How does GPA matter for an international student?

Applying to College
1

Hi, I am a student from south korea (I am not from a international school, I am just from a normal pulbic school). However, the way scores are graded in Korea is different from how the GPA is graded. We are graded based upon the percentile of the whole group, and not the score themselves. So if you get a score of 92 in the exam and get a school ranking of 100th place, your score is not that good. However, if your score on some other test is 78 and your in the 10th place, you are really good. See what I mean? The point is, my school is one of the toughest schools in my country. It holds as 40th place in academic achievement in the whole nation, and excluding schools like ‘special’, ‘private schools’ it is placed around the 5th spot between public schools. So, the teachers intentionally make the exams impossible in order to grade students in the Korean method; if the exam is too easy, you can’t really line people up by their grades. For example, in math, no student holds the grade of A in the school. But they don’t really care because students are seen only by their percentile rank. I am devastated by my school because I am a fairly good student and I get good grades too. However, my GPA is calculated as 3.1 which makes me seem like a horrible student. and it seems that I cannot apply to an American University. Will the admissions understand me?

2

Yes. Your GC can explain the grading standards, but you should assume that many colleges have admissions officers who are familiar with grading in various countries.

3

The admissions counselors will understand your school’s grading and guide you in that context. If you are a top student in your school that will come out based on your grades and the school profile regardless of the exact number of your GPA.

4

FYI, the school profile as we discuss here seems to be a purely American invention. While international schools will sometimes have one, the OP attends an LPS, so the probability of a profile is low. That said, as mentioned upthread, colleges will figure it out. Good luck.

5

Thanks!