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How come colleges/uni's don't allow you to get over a 4.0? Don't they allow this in high school? Why is that? It just seems unfair to me that if a student actually got over a 4.0 (by calculations) that they don't award it as such.

By Theman002 (Theman002) on Saturday, May 08, 2004 - 03:20 pm: Edit

how would you get over a 4.0 in college?

By Tropicanabanana (Tropicanabanana) on Saturday, May 08, 2004 - 03:22 pm: Edit

I don't understand the question. They don't allow you to get over 4.0 because 4.0 is the maximum anyone could possibly get.

A student can't get over 4.0 by calculations.

By Aquaholic (Aquaholic) on Saturday, May 08, 2004 - 03:28 pm: Edit

high schools offer weighted classes, colleges don't, it's that simple.

By Daffodil22 (Daffodil22) on Saturday, May 08, 2004 - 03:41 pm: Edit

I think that the reason high schools weight and colleges don't is simple. Honors and AP classes in HS are open for college-bound students, and are harder than the average curriculum. In college, everyone is around the same level coming in, so honors courses are not necesscary.

By Pipettewolf (Pipettewolf) on Saturday, May 08, 2004 - 05:20 pm: Edit

at cal tech, an A+ is counted a 4.3 in their college GPA.

By Bluealien01 (Bluealien01) on Saturday, May 08, 2004 - 05:42 pm: Edit

What Pipettewolf said is what I am talking about.

I got 2 A + 's, 2 A's and an A - last semester. So:

A+ 4.333 * 3 credit hrs. = 12.999 pts (They rounded it to 13 pts. on my transcript)
A+ 4.333 * 3 cr hrs = 12.999 pts (Again 13 pts.)
A 4.0 * 1 cr hr = 4 pts
A 4.0 * 3 cr hrs = 12 pts
A- 3.670 * 3 = 11 pts

It's a 4.07 if you figure that out. I'm not complaining...okay?
But if someone(not necessarily me--I mean anyone) happens to get all A +'s they get cheated because they could technically get above a 4.0--if you do the math, right?

By Plot93 (Plot93) on Sunday, May 09, 2004 - 06:49 pm: Edit

A lot of high schools now do give "weighted" grades, making it very possible to get over a 4.0.
This hasn't caught on in colleges yet, and in some ways I think that's good.

At my high school some years ago, there weren't weighted grades. If you got an A+, it counted as a 4.0. If you got an A in an AP class, it counted also as a 4.0. If you got a B in an AP class, it counted as a 3.0. Our school must've been a competitive one besides, because it was rare for anyone to graduate with a 4.0.
I'd never been brilliant and had always had to work hard to get A's. Nonetheless, I was motivated in high school. At the beginning of my senior year, I was the top student in my class, on the road to being valedictorian. I signed up for all the AP classes that year, got involved in sports and clubs, expecting things to be okay. They weren't. I didn't get all A's in the AP classes, and since grades weren't weighted, it brought my gpa down considerably. (I had some personal problems that contributed to that too.) I was so bummed. But the girl who did end up being valedictorian couldn't have been happier.

By Justinmeche (Justinmeche) on Sunday, May 09, 2004 - 09:01 pm: Edit

I've been to two colleges. The first used A, A-, and A+ and the school that I am at now uses only the letter. I don't care for the +- system because is provides for a greater range of GPA's and the college can get more picky about the requirements for a major. For example, the difference between 82% and 85% is negligible for as far as I am concerned but it can be a big deal if you need a B and instead of a B- for a certain course.