<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I am an A-level student in Singapore and I am interested in applying for universities in California(I do not have a specific Uni in mind, just want to go there as I'm planning to live in Cali) at the end of this year. Can I know if I need my GPA for the application because junior colleges in Singapore do not use the GPA system. I've read that the GPA is calculated using the 10th and 11th grade results but in Singapore, the 10th grade is the last year of our secondary school and the 11th grade is the first year of junior college. I am not doing well in my junior college (all U grades) and I'd like to know if I decide to drop out of my JC, would it affect my application as I would have no testimonial or a certificate except for my O-levels cert? (I scored well for O-levels though, raw score 11 with 5As, 2Bs) I really just want to study in Cali so could anyone be kind enough to give me a list of Uni that doesn't require a GPA as a requirement or can accept students based solely on their SATs? Thanks!!</p>
<p>That doesn’t exist. Not all schools require SAT scores, but all schools require a GPA.
Well, unless you mean you’d like to attend a Community College?
But a University (in California or elsewhere) will ask for grades 'marks, scores).
If your school does not issue grades, it must issue rankings or evaluations.
If it issues grades that aren’t on the A-F scale, your counselor will have to indicate
what constitutes excellent work (A = only about 20% students get that grade = A), not excellent but still good work (about half students get that grade or more=B), not horrible work (but not very good and generally unsatisfactory and that’s the limit under which there can be disciplinary measures for you such as having to leave the school, special detentions…=C), bad = D, not turned in work/really really bad work=F.
A = 4pts, B= 3 pts, C= 2pts, D=1pt, F= 0.
A “+” adds .3 and a - takes away .3 pts.
3.4 is considered a weak GPA since it means you got more Bs than A’s. Excellent schools like to see all A’s (A, A+, A-) with only a few Bs. A competitive GPA is 3.8 and more, indicating you got only A’s (A+, A, A-).
Typically, in a normal high school American class, between 30 and 40% get an A (A, A-…), another 30-40% get B, and the rest gets C, D, or F depending on how horrible their work was. Some high schools are more difficult than others.
You have to evaluate in relation to what percentage of kids get that grade.
You’ll also have to indicate the level of the classes.
Actually, it won’t be you, it’ll be your counselor, who’ll have to write a report about it :)</p>
<p>Yes, I’m talking about universities and not community colleges. As what you’ve said, I would require a GPA for my application but does this GPA have to be the final GPA that I got from my A-levels or can I use my O-levels results and convert it into GPA? I understand that if I drop out of junior college I would be at a disadvantage but with my current results in which I have failed everything, rendering a 0 score in total, my GPA would essentially be 0 I guess. A-levels in singapore is really hard and I was wondering if there are any special cases where they use GPA calculated from previous results? Would letters of recommendation help too?</p>
<p>You cannot apply to university in the US with only O’levels. You need A’Levels. Those can be any three A-Levels and you’ll even get credit for it.
I don’t know whether community colleges accept O’Levels for the HS Diploma.
You don’t need to translate your O’Level scores into a GPA, you’ll need to submit the official results. In addition, you’ll need the transcripts (grade reports) for each year of school (Year 9, Year 10, Year 11, which you should have completed before your O’Levels) PLUS two more years.
If your parents have money, you may want to consider a solution such as these:
<a href=“Seeking College Edge, Chinese Pupils Arrive in New York Earlier - The New York Times”>Seeking College Edge, Chinese Pupils Arrive in New York Earlier - The New York Times;
or
[St</a>. Paul Preparatory School](<a href=“http://stpaulprep.org/]St”>http://stpaulprep.org/)</p>
<p>This means that my 3 A-level results will be translated into GPA? Also, I completed grade 9 and 10 for O-levels while grade 11 is the first year of junior college. I am currently in my final year which is grade 12.</p>
<p>^since o-levels are not used, the A-levels is the only other exam where they can calculate the GPA. There is no other way to calculate the GPA because the grades that we scored for tests or any exams before the A-levels isn’t counted towards the final score. Moreover, it would be unfair to calculate the GPA from all tests/exams taken before the official A-levels because many schools deliberately set the questions harder than they normally would.</p>
<p>Some colleges and universities do admit students who only have O levels. However, there is no easy way to search for them.</p>
<p>Also, there are very few (if any) colleges or universities in the US that specifically require that a student graduate from secondary school. Whether you would be able to convince a US college/university that you are indeed prepared for studies there is another story entirely.</p>
<p>To develop a better understanding of higher education in the US, read through <a href=“https://www.educationusa.info/[/url]”>https://www.educationusa.info/</a> Then make an appointment with the counselors at the advising center in Singapore <a href=“https://www.educationusa.info/USEIC[/url]”>https://www.educationusa.info/USEIC</a> EducationUSA is a not-for-profit organization, and the counselors pride themselves on their ability to offer accurate unbiased information. They are the experts on your situation. We aren’t.</p>
<p>Alright thanks! Quick question, I know many universities’ websites state that they need 3 A-level grades. So is the GPA calculated based on this three subjects or based on all the subjects that I take?</p>
<p>GPA means Grade Point Average. That means all the grades you got every year since Grade 9. (I was using the British system, since you were doing O’Level, where Year 9=Gr8, and so Year 11=Grade 10, when people take O’Levels or now GCSE’s in Britain).
Test scores are different. A’Levels and O’Levels are not converted into a GPA. Only your semester or year grades, since you started taking classes judged to be “high school level”.
For example, American students will have SAT scores and SAT Subject scores, PLUS a GPA calculated from all classes taken that are high-school level (many Singapoure Grade 8 and Singapore Grade 7 math actually counts as “high school level”)
If you drop out of Junior College, you’ll need to enroll into another one or enroll in an American high school (or another secondary school).
As happymomof1 said, go see EducationUSA specialists. She even gave you the exact agency in Singapore.</p>
<p>If your school doesn’t calculate GPA then you can’t provide one. US colleges are aware of this. Your transcript will be sufficient in this case. It’s common for international students not to have a GPA or a class rank. As long as you have grades that can be sent officially from your high school, you have nothing to worry about.</p>