How important are high school senior year grades? Do colleges check them?
Senior year grades are absolutely important! In my experience, we always utilized a student's most recent grades at the time of the review - first quarter, first trimester, first semester - as part of the overall academic evaluation. Sometimes in Early application rounds, students may be deferred or wait listed because the admission committee hopes to see an improvement in senior year grades.Also, it's likely that after you enroll in college, the admission committee will conduct a final transcript check after your senior year ends. I've seen cases where acceptances have been rescinded due to a significant drop in grades.Long story short - in order to best advocate for yourself in the admission process as a senior, continue to take your classes seriously, keep up the good work, and avoid senioritis.
On my Report Card It say's YTD GPA: 83.5000. What does that mean?
YTD GPA stands for Year To Date Grade Point Average. This means that your grade point average over the course of your schooling averages to about a 83.5%. I'd say this is about average and falls somewhere around a 3.0 GPA.
I am a freshmen in high school. I just got my report card. Should my YTD GPA be different from my average GPA?
I don't' know what YTD means but there are two types of GPA one that has a scale of 4.0 and one that has a scale of 5.0 The 5.0 scale is based on taking honors or AP classes so if you're taking honors classes then it'll be a bit different.
Do colleges just look at your overall GPA, or do they explore more details from it?
Colleges will look at your overall GPA in the context of the courses you take. Colleges are looking to see if you pursued the most rigorous curriculum available to you. For instance, did you take advantage of your school’s honors courses or AP courses? Did you dual enroll in college courses? Your guidance counselor will write a letter of recommendation to your college that sets forth what your school’s college prep curriculum consists of. Some schools offer a host of honors and AP courses and other schools only offer a few. So if take advantage of as many college prep courses your school has to offer, colleges will look favorably on that.Top colleges and universities are also going to unweight your GPA because they assume you are taking honors, AP and college courses that inflate your GPA above 4.In addition to your GPA, colleges are going to look to see where you rank among your classmates assuming your school ranks its students. So your GPA will influence your class ranking.
What is a good GPA in middle school?
Unless you are applying to a private high school, GPA’s in middle school don’t count. Therefore, your GPA is just one way for you to look at your own academic progress and reflect on it. Obviously, the system works that a high GPA is better than a lower GPA. You might use it to give you an idea of what your GPA will be in high school. It will depend what high school you go to how well that will translate.Personally, I would shoot for a B+ (3.3) gpa or better, and here is why: My experience with middle school grades is that if you are turning in all your homework, you will most likely get at least a B. If even when turning in all your work you find it difficult to get a B, that suggests that you might have actual challenges with that subject—perhaps gaps in your knowledge that your teacher expects you to have. If, on the other hand, by not working particularly hard beyond doing all your homework, you can get a B+ or better, that suggests that when you decide you care about your GPA for some concrete purpose (say getting into college or some kind of internship program), it will be fairly easy for you to turn up the heat and get an A.One more thought to consider, though. I know many students who could get an A in any subject they want to, but when they have to be sufficiently organized and diligent to get an A in all their subjects, that is when they break down. Middle school is a great time to test that out. Then you know if you can do it on your own, or if you need to develop additional strategies.
What does cumulative GPA mean?
Cumulative GPA is an overall weighted grade point average. Each course is worth a certain number of credits which is usually based on how many hours the class is held each week. For example, if a calculus class is held for 4 hours a week, it is probably going to be worth 4 credits.To calculate the number of grade points received for each class, you need to multiply the number of course credits by the grade points received which is based on what course grade (Each course’s grade points = number of credits for the course X grade points received for it).Please note that schools sometimes have different grading systems.Here is one grading system:A 4.0 D+ 1.3A- 3.7 D 1.0B+ 3.3 D- 0.7B 3.0 F 0.0B- 2.7C+ 2.3C 2.0C- 1.7Here’s a made up example using the above grading system:Fall Semester of 2014(pretend you started school at this time)Biology I ( 4 credits, grade =”B-” → 2.7): grade points = 4 x 2.7 = 10.8Calculus I (4 credits, grade =”A”→3.7): grade points = 4 x 3.7 = 14.8Writing I (3 credits, grade = “B”→3.0): grade points = 3 x 3 = 9Intro. to Drawing(3 credits, grade =”B+”→3.3): grade points = 3 x 3.3 = 9.9Intro. to Jogging (1 credits, grade =”A ”→4.0) grade points = 1 x 4.0 = 4.0Note that right after the first semester and before the second semester, the cumulative GPA will be the same as the 2014 fall GPA.cumulative GPA= GPA = total number of grade points / total number of credit hourswhich is equal to (10.8 + 14.8 + 9 + 9.9 + 4.0)/ (4 + 4 + 3 + 3 + 1) or 3.233333333or is approximately 3.23 .Spring Semester of 2015Chemistry I (4 credits, grade = “A-”→ 3.7): grade points = 4 x 3.7 = 14.8Calculus II (4 credits, grade = “A”→4.0): grade points = 4 x 4.0 = 16.0Writing II (3 credits, grade = “A-”→3.7): grade points = 3 x 3.7 = 11.1Intro. to Ethics(3 credits, grade =”C+”→ 2.3): grade points = 3 x 2.3 = 6.9Electronic Circuits I (3 credits, grade =”B+”→3.3): grade points = 3 x 3.3 = 9.9The GPA for the spring semester = (14.8 + 16.0 + 11.1 + 6.9 + 9.9)/ (4 + 4 + 3 + 3 + 3)which is equal to 3.452941176 or is approximately 3.45 .To find the new cumulative GPA, add the total number of grade points from both semesters and divide by the total credits taken in both semesters(15 + 17 = 32 credits).New cumulative GPA = (10.8 +14.8 + 9 + 9.9 + 4.0 + 14.8 + 16.0 + 11.1 + 6.9+9.9)/ 32 which is equal to 3.35 .I hope this information helps!
If you calculate only the letter grade of a C and three A's, would the final grade be an A or a B?
You'll have to ask your instructor how the course grade is determined from the grades given in the semester.Even if you know that there are exactly 4 tests and each is weighted the same, there is more than one way to compute the course grade. The two major ones are convert letter grades to numbers. C, A, A, and A convert to 2, 4, 4, and 4, and their average is 3.5 which is A-average the numerical scores on the tests. For that, the actual letter grades are only approximate indications of the scores and aren't used in determining the course gradeMy preference is to use the first of these two methods, but I know not everyone does. There may be other considerations that go into determining the final grade. The final test may be weighted more than the other tests in the course. Homework, quizzes, projects, presentations, class attendance, and class participation may be part of the course grade. Also, many instructors also take into consideration an increasing trend in grades during a semester.Along with the syllabus that you get at the beginning of the semester, you should also get information on how the course grade will be determined. If you didn't, be sure to ask soon.