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stupandaus
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 12:37
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I have a bit of an odd scenario where I attended a relatively prestigious high school program for the last 2 years of high school. During these two years, I took full course loads on a college campus. (https://tams.unt.edu/) While these credit hours transferred to my undergraduate program, the GPA did not. I completed my undergraduate program in 3 years. At the end of my undergraduate career, 40% of my credit hours were from this program, transferred in as credit, without GPA. The end result, was that I didn't have any sort of "GPA Buffer" from taking basic science, math, and humanities courses that included everything from Organic Chemistry, Multivariable Calculus, and Political Science. Essentially a lot of the easy A's are missing. It's a bit tricky because as a part of the aforementioned program, we were in an ambiguous state as to whether we were high school or college students. Our grades affected the college course curves, but I'm not sure that we were considered as full-time students by the college. When applying for undergraduate programs, we were instructed to apply as incoming freshmen and not as transfer students. Credits from this program are often accepted within Texas state schools, but not outside of Texas.

Is it disingenuous to calculate and report what my GPA would have been including the 40% GPA credit? I.e. is it possible to calculate my GPA as if all of my undergraduate work was at one undergraduate institution? To give you a rough idea, this ends up being a difference of about 0.5 in my GPA (say a 3.6 vs. a 3.1).
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 12:40
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I have a bit of an odd scenario where I attended a relatively prestigious high school program for the last 2 years of high school. During these two years, I took full course loads on a college campus. (https://tams.unt.edu/) While these credit hours transferred to my undergraduate program, the GPA did not. I completed my undergraduate program in 3 years. At the end of my undergraduate career, 40% of my credit hours were from this program, transferred in as credit, without GPA. The end result, was that I didn't have any sort of "GPA Buffer" from taking basic science, math, and humanities courses that included everything from Organic Chemistry, Multivariable Calculus, and Political Science. Essentially a lot of the easy A's are missing. It's a bit tricky because as a part of the aforementioned program, we were in an ambiguous state as to whether we were high school or college students. Our grades affected the college course curves, but I'm not sure that we were considered as full-time students by the college. When applying for undergraduate programs, we were instructed to apply as incoming freshmen and not as transfer students. Credits from this program are often accepted within Texas state schools, but not outside of Texas.

Is it disingenuous to calculate and report what my GPA would have been including the 40% GPA credit? I.e. is it possible to calculate my GPA as if all of my undergraduate work was at one undergraduate institution? To give you a rough idea, this ends up being a difference of about 0.5 in my GPA (say a 3.6 vs. a 3.1).
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You will have to get transcripts from the degree granting institution and that will have your real GPA on it. If you feel the need to explain via optional essay, then do so. However, recalculating the GPA for these transfer credits would seem disingenuous when the school sees your transcript. Can you not send transcripts of your grades in the transferred classes?
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 12:49
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All of these credits show up on the undergraduate transcript as transfer hours with a grade shown, but ultimately not counted into the final GPA.
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 13:02
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stupandaus
I have a bit of an odd scenario where I attended a relatively prestigious high school program for the last 2 years of high school. During these two years, I took full course loads on a college campus. (https://tams.unt.edu/) While these credit hours transferred to my undergraduate program, the GPA did not. I completed my undergraduate program in 3 years. At the end of my undergraduate career, 40% of my credit hours were from this program, transferred in as credit, without GPA. The end result, was that I didn't have any sort of "GPA Buffer" from taking basic science, math, and humanities courses that included everything from Organic Chemistry, Multivariable Calculus, and Political Science. Essentially a lot of the easy A's are missing. It's a bit tricky because as a part of the aforementioned program, we were in an ambiguous state as to whether we were high school or college students. Our grades affected the college course curves, but I'm not sure that we were considered as full-time students by the college. When applying for undergraduate programs, we were instructed to apply as incoming freshmen and not as transfer students. Credits from this program are often accepted within Texas state schools, but not outside of Texas.

