take the top level class available in each topic? Take a look at your daughter’s school’s “School profile” and or the school’s handbook. Usually the grading systems are spelled out clearly in both these places.
It seems highly improbable that an internship or any other program would reject a student on the basis of having a 3.94 if they would have accepted the student with a 4.0. In most instances, once grades are high enough (and a 3.9 would usually qualify as that) other variables are used to distinguish among applicants. For most purposes I’d select a student with a 3.9 and impressive achievements outside the classroom over a 4.0 student without them or with less impressive achievements. But regardless, if the student has had all A’s in rigorous classes the fact that the transcript reads “3.94” probably makes little difference. Usually the transcript is reviewed so those A’s will show.
The internship said that they wanted her GPA on a “4.0 scale”. So, her current GPA is 4.31 with the honors classes taken into consideration. I just don’t honestly understand how a gpa could be converted to less than 4.0 if she never got less than a 95 - honors or not. Is that possible?
Thank you for your response. I guess that I am just dense and cannot understand how to calculate this…or, if this is they way that they actually do it. Her GC said explained that the 4.0 is only for a grade of 100 and it goes down from there. Her overall average is roughly between a 98 and 99 but when I look on websites that talk about conversion, they all say that a 95 is considered a 4.0. She only got two 95s overall and the rest were all 97 or above.
The top grade possible for every class is 100, which is considered an A+ at her school. She has received A+ in all but two classes, which were A’s. She did take the highest level of every class offered.
If that’s the school standard, then this falls under “their school, their rules.” There is no universal metric for GPA calculation.
So every school calculates it however they choose? Interesting. I have heard that colleges recalculate gpa as well. Would it be safe to assume that the colleges do it according to the rules I have seen on this and other websites, or do they all have their own unique method at every school? If this is the case, then it is very confusing to know how your child will stack up when compared to others. :-S
Yup.
This depends upon the college.
Which colleges recalculate GPA and how they do it is a moot point; again, it is what it is. The vast majority of colleges are not transparent on this process, but I believe that most colleges, excepting California publics and a few others, simply look at the HS transcript and do not recalculate.
Thank you for your feedback.
If there is a spot on the application to include the GPA calculation methodology, it might be worth including the specifics.
Does the internship provide any details on how they suggest applicants convert GPAs?
Perhaps have your daughter email the internship and ask if they consider an average of 98 to be a 3.97 or 4.0
If the GC has experience with applicants from your school applying to the program, that would give me more confidence.
As an FYI, a GPA conversion is done class by class, so one cannot say that a 98 average is a 4.0. As an example. a student completing sophomore year with 13 100’s and 1 72 would have a 98 average. But nobody would consider this a 4.0. So the question to be asked is “Does the scholarship have a conversion chart or does it use the school’s GPA?”
You say that your daughter has never received less than a 95. Is this weighted or unweighted? Generally, colleges are most interested in the unweighted grade (before points are added for AP or honors).
Every school calculated this differently. And yes, in college this can happen too. It’s haplened to my kid for a dual enrollment class.
The high school grade takes the cumulative number grade on a 100 scale, converts it to a letter grade first and then converts it to a number grade on a 4.0 scale.
The university takes the cumulative number grade on a 100 scale and converts it to a number grade on a 4.0scale directly.
My kid had a 97 in the class.
On her high school transcript, this was recorded as an “A”, and is calculated as a 4.0
On her college transcript, this was recorded as a 3.7.
Same class. Same percentage on the 100 scale on all of the assignments.
It sounds like the OP’s school does the translation from the 100 scale to the 4.0scale directly.
You say that your daughter has never received less than a 95. Is this weighted or unweighted? Generally, colleges are most interested in the unweighted grade (before points are added for AP or honors).
I’m confused by this question (sorry)…I mean the majority of her classes have been honors (except gym, art, religion, and music)…and her average of all assignments has been a numerical 95 or above. Isn’t the bump for honors only considered when calculating the weighted gpa? This may seem like an ill-informed question but this is new to me. TX
As others have said, different schools calculate GPA very differently. Where I live a 98 or about is a 4.0, and a 97 is a 3.7. I have talked to parents whose children attend high schools were a 90 is a 4.0.
Some schools boost the reported numerical grade for honors and AP classes, which means that higher than 100 is possible. Others only boost the calculated GPA for honors and AP classes.
I would be inclined to ask the people who run the internship program how they expect GPA to be calculated.
Does the internship provide any details on how they suggest applicants convert GPAs?
They did not…there was just a space for the GPA on a 4.0 scale. And, she is the first student from her school to apply to this internship.
My kid had a 97 in the class.
On her high school transcript, this was recorded as an “A”, and is calculated as a 4.0
On her college transcript, this was recorded as a 3.7.
Wow!!! That is painful…clearly, a 97 should be an A, and an A is a 4.0. Guess I’ll never be able to wrap my head around this. 
Keeping my fingers crossed for acceptance in the internship.
Correct.
It’s a valid question. You’d be surprised by the number of posts that ask us, for example, to chance them based on weighted GPA. WGPA, to be clear, is pretty meaningless outside of that HS (with some very limited exceptions) as there is no consistent standard amongst schools. So in asking the probing question was really meant to clarify to ensure that you know the difference.
As stated, grading scales vary widely. At my daughter’s school at 93.5 was a B+ and weighted as a 3.3. That’s why GCs send their grading scales in their school reports to colleges.
As stated, grading scales vary widely. At my daughter’s school at 93.5 was a B+ and weighted as a 3.3. That’s why GCs send their grading scales in their school reports to colleges.
I’m now starting to realize that the system is much more complex than I once thought. It would be so nice (and much easier for the admissions officers I’m sure) if they standardized the grading so that all students would be on a level playing field and know where they stood…out in left field w/o the glove? LOL