|
|
Rank: Frosh
Groups: Member
Joined: 4/17/2008
Posts: 35
Location: Toronto
|
Well I'm taking Chemical Engineering at McMaster this fall and my final top six average is 85%. I know that marks usually go down from the first year transition, but is it likely attainable to maintain or increase this average?
As a side note, I have to wait til July 2nd, (when SOLAR opens), to choose courses, but what I understand is that I obviously need Physics I, Chemistry I, Calculus I, and maybe Biology I or some Engineering I course. Do I have to take an english or writing course, (weaker subjects) or what are some "easier" courses I might take.
Thanks for reading!
|
|
Rank: Frosh
Groups: Member
Joined: 4/17/2008
Posts: 35
Location: Toronto
|
Oh and also, anyone have an idea of what my GPA is around? Thanks!
|
|
Rank: Valedictorian
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/5/2008
Posts: 681
Location: Kingston and Toronto
|
|
|
Rank: Student Council
Groups: Member
Joined: 5/22/2008
Posts: 414
Location: Kingston, ON
|
it's a 3.9 according to omas http://www.ouac.on.ca/omsas/pdf/c_omsas_b.pdfYour likelyhood of maintaining is based upon your work ethic and the foundation provided in your HS years. Yes, it's posisble.
BAH '08 (Queen's) MA'11 (Queen's)
|
|
Rank: Student Body Vice-President
Groups: Member
Joined: 6/5/2008
Posts: 932
Location: Edmonton, AB
|
It's totally possible to maintain that. If that's equivalent to a 3.9 then I don't know about increasing it, but a 3.9 is doable in my opinion.
University of Alberta - Mechanical Engineering '11
|
|
Rank: Student Body Vice-President
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/4/2008
Posts: 994
Location: Ottawa
|
First off, the scale OMSAS converts to is not exactly like the scale of any particular university I know of - it's a scale they use to compare applicants from different universities. Second of all, the only way to accurately calculate GPA is to convert the mark from each and every course - it's not a 1:1 mapping between a percentage average and a GPA. And that's before getting into the fact that different universities use slightly different ranges for the percentage grade. An 85% average is only 3.9 on the OMSAS scale if every singe course works out to 85% (since 85% is the bottom % for a 3.9), or if some other combination happens to produce 3.9 (2 A+ for each A-, with the rest A's, for example) But let's say you had a 91%, 79%, 84%, 86%, 81% and 89%, to work out to an 85% average over 6 courses. Most universities using a 4.0 scale give an equal value to an A and an A+. I'll use the cutoff percentages from the OMSAS chart (column 3), but those vary by school, particularly in the A range. 91% = A+ = 4.0 79% = B+ = 3.3 84% = A- = 3.7 86% = A = 4.0 (3.9 OMSAS) 81% = A- = 3.7 89% = A = 4.0 (3.9 OMSAS) = GPA of 3.78 Change those first two marks to 90% and 80%, which keeps the 85% average, so we get A+ and A-, and we get to 3.85. Note that GPA in university would rarely be calculated over so few courses. Can you maintain your marks? I did, and that was after having much better marks in my last year of high school than any other year. Will you? It's impossible to tell.
 
|
|
Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 6/13/2008
Posts: 281
Location: Toronto
|
My top 6 average in high school was 93 (I took English in summer school and got 90).
At U of T Electrical engineering, first semester my average was 77, GPA 3.28. Second semester my average was 82, GPA 3.62.
Having one bad course (low seventies or lower) and the rest over 80 will get you a good average but a relatively low GPA (like mine). If you were to convert the mark average directly to GPA, a 77 is a 3.3 and an 82 is a 3.7.
Oh, and to get some perspective, first semester, I was ranked 41 / 209 based on mark average and second semester I was ranked 28 / 216.
U of T Electrical Engineering 1T1
|
|
Rank: Frosh
Groups: Member
Joined: 4/17/2008
Posts: 35
Location: Toronto
|
cool! thanks for all the replies, very helpful!
if you're curious my top 6 courses were:
Biology - 80%
Chemistry - 84%
English - 77%
Physics - 90%
Calculus - 93%
Music - 86%
So that works out to 85...darn my midterm in Music was 94, i really should've gone to class, oh well lol
|
|
