Canadian School + Grade Conversions

Llama WhispererLlama Whisperer Alum Member
edited April 2018 in Law School Admissions 138 karma

Hi everyone! Not sure if anyone is familiar with Canadian law school admissions. I go to a university where only letter grades are shown on my transcript. Due to a bell curve and high percentage cutoffs for certain faculties (95% and above for an A+), I have an excellent percentage average but just by looking at my transcript with the letter grades, it doesn’t translate well. Especially as my university doesn’t have a law school, I would be going to a nearby university WITH a law school and at that university, their letter grade conversions put me at a huge disadvantage. (90%+ for an A+ there). I have so many courses where I only got an A but had 92.7%, 97% etc.

Does anyone have any tips for dealing with this? Is it something that I can write and incorporate into my personal statements? I just feel so disadvantaged and I’m not sure what to do!

Thank you so much for the help!

Admin note: edited title (no caps for titles please)

Comments

  • AngusMcGillisAngusMcGillis Member
    edited April 2018 403 karma

    If you google " grade conversion scale" + school, it should give you the relevant information

    If your percentage is shown on your transcript, they will convert the % to a grade accordingly.
    If it is just a letter grade, that letter grade is used(A- = A, B- = B ).

    Here is a 'out of 4' example
    https://www.ouac.on.ca/guide/olsas-conversion-table/
    and a 4.5
    https://law.robsonhall.com/future-students/juris-doctor-j-d/agpa-calculation/grading-scale/

    If an A+ is 97.5%, it is probably that way to account for variation in assignments and their difficulties. For example, attendance being worth 5%

  • _oshun1__oshun1_ Alum Member
    edited May 2018 3652 karma

    I went to a college that didn’t give + grades or % grades so there was no way to calculate if it would ultimately convert to a + on LSACs end, and then transferred to a university where each professor has their own arbitrary way of giving out A+s ie some only gave it out if you got a 100%, some didn’t give it out at all. Most people end up being somewhat disadvantaged with the way LSAC converts grades. No reason to write a personal/diversity statement about the grading conversion.

  • Leah M BLeah M B Alum Member ⭐
    8392 karma

    I spent 3 years at a university that doesn't award A+s at all, so we all have our thing. :) The law school report that LSAC sends out though also shows mean GPAs for your school and your percentile rank, so schools will be able to see not just your GPA but also how it compares to the average at your school.

    Also it's one of those things... it's pretty much out of your control, so you just gotta take a deep breath and do your best on the LSAT. :)

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