Is it disingenuous to calculate and report what my GPA would have been including the 40% GPA credit? I.e. is it possible to calculate my GPA as if all of my undergraduate work was at one undergraduate institution? To give you a rough idea, this ends up being a difference of about 0.5 in my GPA (say a 3.6 vs. a 3.1).
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As Chettereh said, this is where you can use the optional essay to explain your GPA (which really isn't that bad). I would phrase it more that you elected to take more advanced, challenging courses rather than saying you passed out of all the fluff classes.

But no, you can't recalculate your GPA by taking college classes as a high school student. I think the fact that you applied as a first year student solidifies this. It's somewhat similar with AP classes in high school, which are taught as college level classes and provide college credit, but aren't part of your undergraduate GPA. Granted your real college classes may have been more challenging, I think a similar principle applies.
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 13:07
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You can try to explain that in your option essay, but in the GPA section of your application the number has to match what is on your official transcript.

I will caution you by saying looking at your target schools, I don't see your situation being too unique given the applicant pool you will be competing against. Many people test out of entry-level classes and start their first year in college with Vector Calculus, Organic Chem, etc. thus not getting 'easy A's.' However, 40% is probably higher than most people.
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 13:08
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Fair enough. If my optional essay is being used as a reapplicant essay, is there some other way to address this?
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 13:10
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You can try to explain that in your option essay, but in the GPA section of your application the number has to match what is on your official transcript.

I will caution you by saying looking at your target schools, I don't see your situation being too unique given the applicant pool you will be competing against. Many people test out of entry-level classes and start their first year in college with Vector Calculus, Organic Chem, etc. thus not getting 'easy A's.' However, 40% is probably higher than most people.
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Is this really true? My understanding was that most HYPS undergraduates would not take AP courses (and also would not take any of my program's transfer credit) and required undergraduates to retake all basic courses. I heard this about MIT/Caltech as well...
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 13:19
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thugly921
You can try to explain that in your option essay, but in the GPA section of your application the number has to match what is on your official transcript.

I will caution you by saying looking at your target schools, I don't see your situation being too unique given the applicant pool you will be competing against. Many people test out of entry-level classes and start their first year in college with Vector Calculus, Organic Chem, etc. thus not getting 'easy A's.' However, 40% is probably higher than most people.

Is this really true? My understanding was that most HYPS undergraduates would not take AP courses (and also would not take any of my program's transfer credit) and required undergraduates to retake all basic courses. I heard this about MIT/Caltech as well...
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I went to a top 10 UG and they accepted my AP credits (as long as I got a 5 on the test) for the most part. I also took Calc III in high school and started college with multiple integration calc.
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 13:22
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thugly921
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You can try to explain that in your option essay, but in the GPA section of your application the number has to match what is on your official transcript.

I will caution you by saying looking at your target schools, I don't see your situation being too unique given the applicant pool you will be competing against. Many people test out of entry-level classes and start their first year in college with Vector Calculus, Organic Chem, etc. thus not getting 'easy A's.' However, 40% is probably higher than most people.

Is this really true? My understanding was that most HYPS undergraduates would not take AP courses (and also would not take any of my program's transfer credit) and required undergraduates to retake all basic courses. I heard this about MIT/Caltech as well...
I went to a top 10 UG and they accepted my AP credits (as long as I got a 5 on the test) for the most part. I also took Calc III in high school and started college with multiple integration calc.
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Can you clarify whether you got GPA credit?
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 13:27
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stupandaus
thugly921
You can try to explain that in your option essay, but in the GPA section of your application the number has to match what is on your official transcript.

I will caution you by saying looking at your target schools, I don't see your situation being too unique given the applicant pool you will be competing against. Many people test out of entry-level classes and start their first year in college with Vector Calculus, Organic Chem, etc. thus not getting 'easy A's.' However, 40% is probably higher than most people.

Is this really true? My understanding was that most HYPS undergraduates would not take AP courses (and also would not take any of my program's transfer credit) and required undergraduates to retake all basic courses. I heard this about MIT/Caltech as well...
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Like thugly, I went to a school currently in the top 10 in the US News rankings and like thugly said, they accepted AP credit if I got 5s on the test. I entered school close to sophomore status.

