Whether you’re applying for admission to a recognized university or want to secure a high-paying job, it’s your academic record that is the key factor in evaluating your selection.
Different countries use different methods to measure students’ performance. In America, the Grade Point Average (GPA) is the measure that depicts how well a student has done at different levels of education.
It becomes important to maintain a high GPA when you’re planning to get into schools with high academic standards such as Harvard and Stanford. It’s worth noting that 4.0 is usually the highest GPA one can earn.
Many people would wonder, “What’s the difference between a 3.8 GPA and a 4.0 GPA?”
The difference between both the GPA scores is that a 3.8 GPA represents 90 to 92 percent scores in all subjects, while both A and A+ letter grades are equivalent to a 4.0 GPA.
The article discusses different GPA scores as well as your queries about applying for admission to Harvard and increasing your chances. So, let’s get into it!
What Is Meant By GPA?
You’ve probably seen many college or university students talk about GPA, which might have left you wondering what GPA is.
GPA stands for Grade Point Average. It is the measure of the average grade you have attained during the course of your degree.
It’s important to note that a student who has taken an A grade in all subjects gets a 4.0 GPA. Furthermore, it’s essential to maintain a GPA above 3.5 in most educational institutions to keep a scholarship.
How Is GPA Calculated?
The important point about GPA is that some universities calculate it on a scale of 4, while some calculate it on a scale of 5. In this blog post, I’ll be teaching you to calculate it on a scale of 4.
| Courses | Credit Hours | Letter Grade | Points | Quality Points |
| Game Theory | 3 | A- | 3.7 | 11.1 |
| Econometrics | 3 | B | 3.0 | 9 |
| Regional Economics | 3 | A | 4.0 | 8 |
| General Equilibrium and Welfare Economics | 3 | C | 2.0 | 6 |
| Applied Economics | 3 | B | 3.00 | 9 |
| Total | 15 | 43.1 |
- Credit hours, letter grades, points, and quality points will be listed in the courses column.
- In the first column, you would list the courses you took in a semester. Secondly, the credit hours for each course would be listed.
- The third column would carry the letter grades
- To calculate your GPA, you’ll need the letter grades and scores in percentage for each course you took during a semester.
- The next step would be finding your points. You can use the following table to find the grades.
- The most important step would be calculating quality points. Here’s the formula you can use to calculate the last column:
QP=Credit Hours×Points
- To find GPA, divide the total of quality points by the total of credit hours.
Look at this example:
Quality Points=43.1
Total credit hours=15
GPA=Quality points/Total credit hours
=43.1/15
=2.87
GPA Grade Chart
| Percentage | Grade | GPA |
| Below 60 | F | 0.0 |
| 60-66 | D | 1.0 |
| 67-69 | D+ | 1.3 |
| 70-72 | C- | 1.7 |
| 73-76 | C | 2.0 |
| 77-79 | C+ | 2.3 |
| 80-82 | B- | 2.7 |
| 83-86 | B | 3.0 |
| 87-89 | B+ | 3.3 |
| 90-92 | A- | 3.7 |
| 93-96 | A | 4.0 |
| 97-100 | A+ | 4.0 |
Should You Apply To Harvard With a 3.8 GPA?
The most common question that comes across most students’ brains is whether Harvard accepts a student with a 3.8 GPA or not. Let me tell you, there are a lot of other factors than GPA that Harvard counts on while evaluating selection.
Even a 4.0 GPA doesn’t guarantee your spot at Harvard. Interestingly, your SAT score and Personal Statement hold as much importance as your GPA. Your selection is also dependent on how keen you are about curricular activities (music and arts) other than academics.
How To Get Into The Harvard?
Here’s the list of other factors that play a huge part in getting you into Harvard or any other college:
- Aim for the highest score on the SAT.
- Win some awards at the national or international level.
- Write good essays with great stories.
- Make donations.
- Participation in extracurricular with leadership.
- Research about professors and classes as you’re already a student at Harvard.
- Get into the Olympics.
- Highest GPA
A student with a 3.6 GPA will be more likely to get into college than one with a 4.0 GPA if he/she shows more potential. Additionally, getting admission into Harvard is more dependent on the mood of your admission counselor.
Therefore, you should never rely on one college. Make sure to keep three to four colleges on your application list.
15 Top Universities Other Than Harvard
- University of Cambridge
- Stanford University
- University of Oxford
- Peking University
- University of Chicago
- National University of Singapore
- Yale University
- Princeton University
- University of Tokyo
- University of Melbourne
- University of Toronto
- University of Sydney
- University of Amsterdam
- University of Pennsylvania
What Is The Difference Between a 3.8 and 4.0 GPA?
The difference between a 3.8 and 4.0 GPA is 0.2 grade points. A high GPA indicates that a student is more likely to excel academically than others.
One has to get an A and an A+ in all the courses to obtain a 4.0 GPA. It’s because they have a better understanding of every subject.
A 3.8 GPA is also a good score because not every student is equally interested in all subjects. If you have one or two As, then you are probably going to end up with a 3.8 GPA, which is equally awesome as a 4.0.
What matters is that you must obtain an A or A+ grade in a subject that you want to major in. For instance, if you intend to major in chemistry, in this scenario, your grade in this particular subject will count the most.
How Do You Get A 4.0 GPA?
Here’s how you can get a 4.0 GPA:
- Never bunk your classes.
- Make sure you stay focused throughout the lecture.
- Maintain a good relationship with your professors, even those who aren’t your favorites.
- Almost every sentence of the professor will be remembered if you participate in the class.
- Ensure that you submit the assigned work on time.
- Make friends with classmates who are good at studying; if you have trouble learning certain topics, they might be able to assist you.
- There is also a great benefit to group studies.
- Don’t let social life get in the way of your work.
Do you want to know any advice? Watch this video.
Conclusion
- School performance in the United States is evaluated using a cumulative grade point average (GPA).
- GPA is calculated by dividing total quality points by total credit hours.
- GPA can be measured on various scales, such as 4, 5, or 6.
- The difference between a 4.0 and 3.8 GPA is 0.2 points.
- Both 4.0 and 3.8 GPAs are considered top-tier averages.
- Keeping a good GPA is super important for getting into top universities and landing good jobs.
- Besides grades, things like SAT scores, activities outside of class, and what you write about yourself can affect whether you get into a school or not.
- When you want to get into really good schools, it’s important to look at more than just your grades. You should think about all the things you’ve done in school and outside of it.