Will Cornell take this into consideration?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>From 9~10, I was in IB school in korea(its an international school). During my freshman year, the grading system went like this:
7-A
6-A
5-A
4-B
3-C
2-D
1-F </p>

<p>But starting sophomore year, it got way much stricter and it did not logically make sense:
7-A (4.0)
6-A (3.5)
5-B (3.0)
4-C (2.5)
3-D (2.0)
2-F (1.0)
1-F (0.0) </p>

<p>I got 4.0 gpa during my freshman year, but my school suddenly changed its policy. I knew they changed it but whenI asked staff and counselor regarding what is considered as an A, they all told me that 6 and 7 is an A. But you can see that 6 is not a A. So I screwed up my sophomore year and I changed to AP school. I heard that in grade section you will have chance to explain the reason for the grade you received. I'm not making excuse for my failure but I'm trying to make it clear that our school did not had proper information regarding the grading scale and we were not properly informed about it as well. If the staffs are unaware about this fact than how are the students? I know that my freshman scale seem really good, under the condition that 6 is an A, I would have gotten 3.8 gpa at least. Will cornell understand this because I really want to get into cornell, but I think this kinda ruined it?</p>

2

<p>Do not explain things like that. It is ridiculous. You did the work that you did and it was graded the way it was. Everyone else was graded the same way. No one cares about anything that how you did in the context of your school. Only use the grade excuse for extreme situations like major illness, family problems–something serious, not petty grade grubbing.</p>

3

<p>…</p>

4

<p>Of course you need to explain the difference in grading systems. Optimally, you should provide colleges with a copy of the grading system from the school’s website or handbook.</p>

5

<p>If the OP did similar work both years, yet his school report seems to show a sudden drop in grades, then yes, I would think it would be both wise and reasonable to explain the circumstances to Cornell.</p>