If you are someone who is interested in studying abroad, you may have come across terms such as GPA, CGPA, and other grading systems in countries such as France, Germany, the United States, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and many more when researching your options. When students receive their results in the form of either percentages or grades, they are frequently perplexed as to the difference between GPA and CGPA. There are a lot of queries about what GPA stands for, how it is computed and converted, and where it is utilised, and the answer is here.
In India, students are typically graded using a percentage (%) or a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) (usually, on a scale of 10, 7, or 4). In the United States, universities typically use a four-point grade point average (GPA) scale. For those wishing to pursue an MBA or MS in the United States or Canada, it is vital to understand how the Indian percentage is converted to a grade point average on a 4.0-scale in the United States. Students can check any good online Grade Converter Tool for the right conversion. This blog explains how to convert Indian Percentage to Grade Point Average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale in the United States.
What exactly does a GPA mean?
Grade Point Average (GPA) is a number on a scale, often ranging from 1 to 4, 1 to 6, or 1 to 9. As with a percentage, a higher GPA indicates that the student is performing better than they were last semester. It is a scale that measures how well a student has excelled in a specific subject over the course of a semester or a session. In some countries, GPA is used to evaluate a student’s performance in order to determine eligibility for admission to higher education programs such as undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
What is the GPA Scale?
The GPA scale refers to the range of possible scores on a certain test. As previously stated, the scale on which the GPA is calculated is completely arbitrary. These are the most frequently encountered scales: 0 to 4, 0 to 5, 0 to 6, and 0 to 9. In many universities outside of the United States, grade point averages are measured on a scale ranging from 0 to 10. In the United States, the most often used grade point average scale is 0 to 4. The other grade point average scales are multiples of four.
What is the Indian Percentage System and How Does It Work?
In India, the majority of educational institutions (colleges and universities) assess students using either percentages or grades as a form of evaluation. Premier institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the National Institutes of Technology (NITs) have their own grading system for assessment. It is important to note that the Indian academic grading system, which is based on the Percentage system (out of 100) or a 10-point GPA system differs from the international grading system (GPA/CGPA) used by schools and institutes abroad.
System of Percentages
Total marks for each subject are translated to percentage, which is then divided into four divisions according to the Percentage system.
75% or higher – Distinction
60% to 75% – 1st Division
50% to 60% – 2nd Division
40% to 50% – 3rd Division
How to Convert Indian Percentage to Grade Point Average on a 4.0 Scale for Universities in the United States?
When applying to US universities, it is not necessarily necessary to convert the percentage (acquired from an Indian institute) to a 4-point GPA scale.
There are a variety of methods for converting percentages to a 4.0 scale grade point average. The simplest is represented by the following formula:
Calculate your grade point average using the formula (percentage / 20) – 1.
For example, if a student receives an 80%, his or her GPA will be 3.0.
The four-grade-point system is commonly used in the United States, and it is universally accepted. To convert their percentage to a 4-grade point GPA, candidates simply divide their percentage by 100 and multiply the result by four, as shown below.
As an example, if a candidate receives 80%, he would be needed to divide 80 by 100 and multiply the result by 4, resulting in a grade point average of 3.2.
Evaluation of the WES (Officially Accepted by US and Canadian Universities)
However, if one needs it completed for a specific university, they can get it completed through WES (World Education Services) for a fee ranging from $160 to $205 per page. In an ideal situation, Course-by-Course evaluation from WES will be received. WES’s official evaluation and conversion reports are accepted by a number of American and Canadian academic institutions.
It is possible that the WES evaluation may not be a level playing field for Indian candidates.
One might not obtain a figure to be overjoyed about through the WES, especially in case of a percentage. In India, it is quite difficult to get an aggregate of more than 70% in the majority of cases. As a result, even if a student obtains 70 – 75%, he may receive 2.9 or 3.3 on the US scale, depending on location.
Many colleges in India score quite rigorously, because the minimum percentage required to pass is 40 – 50%, which is extremely high. In order to pass the test in the United States, one must have a minimum grade point average of 2.75. A grade point average (GPA) of less than 3.0 is regarded as poor, while a grade point average of between 3.0 and 3.5 is considered below ordinary. As a result, it’s like contrasting apples with oranges.
Final Thoughts:
Top business schools such as Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia Johnson, Chicago Booth, Yale, and others do not need applicants to translate their Indian grades while applying for an MBA. They request that the CGPA or Percentage (awarded by Indian Institutes) be reported in its current form.
Everything advances with time, and this is true of our educational system as well. A percentage system is used by some universities, although a grade point system is preferred by others. For this reason, one should remember the simple formula that is previously mentioned above in order to keep oneself up to speed with both scenarios.
