"What's My Grade?" Episode 4

“Mr. Fobert, I understand now how my grades will work, and how my GPA will be calculated, but I’m worried about how these grades might look in my transcript when I apply for college.  How will colleges and universities evaluate my grades during the Spring 2020 semester?”.

This is a great question!  All colleges and universities not only understand what happened during this semester, but most of them have made similar decisions about grades for their students during this Spring 2020 semester.  Here’s what we know about colleges and universities and their direction to students who will be applying in the next several years with CR and NC grades on their transcripts:

• Schools will accept CR grades as a valid grade marking indicating that the student completed the class and got credit for it.
• Schools understand that GPA calculations have changed, and they will know specifically how MHHS has calculated those GPA’s through our school profile
• You may want to think about trying to artificially improve your GPA on your transcript by choosing Credit/No Credit for some classes and letter grades for others as schools may look at this as the student trying to “design” their GPA artificially.
• Schools have indicated that students should remember that this semester is just one semester among many that are part of the admissions process.  If the one semester is artificially higher or lower, be aware of what that may indicate to the schools to which you are applying.
• It will be important for you to think about all of the other factors that are considered as a part of the admissions process.  

We advise our students to remember that their GPA and high school career is defined by so much more than this one semester.  We encourage you to continue to do your work, try your best, and prepare yourselves for your classes in the coming year.  We advise against creating artificially “designed” GPA’s that make your GPA higher than it might have been, and instead encourage you to think about how you want to appear to schools for which you will apply in the near future. 

“But Mr. Fobert, wouldn’t it be good to take “CR” in some of my classes that I don’t have an “A” for, and only have “A” grades calculated on my transcript?  That way I can get a 4.0 GPA this semester”
I would remind you that schools will see exactly how we allowed students to choose letter grades over Credit or No Credit.  We cannot predict how any college or university would interpret your transcript and your choice of credit versus letter grades.  It is essential that you continue to do your best through the end of this semester and make sound decisions about the grades that you receive or request at the end of the semester.

In addition, I would encourage you to watch the following interview aired on the Bay Area NBC news station with the head of Admissions for the UC system.  The interview clarifies important information about how grades during the spring 2020 semester will be factored into the admissions process.  While it is a long video, it has tons of great information straight from the source!  Here’s the video: