GPA, P/NP, W, REPEATS, FOREIGN COURSEWORK, ETC. </p>
<p>COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT
MEDICAL & LAW SCHOOL APPLICATION </p>
<p>Do law schools count a “P” grade as a “C”? This is absolutely not true. “Law Services”,
the application service, does not count a “P” grade into the undergraduate college GPA. </p>
<p>All of the applicant’s college and university course grades (even those courses taken
in high school for which a college transcript exists) are counted in the overall GPA for
admission to law and medical schools throughout the U.S. This also applies for many
other health profession schools, such as dentistry, pharmacy and optometry. </p>
<p>When applying to law and most medical schools, all repeated course grades are
counted into the overall GPA (both the original grade and the repeated grade). UCSD
allows the first four repeated courses’ grades to be omitted from the UCSD GPA
calculation; not so for law schools, as well as all allopathic (M.D.) medical schools. D.O.
(osteopathic) schools do omit first grades in their calculations. </p>
<p>Law and medical schools request all of the applicant’s college transcripts, even though
the respective application services (Law Services, AMCAS, and AACOMAS) compute
the GPA a bit differently. The UCSD GPA can sometimes be a bit higher than the
application service’s GPA, since they transfer all college quarter course units to semester
units when figuring GPAs. Summer school grades will count in the GPA calculations
for law and medical schools. </p>
<p>Grades for courses completed through EAP (Education Abroad Program) are counted
in the GPA, as well as grades for courses completed through OAP (Opportunities
Abroad Program), only if there exists a college transcript for those OAP courses at an
American college or university. Courses completed at foreign universities (for which only
a foreign transcript exists) are generally not counted in such GPA calculations. This
applies to “OAP” courses for which students register directly through the foreign college
or university. </p>
<p>As a general rule, it is not wise to show too many “W’s” or “P’s” on one’s transcripts
when applying to any kind of graduate or professional school. One fourth of a student’s
college courses taken on a P/NP basis (allowed at UCSD) will most likely appear to be
too many when applying to graduate and professional programs, especially for elite and
competitive programs. (An isolated “P” here or there is not a problem. Also, overlooked
are courses for which student have to register on a P/NP basis, such as 199’s.) </p>
<p>In general it is best to get a “W” in a course than to receive a “D” or “F”. Many students
believe that repeating a D or F for a better grade will “look better” on their transcript. Not
true. As mentioned already, both the original and the repeated grades count for law and
medical schools. Many students have told us they just purposely choose to get a D or F in
a course (one they are struggling to get a B or C in anyway), because they know they can
repeat it, not knowing that repeats can count in the GPA calculation. The admissions
committee’s impressions of the D or F are generally worse than of a W. Avoid the D’s
and F’s. </p>
<p>Students often ask us near the 4th and 9th week drop/change deadlines if they should drop
a class or change a grading option. We generally tell them that if they don’t have any
W’s, or very few of them, that a W will not hurt like a C, D or F might, especially for
medical school. They may be asked to explain the W in an interview, but that will
generally be less damaging than a D or F on the record, which brings down the GPA. </p>
<p>Student often think that the only GPA that matters is the major GPA, or only the UCSD
GPA. Not so. Law schools factor the overall college GPA into a formula with the LSAT
score, and possible other factors, to arrive at a number by with applicants are ranked.
Medical schools look at overall college GPA, the science GPA (all biology, physics,
chemistry and math grades), and the all non-science courses GPA as important academic
criteria. All schools look at upward trends in GPA as positive. Law and medical schools
view the courses and grades on a yearly basis, then on a cumulative basis. So, a senior
who has an overall 3.5, but freshman year was 2.8 and all other years were 3.8, may be in
equal or possibly better shape (potential-wise) than a student with a solid 3.5 throughout.
It shows growth and determination. </p>
<p>A “NP” grade does count as an “F” on the law school applications. AMCAS may
assign an F to a NP grade. “W” grades are never factored into the GPA for admission
purposes. A+ grades do not count for more than 4.0 in GPA calculations for medical and
law school applications. </p>
<p>Many students are not aware that it may be difficult, if not impossible, to change grades
or grading options after various campus deadlines have passed. Students should contact
their college advising office for information on these questions. </p>
<p>For more information about preparing for graduate and professional school, go to
<a href=“http://career.ucsd.edu%5B/url%5D”>http://career.ucsd.edu</a>. </p>
<p>Adapted from the Professional & Graduate School
Opportunities Program, Career Services, UCSD