BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

GPA - What does it really mean?

Free advice from the world's top MBA consultants
This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2008 9:18 pm

GPA - What does it really mean?

by MichaelB » Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:02 pm
Hi and thanks for reading!

I am still trying to figure out what this GPA business means to admission committees.

The key piece of information that I would like is:
What proportion of students graduating from US undergraduate degrees have a GPA of 4.0, a GPA of 3.5 and a GPA of 3.0.

Worded another way, if John graduates from Boston College with a GPA of 4.0, is he in the top 1% of his class, the top 5%, the top 10%?

The reason I ask is because it is not possible to have a 4.0 GPA at my institution and I am trying to compare my grades.

If I graduate with an Honours Degree in the top 5% of my class, is that the equivalent of a certain GPA? I know that I will write that sort of information on my application, I would like this sort of feedback for the purpose of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of my application.

If it is relevant, I am studying Law and Commerce (majoring in Finance) at an Australian Group of 8 (highly ranked) University.

Thanks again.
Top
Source: — Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant |
User avatar
MBA Admissions Consultant
Posts: 290
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2008 6:36 pm
Location: Washington, DC
Thanked: 28 times
Followed by:2 members

by Paxton Helms - Kaplan » Tue Jun 16, 2009 9:06 am
You have put your finger on a question that is, all at once, tricky, enraging, confusing, baffling, and supremely annoying.

GPAs vary widely among schools and among majors / specializations in schools. There are a number of reasons:

- Some schools have "grade inflation" in which the average GPA has crept up over time. After a while, EVERYBODY graduates with an A average.

- Some majors / specializations are harder or have stricter grading requirements. In other words, engineering professors are known to be tough graders; English and ethnic studies profesors are known for being rather less so. The social sciences are probably somewhere in the middle.

- Who graduates with honors (cum laude, magna cum laude, etc.), who is on the Dean's List, who graduates with distinction, is no longer a great indicator of who is doing well academically. Call it "adulation inflation."

- The BEST way to evaluate a student's academic performance is probably some combination of class rank (Phi Beta Kappa and departmental honors are often a good way of identifying the very top students in terms of class rank), specialization, and recommendations.

Your graduating in the top 5% of your class puts you in elite company and --while not comparable to any single GPA (except, in general terms, to a very high one)-- and should mean that your grades will be an asset in your application to even elite universities.

Good Luck and please let me know how else I can help you--

Paxton
Keep me in the loop about your thinking and let me know if you have any more questions.

Paxton



Paxton Helms is an MBA admissions consultant for Kaplan Admissions Consulting. He earned his MBA from UCLA and specializes in helping clients that are applying to top twenty and "reach" programs. He can be reached directly at [email protected].

To begin working with Paxton immediately, follow this link and request him specifically: https://www.kaptest.com/GMAT/Admissions- ... lting.html
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1