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Hi I am sending an application and the university needs all of my grades in GPA format. I am using a GPA calculator to convert my grades, however there is a subject which was not graded it is only accredited. I talked to the university and they say they need all actual grades. They have been slow to answer me, how can I put the grade? as an A?

Mntfr
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    Classes which are graded pass/fail, audited, or similar cannot be converted to GPA and should certainly not be amended to a grade of "A" - that would be very unethical. – Bryan Krause Dec 01 '16 at 20:28
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    Thanks for answering but how can I explain this to the university they take forever to answer and last time they were very explicit that they needed all subjects in GPA – Mntfr Dec 01 '16 at 20:30
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    Is this an application to a US university? Options to take class pass/fail are very common in the US and I can't imagine a university having trouble dealing with that situation. For other countries I don't have enough familiarity. – Bryan Krause Dec 01 '16 at 20:33
  • It is US the problem is that they take forever to answer my questions I guess I would just inform them that it is a pass/fail class and hope fo the best – Mntfr Dec 01 '16 at 20:34
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    I would agree with that course of action - they might be confused if you are using different terminology, pass/fail should be straightforward to them. – Bryan Krause Dec 01 '16 at 20:38
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    At my U.S. institution, we do not want applicants to attempt any "conversion" process. We want to see official transcripts. – paul garrett Dec 01 '16 at 21:04
  • Is it possible that they only want graded courses reported, not pass/fail? – Patricia Shanahan Dec 01 '16 at 21:19
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    @PatriciaShanahan: No, that would make no sense. Any U.S. institution has to be used to seeing pass/fail courses on a transcript. – Buzz Dec 01 '16 at 22:38
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    Upon reflection, I wonder if this post is in fact spam, to advertise that dubious (!) web-site that purports to do "conversions"... – paul garrett Dec 01 '16 at 23:54
  • Please give us the name of the university you are applying to. We can help you interpret their online instructions. – aparente001 Dec 02 '16 at 02:04
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    EDIT: Thanks so much for your answers turns out that saying that it was a pass/fail class was enough I just wasn't using the proper term and the university got confused – Mntfr Dec 02 '16 at 16:09

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While this was ultimately cleared up in the comments, for future readers:

In the US, the term for a class which counts as credit but has no grade attached is "Pass-Fail". You either get credit towards the degree, or you don't, but there is no grade attached. In general (I'm aware of no exceptions to this in the US, at least), pass-fail courses do not count for purposes of GPA, so there's no way to convert a credit-only class to GPA - it's just a class you received credit for.

One situation which is more complicated is if you have a class that provides something like a "narrative grade", which I'm told exists but have no personal experience with, and it doesn't have a direct correlate to GPA systems in the US. If you encounter that you'll simply need to speak with the institution to which you are applying and they'll have to make the determination as to how to handle such coursework.

BrianH
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