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I am afraid a change in my university's method of assigning grades is going to have a very significant negative effect on my updated GPA.

Previously they relied solely on a 9 point (A+/-, B+/-, C+, D, F) with the new system my percentage is also going to be displayed, and it is unclear whether I LSAC will calculate based on the percentage number (which would be about a 86% average, which apparently is a 3.0 when converted by LSAC) or still the 9 point system (which should be about a 4.0) obviously this is a drastic gap in possibilities. Not only is this dangerous if my grades are requested, but if I can feel confident that my grades will not drop, I want to submit it as it will very slightly boost my GPA.

For reference, here is the new passage of how my university reports grades: "The grading scale for the evaluation of course achievement at the University of Victoria is a percentage scale that translates to a 9 point GPA/letter grade system. The 9 point GPA system is the sole basis for the calculation of grade point averages and academic standing. Standardized percentage ranges have been established as the basis for the assignment of letter grades. The percentage grades are displayed on the official and administrative transcripts in order to provide fine grained course assessment which will be useful to students particularly in their application to graduate studies and for external scholarships and funding. Comparative grading information (average grade (mean) for the class), along with the number of students in the class, is displayed for each course section for which percentage grades are assigned"

Here is how it looks on the site for the old and new systems:

http://imgur.com/hJ0sX5j

Obviously I doubt anyone can be 100% confident how LSAC will treat it, but any thoughts would be appreciated.

Auxilio wrote:I am afraid a change in my university's method of assigning grades is going to have a very significant negative effect on my updated GPA.

Previously they relied solely on a 9 point (A+/-, B+/-, C+, D, F) with the new system my percentage is also going to be displayed, and it is unclear whether I LSAC will calculate based on the percentage number (which would be about a 86% average, which apparently is a 3.0 when converted by LSAC) or still the 9 point system (which should be about a 4.0) obviously this is a drastic gap in possibilities. Not only is this dangerous if my grades are requested, but if I can feel confident that my grades will not drop, I want to submit it as it will very slightly boost my GPA.

For reference, here is the new passage of how my university reports grades: "The grading scale for the evaluation of course achievement at the University of Victoria is a percentage scale that translates to a 9 point GPA/letter grade system. The 9 point GPA system is the sole basis for the calculation of grade point averages and academic standing. Standardized percentage ranges have been established as the basis for the assignment of letter grades. The percentage grades are displayed on the official and administrative transcripts in order to provide fine grained course assessment which will be useful to students particularly in their application to graduate studies and for external scholarships and funding. Comparative grading information (average grade (mean) for the class), along with the number of students in the class, is displayed for each course section for which percentage grades are assigned"

Here is how it looks on the site for the old and new systems:

http://imgur.com/hJ0sX5j

Obviously I doubt anyone can be 100% confident how LSAC will treat it, but any thoughts would be appreciated.

From a quick google search of this, it appears that LSAC will use the letter grade over the percentage if both are listed. That being said, you could just call LSAC directly and get an answer to this question. I googled "LSAC letter grade and percentage" if you want to see the results I found. Specifically, the Canadian law school forum had some pretty useful responses.

Meow Meowsworth wrote:
From a quick google search of this, it appears that LSAC will use the letter grade over the percentage if both are listed. That being said, you could just call LSAC directly and get an answer to this question. I googled "LSAC letter grade and percentage" if you want to see the results I found. Specifically, the Canadian law school forum had some pretty useful responses.

Thanks, the most reassuring aspect is that apparently your registrar can call LSAC if they do take (and convert unrepresentedly) the percentage grade.

I take it by the grading system and the name you dropped that's the Canadian UoV right? Does LSAC look at all international schools differently or ?

RCSOB657 wrote:I take it by the grading system and the name you dropped that's the Canadian UoV right? Does LSAC look at all international schools differently or ?

Canadian GPA's are processed the same as USA GPA's.

Roger that, OP I understand you will have to work through this, but look on the brightside. They're going to give you an A if you earn an 86% average. A's 'here' go from 90-100. If LSAC sees A+ in your old grades, which aren't used 'here' (again A=A 90-100), you're going to get an even higher bump in LDAS GPA.


By 'here' I just mean my undergrad in comparison.

While I am grateful for the Canadian system, I want to emphasise that for subjective subjects at least (I'm history) for most professors a near perfect answer /essay gets a 90 even, so it's not like the lower percent for an A makes it much easier to get.