GPA question

lc3 · May 11, 2007

My GPA is a 3.92 (It was at a 3.96 but an A- actually brought it down!!!). Is there any way for me to bring it up to a 4.0??? Do you have to have absolutely all A's for a 4.0 or can I bring it up over time? Just wondering/

Hi Treeguy,

How it works at my school is that each quarter/semester GPA has to be higher than your cum GPA to raise your CUM GPA. In other words, your quarter GPA has to be higher than 3.92 for it to be raised.

Nevertheless, your GPA is already really high and in all reality there is no difference between 3.9 to a 4.0. IMHO, if you are still applying to nursing school I would work on being well rounded in other areas.

My school has said, "We have never taken anyone with a 4.0 because they are usually lacking in other areas" This is coming from the best nursing school in the country--according to NIH and US News & World Report. If UW is telling me not to focus solely on grades, that is good enough for me. Of course, higher the GPA the better but achieving a 4.0 is not going to make you much more competitive than another person.

By no means am I saying youring lacking other areas, but I am saying I would not be concerned with not achieving a 4.0. I mean even med students don't have 4.0's.

Good luck!

justme1972 · May 11, 2007

Yup, an A- will bring it down...that is what I don't like about the +/- system.

I believe, and I could be wrong, but check your catalog...I think most schools that have a +/- system, an A+ is usually a score between 97 and 100 or more, and they usually figure a 4.25 for an A+, a 4.0 for an A and a 3.75 for an A-

treeguy · May 11, 2007

Thanks for the info guys...

Yeah, the best idea is to have A's in all the sciences... thats what makes you competitive in the program.

justme1972 · May 12, 2007

Thanks for the info guys...
Yeah, the best idea is to have A's in all the sciences... thats what makes you competitive in the program.

If it helps, the GPA that programs advertise, is only a guideline. It is not uncommon for a college that you are applying to for your BSN or graduate school to go through the transcripts and transfer all of the +/- scores to a regular 4-point system.

This is to prevent someone from having a 4.0, whose school was NOT on a +/- system, to get an academic edge on someone, such as you, that went to a school that had the system.

pagandeva2000, LPN · May 12, 2007

I suspect it depends on the school. The RN programs in my area specifically went by GPA, so, people would take one class at a time, and drop if the class was not going the way they wanted to. I didn't think it was a fair system, because they didn't handle a full courseload, which would happen if they are accepted into the nursing program. If you are sitting on a 3.9 with ALL of the required classes, I would not worry so much. If there are still classes to take and they are especially difficult, then, it would be time to buckle down. Good luck!