How Does an A- Impact Grad School Admissions?

[RedQueen]

Recently, I received an A- in a math class I feel I deserved an A. Unfortunately, the class was 94+ for an A which was not mentioned on the syllabus. How does the graduate committee view an A- compared to an A?

 

[Choppy]

Your school should publish a chart that details the calculation of a grade point average and for converting its grades into other common grading systems.

Graduate committees (or often at some point earleir in the admissions process before the departmental admissions committee even sees the application) will usually convert the transcripts from all applicants into a common scale. This common scale can then be used to determine whether the candidates meet minimum requirements for admission and then rank candidates relative to each other.

In that sense an A- is generally high enough to meet minimum admission standards, and seen as below an A, but above a B+. Further details will depend on the specific school.

 

[SteamKing]

You'll have to ask them. Do you think the committee is going to establish a math grade cutoff at A and not A- ?

You got an A- and expected to get an A. If you had gotten an A instead, would you have lobbied your professor to get an A+ ?

 

[jtbell]

How much is this going to affect your GPA?

 

[RedQueen]

How much is this going to affect your GPA?

Well an A- qualifies for 3.75 on the gpa scale while an A is a 4.00. However, the class is 4 credits. I will still be able to maintain a math gpa over 3.9, but I was just wondering if an A- was looked down significantly.

 

[radium]

Grad schools don't care about one individual grade, they care about the whole picture and want to see that you have challenged yourself with your course load. Grad school admissions are much different than undergrad. They want to pick the students with the most potential to do research, not the ones who only know how to excel in courses. Research and recommendation letters are what sets an applicant apart not grades. If your grades are above a certain point (which an A- is) then they are really not going to have as much of an impact on your application.