Grades?

USAFA hopeful

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5-Year Member
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Jul 15, 2008
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I just finished up my last final in college and i was pretty confident about the grades i'd be sending to the academy after this semester. I thought i would have all As and B's after I pulled off a hard earned B in college chemistry(lecture portion) but when I pulled up my grade report it said I had a D for the lab portion. Could anyone give me some insight on how bad this is going to hurt my chances? Does this mean I'm out of the running now?

Very Respectfully,
Steven
 
What did it do to your GPA? What did the lab portion do to your final grade in that class? Obviously once you start college, prior to getting accepted to an academy, grades become more important. I don't believe; but I could be wrong; that they offer the prep school to someone with a semester or more of college credit. Although; college credits don't count towards the academy. I.e. You still have to do 4 years, even if you have a B.S. in Chemistry. So, if the prep school isn't an option, grades become more important when applying.

But remember 2 things. 1) You can't get accepted to the academy if you don't apply 100% all the way through. 2) Acceptance is based on the "Whole Person" concept. There's different categories that you are rated on, with academics being only 1 category. Yes, it's probably the most weighted, but it's not the only one. If the "B" in lecture and "D" in lab gave you a "C" overall in the class; and you have "A" and "B" in the other classes; if the final score was say 3 "As" 1 "B" and 1 "C", then that would give you a 3.4 gpa. That is workable. There's a lot of factors to consider. Good luck. later... mike...
 
say last semester, spring, I got a D+ in my college business law class in which the class average was around a 73, how would they view that.
 
1st; it would be very difficult for them to know what the class average was. So bringing that up wouldn't mean anything. If you've taken business law, then you will understand. The military uses the "Four Corner law". If it isn't written inside of the 4 corners of a piece of paper, then it doesn't exist.

Any slip in a grade can be explained. Most definitely include an explanation. Start with your ALO and get with your academy counselor. There are ways to explain irregularities. What's really important is how it affected your overall academics.

Slipping in a grade, your last semester, isn't so much about the grade or class as it is integrity and work ethic. There are a lot of individuals who go through the whole process of getting an appointment and then cop an attitude that they can slack off because their college is set. When they drop from "As" to having a couple/few "Cs"; the military wants to see if you chose to "COAST". They despise that type of an attitude. However; if you had 7 classes the last semester and nailed 6 "As" but some how didn't do so well in the 7th class, then you can probably explain that a little better. A coaster would have gone down in more than one class. Keep in contact with your counselor and ALO. They'll help you explain your situation. good luck. later.... mike....
 
Well I haven't gotten all my grades back yet, but assuming I get As on the rest, that gives me a 3.24 under UGAs grading system. They use the +,- instead of the traditional. Under the traditional, my HOPE scholarship GPA, that would be a 3.37. Also for our chemistry class, the lab and the lecture are 2 separate grades except the lab is only an hour credit class while the lecture is 3 so it has more weight.
 
Well, if the lab is worth only 1 credit; then that's good. If you are getting all "As" on the rest, then you should be able to explain it. Get your grades and talk to your ALO and counselor at the academy. Later... mike....
 
Got the rest of the grades back today;

Chinese A (4 hours)
English A- (3 hours)
Calculus B-(4 hours)
Chemistry B-(3 hours)
Chemistry lab D (1 hour)
Air Force A (1 hour)
Air Force lead lab- satisfactory (1 hour)

This only adds up to a 3.18 on UGA's grading scale though
 
I won't lie to you. B minus in Chem and Calc is a tough one to explain off the "D" in Chem lab. But remember; the final academic score is a compilation of gpa, ACT/SAT, Class Rank, Difficulty of classes (E.g. AP/IB compared to normal), etc... Now, because all your grades are COLLEGE COURSES; that plays a part in this too. Basically; all of the classes would be considered with additional weight similar to AP/IB classes. So, even though you only have a 3.18 for a GPA; when they consider all the other portions of the academic section, you might do better. Again, talk with your academy counselor and get their interpretation and any suggestions. Best of luck to you. later... mike....
 
What is the UGA grading system? How are the grades calculated/figured?
Thanks.
 
UGA uses the +,- system. To get a 4.0, the grade in the class has to be a 93 or above and its considered an A. If the grade is a 90-92, the grade is an A- and it only counts for a 3.7. It works the same with B's and C's. A B- is only a 2.7.
I don't really see the benefits to using this system since it sort of cheats you out of a better grade. I've talked to my friends at Kennesaw state univ. and Georgia Tech and they don't have this system.
 
For what it's worth; the Air Force academy uses a similar system. My son was shocked to find out that he can get an A- in his classes. Without a minus/plus system; teachers tend to give the benefit of the doubt when the grade is on the fence bordering one or another. With a minus/plus system, they tend to give that instead of pushing it up a little. Guess we'll find out after Christmas break whether he got an A or an A- in one of his classes. later... mike....
 
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