Applying to schools in Canada?

[b_italia]

I'm right now debating whether or not I should apply to some grad schools in Canada.  I never attended school in Canada so I'm not sure what their grading polices are like.  I recently had a brief conversation with someone who went to grad school in Canada and they told me that professors in Canada rarely give out "A's" or perfect scores.  Is that

Comments

[lostreality]

I'm not sure about their grading policy, but in general no one really cares about your GPA in grad school, as long as you have the minimum to be in good standing. I'm on the job market and applying to jobs right now- I've applied to 57 jobs, and only 2 asked for grad transcripts.

[tisiphone]

Your average won't matter so much in terms of grading like that. It's what you're comparing to that counts. Like, in the UK under most grading systems 70+ is absolutely brilliant, and a passing grade can be as low as 40. (That's the logical equivalent of a 2.0 in the US though; you'll get your degree but you won't want to brag about it.) Also, your grades don't really matter that much in grad school, it's doing the work to a high standard and the quality of your work overall that counts.

[sahiya]

Yes, I think this is probably what your friend was referring to. Under the UK grading system - which I think is also more or less the Canadian system - "perfection," meaning an essay of publishable quality, would be an 85%. But an 85% in the US would be a straight B - not bad, but nothing to write home about. However, this doesn't mean you shouldn't go to grad school in Canada or that it's any harder to do well there than it is to do well in the U.S. - it just means that if you are ever in the position of having to use transcripts (e.g. if you decide to go on to a PhD program), you'll have to explain them a little. I put notes in the "Additional Information" fields of all my applications, and also had one of my recommenders include a brief explanation in his LOR.

There is, of course, the psychological trauma of being an overachiever suddenly getting 65% or 70% on graded assignments, when you've been taught your whole life that those numbers mean "mediocre at best." But you get over that soon enough.

[b_italia]

Are grades on the transcript listed as "A" or "85"?

[snarkface]

Depends on the school. UBC gives both percentage and letter.

[shil]

Queen's lists both letter and percentage, and your yearly average is computed over the percentages. No 4.0 scale.

[speakwrite_]

[speakwrite_]

[endxgame]

This is dependent on both the school and the field. I also think this is a bit more of an issue at the undergraduate level, as well. But in general, I think that Canada has less rampant grade inflation compared to the US. Which I think is a good thing, not a reason to avoid it. (particularly if you're applying to PhD programs)