Anonymous
02/13/2026 15:37
Subject: Re:Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
ok feeling better about it.....kid has toughest schedule(plus an extra class) in his grade-confirmed by counselor
Anonymous
02/13/2026 14:34
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
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Exactly… not everyone uses plus and minus. Some places an A is a 90 and elsewhere it’s a 93. Some schools weight honors classes and some only AP. Colleges have to standardize all of that.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Why colleges with tens of thousands of applicants would eliminate pluses and minuses from grades and then believe it is a better apples to apples comparison is beyond logic and belief. You're actually decreasing the probability of getting appropriate apples to apples comparisons among students even within the same school. You're reducing differences among students whose admission should and does depend on relatively small differences. Standardized tests are precisely what affords the best apples to apples comparisons. Professors at these universities should set admissions criteria and take the blob of adminstrations right out of the university. What nonsense.
The answer is because a lot of high schools do not use pluses and minuses for grades, so you are getting a better comparison across schools. But yes, within the same school or school system it would be better to take them into account. With regard to Stanford and the UC system, I believe the driver is that most Cal public schools do not use pluses and minuses.
Exactly… not everyone uses plus and minus. Some places an A is a 90 and elsewhere it’s a 93. Some schools weight honors classes and some only AP. Colleges have to standardize all of that.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 14:23
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Why colleges with tens of thousands of applicants would eliminate pluses and minuses from grades and then believe it is a better apples to apples comparison is beyond logic and belief. You're actually decreasing the probability of getting appropriate apples to apples comparisons among students even within the same school. You're reducing differences among students whose admission should and does depend on relatively small differences. Standardized tests are precisely what affords the best apples to apples comparisons. Professors at these universities should set admissions criteria and take the blob of adminstrations right out of the university. What nonsense.
The answer is because a lot of high schools do not use pluses and minuses for grades, so you are getting a better comparison across schools. But yes, within the same school or school system it would be better to take them into account. With regard to Stanford and the UC system, I believe the driver is that most Cal public schools do not use pluses and minuses.
I know UC makes you input A- as A in their admissions portal so they dont see the A-. But for Stanford you have to send transcripts and I would not think a kid with 3.85 gpa (half A and half A-) will be viewed the same as a 4.0 with all As. I am curious how a these two kids will be treated by Stanford.
Psychologically, you may be correct that it may create a distinction in the Stanford AO's mind. At the same time, however, the AO's must know that the A- could be equivalent to a 92 or 93 while the A, for a school that doesn't use pluses and minuses, could be the equivalent of an 89.5.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 13:56
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Why colleges with tens of thousands of applicants would eliminate pluses and minuses from grades and then believe it is a better apples to apples comparison is beyond logic and belief. You're actually decreasing the probability of getting appropriate apples to apples comparisons among students even within the same school. You're reducing differences among students whose admission should and does depend on relatively small differences. Standardized tests are precisely what affords the best apples to apples comparisons. Professors at these universities should set admissions criteria and take the blob of adminstrations right out of the university. What nonsense.
The answer is because a lot of high schools do not use pluses and minuses for grades, so you are getting a better comparison across schools. But yes, within the same school or school system it would be better to take them into account. With regard to Stanford and the UC system, I believe the driver is that most Cal public schools do not use pluses and minuses.
I know UC makes you input A- as A in their admissions portal so they dont see the A-. But for Stanford you have to send transcripts and I would not think a kid with 3.85 gpa (half A and half A-) will be viewed the same as a 4.0 with all As. I am curious how a these two kids will be treated by Stanford.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 13:52
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
Anonymous wrote:Are A- recalculated for GPA? for Ivy and Ivy plus
OP, the difference between one A and A- on the mid year report is not going to move the needle for admission one way or the other.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 13:51
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
Anonymous wrote:Why colleges with tens of thousands of applicants would eliminate pluses and minuses from grades and then believe it is a better apples to apples comparison is beyond logic and belief. You're actually decreasing the probability of getting appropriate apples to apples comparisons among students even within the same school. You're reducing differences among students whose admission should and does depend on relatively small differences. Standardized tests are precisely what affords the best apples to apples comparisons. Professors at these universities should set admissions criteria and take the blob of adminstrations right out of the university. What nonsense.
I don't disagree with you, but the college admissions world does indeed pretend that slicing and dicing grades standardizes them in a way that is comparable. It's absurd.
But then, most of the Ivies have returned to requiring test scores.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 13:49
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
Anonymous wrote:Why colleges with tens of thousands of applicants would eliminate pluses and minuses from grades and then believe it is a better apples to apples comparison is beyond logic and belief. You're actually decreasing the probability of getting appropriate apples to apples comparisons among students even within the same school. You're reducing differences among students whose admission should and does depend on relatively small differences. Standardized tests are precisely what affords the best apples to apples comparisons. Professors at these universities should set admissions criteria and take the blob of adminstrations right out of the university. What nonsense.
The answer is because a lot of high schools do not use pluses and minuses for grades, so you are getting a better comparison across schools. But yes, within the same school or school system it would be better to take them into account. With regard to Stanford and the UC system, I believe the driver is that most Cal public schools do not use pluses and minuses.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 13:33
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
Anonymous wrote:Stanford removes minuses and pluses. Not sure about the other schools. Don't stress about an A- senior year; that's not what's going to keep your senior out of that school.
Yale also counts an A- as an A, according to their former AO.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:53
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
Why colleges with tens of thousands of applicants would eliminate pluses and minuses from grades and then believe it is a better apples to apples comparison is beyond logic and belief. You're actually decreasing the probability of getting appropriate apples to apples comparisons among students even within the same school. You're reducing differences among students whose admission should and does depend on relatively small differences. Standardized tests are precisely what affords the best apples to apples comparisons. Professors at these universities should set admissions criteria and take the blob of adminstrations right out of the university. What nonsense.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:53
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
My take is it's really just a consistency check at that point.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:46
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
Anonymous wrote:Lots of schools will value that A- as a 3.7.
do they actually recalculate the midyear gpa or just use the one from junior year?
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:43
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
Lots of schools will value that A- as a 3.7.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:39
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
Stanford removes minuses and pluses. Not sure about the other schools. Don't stress about an A- senior year; that's not what's going to keep your senior out of that school.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:31
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
Each school recalculated GPAs in their own way to make comparisons between candidates valid.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:22
Subject: Midyear transcript for RD Ivy and plus
Are A- recalculated for GPA? for Ivy and Ivy plus