<p>As I finish up my junior year I'm trying to finally single out the colleges I want to apply to. I am looking to get into some competitive schools, and have been getting increasingly anxious about my academic stats. Most recently, I have been troubled by an A- infestation in the second semesters of my freshman and sophomore years (meaning 50ish% of my A's were A minuses). I had a challenging course load (though not incredibly challenging compared to some I've seen). I know that doesn't sound like a particularly terrible problem, but as far as I'm able to tell an A- is no A which is no A+ to a school like Brown (probably the most selective school I would apply to). Anyway, my basic question is could this be the determining factor in denying me admittance in a close race with another applicant, or just a flat out in denying me admittance? I'll admit a lot of that A- business was second semester sluggishness, but how lazy does it really make me look? My school weights an A- the same as an A, so they didn't hurt my actual GPA.
If anyone has any info. or experience to share I'd much appreciate it.</p>
<p>An A is an A, regardless of the sign next to it.</p>
<p>If your GPA weighs the same, it really shouldn’t matter.</p>
<p>It depends on the schools GPA calculations. Some schools drop the subgrades in GPA calculation for school application. Then you will still get 4.0 even full of A- on transcript. Other schools count subgrades and A- is 3.7. That would make a big difference. Find out how the schools you are going to applied calculate the GPA. Some schools do not recalculate GPA at all but use the number from your transcript too.</p>
<p>The more selective a school, the more resolution it wants. To get more resolution, subgrades are the key.</p>
<p>Unless your school indicates subgrades, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Ask your counselor how your grades are displayed on your transcript, and whether your A- is noticeable. At my school, an A- is simply designated as an A on my transcript, and the unweighted GPA is entirely unaffected. Therefore, the colleges do not see how we’ll I did in any class other than my letter grade.</p>
<p>But colleges do look at your transcript, which has the number grades for each class for each year, so that might be a problem… (I have the same concern- I have a 93 UW but I’ve gotten only 1 B in all of high school so half my A’s are A minuses.)</p>
<p>Thanks for the help</p>