Schools that offer A+'s Forum

[Ikki]

UCSD and I think also UCLA. Bastards

It's not like it's very hard to get an A at State.

[UnitarySpace]

Berkeley gives out A+s.

[Gamecubesupreme]

University of Toronto gives out A+ if you get above 90%.

The catch?

Good luck getting above an 80 in most courses. They have a ridiculous 2.3 median curve.

[KevinP]

Semi off-topic but my school gives A- but not A+

[sidhesadie]

University of Oregon gives A+.

I wish I'd realized how unusual that was, I'd have taken more classes before transferring.
I don't know how hard it is to get an A+, but it can't be THAT hard because I got 'em! They are worth 4.3 there as well.

[bmore]

As someone said before U of Maryland gives them. They also give minus's. Many teachers do give A+. I had a 100 in a class and got an A. You should never count on getting one, anywhere.

[Moxie]

Right, but I'd say it is very unfair to kids in the 3.9 range, who would have all of their A-'s offset if their high A's were turned to A+'s. 3.9 -> 4.0 could easily be the difference at a top school.

I doubt there are many, if any, schools where a 3.9 would not suffice whereas a 4.0 would. 3.9 is above median for every single law school.

[Dany]

You should never count on getting one, anywhere.

Not true. Maybe at Maryland, but don't generalize.

[FantasticMrFox]

Semi off-topic but my school gives A- but not A+

A lot of schools do A-s

[Auraeolux]

Bump!

Anyone here take an online/on-site course and received an A+?
Please tell us the college, course, and professor. You can also PM if you want. Any input you provide is appreciated!

[manu6926]

...

[quijotesca1011]

…

[itachiuchiha]

emory

[n1o2c3a4c5h6e7t]

Eh, I have a hard time believing the difference between a 3.9 and 4.0 would make any sort of difference, even at hys

There are obviously other situations in which an A+ system would confer advantages, e.g., a student with a 3.3 GPA who gets all A(+)s in his last year, depending on the school. There is a substantial benefit to attending a school with an A+ policy in this case, and the outcome is certainly dispositive to certain admissions and scholarship outcomes beyond HYS.

Not that I really care, but your implication is a bit narrow-minded.

[Pneumonia]

I would imagine all this time spent figuring out how to game the system could be better spent developing meaningful softs, etc.

I highly doubt there's a lot of top schools where a 3.9 v. 4.0 v. 4.3 is a deciding factor -- I'm sure they are very aware of the fact that not all schools offer A+'s.

A year isn't really enough time to develop meaningful softs. It is however, enough time to boost your GPA

Yeah the differences you point out are trivial, but the difference between a 3.5 and a 3.7 is not, and it is something that could be achieved by getting straight A+'s in a senior year. A corollary to the question at hand is "What school gives A+'s in such a way that you could reasonably expect to get 10 of them in a given year with enough work?"

[quijotesca1011]

--

[quijotesca1011]

--

[Pneumonia]

Also the notion that simply because a school offers A+'s you could waltz in and leave with 10 in a year seems a bit far-fetched for me. Also transferring your senior year to get A+'s? The whole scenario seems bizarre. Having trouble believing an AdComm wouldn't notice how the upward trend came about...

Yeah I agree with this and it is what I was getting at in the second half of my post. As to your other point, if you think that a summer internship is a meaningful soft then we are operating under vastly disparate definitions of that term. I do think that the paralegal thing is credited as a way to better understand the profession, but I think the more credited advice is to max out your GPA while you can and then work as a para after you graduate UG. I don't think interning for a law office is bad per se, but if the choice is between doing so and bumping your GPA (0.05 or more) then I'd always choose the latter.

As to whether or not schools care, I think that taking summer classes doesn't even raise an eyebrow. Even if it's obvious and even at HYS. They no the rules of the game even better than we do.

[quijotesca1011]

--

[Pneumonia]

I think some of the school ITT thread would be acceptable as transfer schools in some cases. Maryland and Oregon as examples.

Definitely agreed on not needing to engage in this sort of behavior if your GPA is 3.5 or better, maybe even lower. The main scenario in which I was envisioning this being useful is for someone who dropped out with a low GPA or has the means to transfer while maintaining a coherent story. A lot of times in these threads too people will stay at their current UG and take several "distance" courses for an A+. Even 4 or 5 of these can be a really good GPA bump for someone in the 2.x - 3.3 range.

But yeah totally agree that anyone with even a semi respectable GPA (by law school standards) is way better served getting some good life experience.

[Auraeolux]

I would imagine all this time spent figuring out how to game the system could be better spent developing meaningful softs, etc.

I highly doubt there's a lot of top schools where a 3.9 v. 4.0 v. 4.3 is a deciding factor -- I'm sure they are very aware of the fact that not all schools offer A+'s.

A year isn't really enough time to develop meaningful softs. It is however, enough time to boost your GPA

Yeah the differences you point out are trivial, but the difference between a 3.5 and a 3.7 is not, and it is something that could be achieved by getting straight A+'s in a senior year. A corollary to the question at hand is "What school gives A+'s in such a way that you could reasonably expect to get 10 of them in a given year with enough work?"

OP's question was regarding a place to take summer classes to boost GPA.

I'm of the mind that that summer could better be spent in a meaningful internship (perhaps making sure law is something you are interested in ) than taking a few easy classes just to pad your transcript. You wouldn't be able to take 10 classes in one summer, so I don't even think the GPA boost would be that significant.

I do get the point, I just think that this sort of gaming the system isn't really necessary and that the time can be better spent.

I think "gaming the system" gives the action a negative connotation. I prefer "leveling out the playing field" After all, it's an attempt to make things fair!

I agree that softs are good to acquire during the Summer, but let's open the discussion to taking these classes during the year. Every suggestion is welcome!

[racheland]

how is it that A+s transfer into your institution as As, but LSAC GPA still counts them as A+s?
how does the LSAC calculate your GPA
is it not based off the transcript that your institution provides that includes your summer classes/abroad classes where your a+s are transferred into As?
really confused....
Thanks!!

[hookem7]

No +/- systems are highly underrated. My UG switched to +/- midway through my degree and it hurt my GPA considerably. All those 87-92s I had been making that were counting as 4.0's suddenly were 3.7 or 3.3... Without +/- you could always ask the Prof to round up, since it's harsh to give a 3.0 to a high 80s grade and that worked about 90% of the time. Then +/- came along and their reaction became "Well I gave you a B+ or A-!!"

[quijotesca1011]

--

[NYSprague]

how is it that A+s transfer into your institution as As, but LSAC GPA still counts them as A+s?
how does the LSAC calculate your GPA
is it not based off the transcript that your institution provides that includes your summer classes/abroad classes where your a+s are transferred into As?
really confused....
Thanks!!

They look at all the transcripts and calculate their own GPA.