<p>Hi guys</p>
<p>i heard stanford calculates its own gpa?
how do they do that for internationals then?
how do they tell if a course is core or not?</p>
<p>in my school accounting is core but french is elective</p>
<p>so how do i know if a subject is a core?</p>
<p>also, are computer sciences considered as core subjects?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>Stanford does recalculate GPA--they discard +s and -s and use a straight 4.0 scale (any A = 4, any B = 3). In calculating GPA they only count the 5 core courses of history, science, math, English, and foreign language. I got this info by emailing their admissions office last year.
I don't know anything about the other questions you asked (internationals, computer science, etc.)...I'm just telling you what I know for sure.</p>
<p>question- would classes such as AP psychology, AP music theory, and AP art history count in the recalculated GPA? they aren't core classes, but.... they are academic/demanding.</p>
<p>I would think they should count, but you can e-mail admissions and ask -- that's the only way you'll know for sure.</p>
<p>yeah, I did.. still a reply to come. Have you ever emailed them before? How long does it usually take for them to respond?</p>
<p>They usually reply within a day or two.</p>
<p>I recently spoke to an associate admissions director (or whatever the equivalent title is at Stanford) and she said next year, when they switch to the common app, they won't recalculate GPA anymore. They'll just take whatever the high school gives them.</p>
<p>That's very interesting and also disappointing. What this will likely mean is that class rank will become more important in admissions. I wonder how that will affect big public high schools who don't weight grades. Maybe they'll change their minds this summer.</p>
<p>WHAT? omgomgomgomgomg. lol.... really? why though? i thought that recalculation of GPA was a good thing; it helped standardize the whole procedure at least a bit.</p>
<p>That's rather stupid, because the W GPA at one school is different from that at another school (the other school might add 1.25 for A+ in AP, etc.). I hope that isn't true...</p>
<p>Wow, I'm just getting ****ed up the ass next year.
First they eliminate rolling admissions for UMich. Now they're eliminating recalc. GPA for Stanford. Now I'll be going in with a 3.7 and a top 20% under my belt. They're just trying to make next year the most competitive ever aren't they? Great.</p>
<p>THEY ELIMINATED ROLLING ADMISSIONS FOR UMICH?!? what is this insanity?</p>
<p>Uh...to anyone who said recalculating helped standardize GPA, you CAN NOT standardize GPA. Realize this, GPA is important, however if you are an A/B student, that won't be the reason for Stanford denying you.</p>
<p>^^ it standardized it a lot more than would just leaving the GPA as stated on the app. For example, some schools add 1.25 if you get an A+ in an AP class (1 point if you get just an A), while other schools give you 1 point, and that's it.</p>
<p> Stanford will NOT consider your AP scores in the admission process. It will consider the COURSES you are taking in the AP/IB field and the marks you are receiving. Although it will not consider your AP scores, if two people have extremely similar stats, it is more likely for the university to admit the person with AP scores than to admit the person without AP scores. AP scores are used for receiving credits once you are being admitted and decide to enroll. I personally don't like rolling admission. That kind of admission process really leaves out some good candidates who hand in their applications late.
</p>
<p>Stanford won't be recalculating GPA's the UC style anymore? Crap, thats good for schools that do inflation (5 for A in AP) and what not and bad for a school that is far more critical. I don't even think my school ranks us....</p>
<p>You know, I don't think the GPA numerical value is that important. Colleges will have your transcripts and see the grades you received on every class. Someone with over a 4 and some C's or B's (hey its possible) will not look good.</p>
<p>Yeah they don't just stare at the number. A quick glance over your transcript will tell them all they need to know: grades, and course difficulty.</p>
<p>Really, GPA is useful for ranking - and weighting is important for ranking within the same high school.</p>
<p>I'm sure Stanford will look at the actual grading scale of one school to another for GPA. I mean an idiot in a school with a 5.0 will not be looked upon higher than a valedictorian at a school with a 4.15GPA. The scales are different. Stanford isn't dumb that they'll compare the two and take the person with the 5.0.</p>
<p>I suspect rather than this meaning they look more at your rank in the class (which I'm sure they already strongly consider) that they will look at the grades you got in which classes. As was mentioned above, they have your transcript. If you got all As, and someone else got all As, and you took the same classes but one school weights your grades differently, they will see both transcripts and see the same thing, rather than something different. The grades you get are the same, so it doesn't really matter what the number for your GPA is.</p>