I think you are worrying too much about this though. Adcoms look at the classes you took. They also will note you graduated in three years which is difficult to do, even with advanced credit (although some may ask why you didn't double major if you had most of your basic classes passed). Plus, this isn't law school. A 3.1 GPA from a good undergraduate program, with a good GMAT will get you looks.
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 13:34
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As another follow-up: are Stanford, Wharton, Sloan, and Haas schools you interviewed at, as the colors in your profile indicate? If so, get interviews at all those schools should further solidify that applying with a 3.1 is not a major hole in your application.
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 13:36
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No, those are displayed that way as I'm not applying until the next cycle. I think the system didn't assign colors to those cases.

I was really just curious if there were other cases similar to mine, as I feel like most universities either accept AP/college credit and give GPA credit, or don't accept it at all. However, it appears I was mistaken about this.
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 13:39
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stupandaus
No, those are displayed that way as I'm not applying until the next cycle. I think the system didn't assign colors to those cases.

I was really just curious if there were other cases similar to mine, as I feel like most universities either accept AP/college credit and give GPA credit, or don't accept it at all. However, it appears I was mistaken about this.
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Gotcha. Buy yeah I did not get any GPA credit for my classes in high school. Still with a 740 GMAT your 3.1 GPA is likely fine (even without the context you provided, which will help). Focus on your essays, get good letters of recommendation, and focus on improving your work experience for discussion in interviews (particularly at Wharton).
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thanks, appreciate the help! best of luck on this cycle!
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GPA Reporting 07 Mar 2012, 13:47
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thanks, appreciate the help! best of luck on this cycle!
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Thanks. I appreciate it. Same to you when you apply.
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GPA Reporting 11 Mar 2012, 18:44
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stupandaus
I have a bit of an odd scenario where I attended a relatively prestigious high school program for the last 2 years of high school. During these two years, I took full course loads on a college campus. (https://tams.unt.edu/) While these credit hours transferred to my undergraduate program, the GPA did not. I completed my undergraduate program in 3 years. At the end of my undergraduate career, 40% of my credit hours were from this program, transferred in as credit, without GPA. The end result, was that I didn't have any sort of "GPA Buffer" from taking basic science, math, and humanities courses that included everything from Organic Chemistry, Multivariable Calculus, and Political Science. Essentially a lot of the easy A's are missing. It's a bit tricky because as a part of the aforementioned program, we were in an ambiguous state as to whether we were high school or college students. Our grades affected the college course curves, but I'm not sure that we were considered as full-time students by the college. When applying for undergraduate programs, we were instructed to apply as incoming freshmen and not as transfer students. Credits from this program are often accepted within Texas state schools, but not outside of Texas.

Is it disingenuous to calculate and report what my GPA would have been including the 40% GPA credit? I.e. is it possible to calculate my GPA as if all of my undergraduate work was at one undergraduate institution? To give you a rough idea, this ends up being a difference of about 0.5 in my GPA (say a 3.6 vs. a 3.1).
Show more

I agree with the others. You will need to report the official GPA that matches the transcript of the institution that granted you the degree. However, the optional essay is exactly the place to explain grading discrepancies such as that.

I also transferred in some credits. All of the schools to which I applied required transcripts for every post-high school institution I'd attended. So if your schools require the same, you'll have to submit transcripts from both schools, and they'll see all of your grades including the higher scoring transferred credits.
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GPA Reporting 12 Mar 2012, 18:29
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I disagree with some of the other posters.

Having filled out a bunch of these applications, they all ask to submit transcripts from all institutions where you received college credit.

For example, I took statistics and accounting at a community college as a post-bac, and I submitted that transcript. I did not re-calculate my undergraduate GPA, but I did say that I attended community college and my GPA there was a 4.0.

If you did well in these classes, get your official transcript from the university. If they don't have it, get your high school transcript and explain it in the optional essay. (The university transcript will be better). Submit everything.