Tool to evaluate GPA

[Indradeep]

HI,
I think I posted this post sometime back but can not find it now.

I was basically wondering how to make the conversion from % to GPA possible. I am an Indian prospective student having graduated about 8 years back when I would be doing my MBA.
I had 2 specific questions:
1. For candidates like me, how important is undergrad marks?
2. If I have a first class with distinction(75.4%), how does any college give an equivalent GPA to that?

Regards,
Indradeep

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Indradeep,

For the most accurate conversion, I would suggest having your transcript evaluated by World Evaluation Services. They will give a US degree equivalency as well as a GPA conversion. Undergraduate marks are important for all candidates and you want to make sure you reflect yours accurately. Schools are familiar with the system in India, but having a credentialing service give you an idea of how you measure in the US system will be helpful.

Good luck,
Lisa

[Indradeep]

Lisa,
Sorry to dig this up again but I recently got couple of mail communications from B schools which I want to post here and ask for your opinion:

UMD -> First class with distinction in Indian standard is a 4.0 GPA
Rotman -> Only considers the last year of education, in my case last year of my masters degree and do not consider UG. Gives me a B- on their scale.
Ivey, Western Ontario -> 75.4% in Indian universities is a "A" on their scale. Do not know how much on scale of 4 but guessing around 3.8
University of Alberta -> Would treat 75.4% as "high enough" on their scale.
MIT -> They said that if I mentioned that my marks is in the 92 perecentile range, they would be taking it on the face value.

I guess all of this has just added to my confusion.
Maybe you can help me out here...
Using your vast experience, do you think my UG marks would translate to a roughly 3.8-4.0 in US scale.
Regards,
Indradeep

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Indradeep,

You will find variance on this measure at schools as many have devised their own conversions or have established some sort of arbitrary cutoff without a conversion. The only way to really know is to pay an evaluation service. This evaluation will be honored at any school.

If you would rather not pay for the evaluation, then you will need to assess your GPA by each school's conversion.

Regards,
Lisa

[Indradeep]

Thanks once again for the post. I am thinking of going through the WES website.