GPA inflation. Unfair GPA conversion from domestic to US\UK equivalent

Question

Hi everyone!

I'd like to share some thoughts on the phenomena of GPA inflation and some issues related to the conversion of GPA of country X to US or UK equivalent.

I will take as an example the case of the Portuguese system, but I am sure that the same occurs in many other countries. The grading system is the same for any Portuguese University, any degree, any level of studies. The grading is from 0 to 20, the passing grade is 9.5 that rounds up to 10, so 10 is "pass"

The official conversion grid issued by the Portuguese Ministry of Education says that an average grade of:

"14" equals a 2:2 UK or 2.5 US 
"16" equals a 2:1 UK or 3.0 US
"18" equals a higher 2:1 or low 1:1 UK or 3.5 US
"19" equals a 1:1 or 3.8 US

I assume that these equivalences were discussed and approved with the other Ministries of Education in UK and US.

So, here it comes, there is NO WAY IN YOUR LIFE you will ever finish University in Portugal with a GPA of "18\20" It does not happen, period. 
You must unprove gravity or reinvent the Theory of relativity to get anything above 18\20. Cases of students that graduate with 18+ are subject of news in the media because they are so rare and off the grid. 16\20, so a 3.0US or 2:1UK, is an outstanding performance, not unseen, but rare. 17\20 (3.2US 2:1 upper UK) gets you in the 99th percentile. Not to mention that 19\20 or 20\20 GPA is simply impossible. It might happen ones every 20 years or so.
The teachers are very strict, the exams are tough and the correction criteria are also strict. "14\20" or 2:2UK 2.5US is average performance, but it's quite good in Portugal.

Now, in US a 3.0 seems to be a pretty normal occurrence. In fact students seem to get 3.5 quite normally! I read that in US the Professors give their students "A"'s so "19\20" equivalent to Portuguese system, for "good effort" so it seems to be quite easy to get it. The average grades in the 50's were a "C", now it's an "A"... 
GPA inflation in US is a big deal and students tend to choose schools based on the GPA they might get according to the GPA inflation in that institution. I read that employers are having hard time to tell if a A+ is really an A+ or if it's an inflated B-.

I don't really know if it happens in UK, but most Universities ranked from 50th to 150th in QS ranking seem to ask a 2:1, so 16\20 Portuguese. It is a VERY good performance and it seems strange to me that that is the borderline criteria for admission.

And now tell me, how can a Portuguese student with a 15\20 so a very good performance, compete for entry to an MBA or Msc in a US or a UK college?
15\20 is a very good result! However it represent only an upper 2:2UK or a "miserable" 2.8 US. One must make a titanic effort to get the 17\20 in Portugal and then that person will be seen as an "ok student" according to US criteria, because everyone in US has a 3.2+ GPA?

Do the admissions committees take these things into account?.. It seems to me they don't really care. I am sure that there are plenty of other conversions that are screamingly unfair to foreign students with very tough domestic grading systems. Then those great students get and "average performance" stamp when their grades are converted to the inflated US system.

Do you have any information on this? Any input you would like to add? Perhaps I am wrong at some point?

Thank you for your time devoted to reading!

MWMBA · Answer

Sure, grade inflation is an issue, but GPAs are generally used a comparative way, not in and of themselves. What I mean is, people don't just take into consideration the GPA number, but they look at the institution where it was achieved as well as percentile ranking (if provided). Like you're saying, you may be able to get a 3.5 in the U.S. without too considerable of an effort. But if that 3.5 puts you in the top 20% of a class whereas a 16/20 at a Portuguese institution puts you in the top 5%, that 16/20 is much more impressive.

I don't know how adcoms view this, but I'm sure they take all of that into consideration.

I don't know how adcoms view this, but I'm sure they take all of that into consideration.

iliavko · Answer

Thank you for your reply!

In UK Universities, they usually have an international qualifications scale in which they give the required GPA in domestic grading system and they all ask for the 16, so the direct equivalent of upper 2:1.

I am not entirely sure about the GPA situation in UK, but as I said it seems quite strange that colleges with below top-100 ranking ask for such a high GPA, unless that GPA is quite common in UK of course.

Thanks for the input!

MBAbot · Answer

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GPA inflation. Unfair GPA conversion from domestic to US\UK equivalent

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