Are you currently in the middle of your overseas education journey? We, at The WorldGrad, understand the frustration of gathering all the documents, scrutinising every detail of your application, and re-reading all the college requirements repeatedly.
Amidst this, you also have to take care of another important thing — converting your percentage to GPA, which global universities use to analyse your grades as per international standards. Any errors while calculating this conversion can hamper your chances of studying at a premier institution.
Almost all universities in India grade students with either a percentage system, a grading system, or a combination of both. While applying to international universities, one of the requirements is GPA conversion. Typically, Indian universities follow a 10-point GPA scale, while US-based universities follow a 4-point GPA scale.
So, many students need to convert GPA to percentage or percentage to GPA, depending on their requirements.
The 4-point GPA scale is accepted by universities in most foreign countries. For GPA conversion, you need to successfully convert your grades to your university’s accepted method of GPA conversion. Different universities might require different documents, for example, an explanation of your country’s grading system, an explanation of your university’s grading system, etc.
In this article, we will discuss:
Indian educational institutions use a combination of percentages and grades to evaluate a student’s academic performance. There are different methods of grading a student in India, for example, a 10-point scale, a 7-point scale, a percentage system, and letter grades.
When it comes to percentages, the students are ranked in the following manner.
60% – 100% | First Division |
50% – 59.99% | Second Division |
30% – 49.99% | Third Division |
0-29.99% | Fail |
However, nowadays, educational institutions in India have also started grading students with GPA and CGPA to meet international standards.
Indian educational institutions use a combination of percentages and grades to evaluate a student’s academic performance. There are different methods of grading a student in India, for example, a 10-point scale, a 7-point scale, a percentage system, and letter grades.
When it comes to percentages, the students are ranked in the following manner.
60% – 100% | First Division |
50% – 59.99% | Second Division |
30% – 49.99% | Third Division |
0-29.99% | Fail |
However, nowadays, the educational institutions in India have also started grading students with GPA and CGPA to meet the international standards.
GPA means Grade Point Average. GPA is obtained by dividing a student’s average marks by his credit hours. GPA is important to evaluate a student’s performance throughout the semester.
If you’re wondering, “What is a good GPA?”, the answer can vary from university to university. If you’re aiming for a top-reputed university, you will probably require a GPA of more than 3.5. On the other hand, second-tier universities might accept a GPA of 3.0 – 3.5. On average, a GPA higher than 3.0 is acceptable by most universities.
A higher GPA is also a requirement when applying for financial aid and scholarships. A good GPA, IELTS / TOEFL scores, GMAT scores, awards, and certificates create a good college profile for securing admissions abroad.
Dividing your percentage by 100 and multiplying it by 4 will give your GPA scores. For instance, What is a 70% to GPA? If you use the method of dividing by 100 and multiplying by 4, you will get a GPA of 2.8.
Here’s a table to help you calculate your GPA, convert GPA to percentage, and percentage to GPA.
PERCENTAGE | GRADE | 10-point CGPA | 4 -point GPA |
85% – 100% | A+ | 8.5-10 | 4 |
80% – 84% | A+ | 8.0-8.4 | 3.7 |
75% – 79% | B+ | 7.5-7.9 | 3.3 |
70% – 74% | B | 7.0-7.4 | 3 |
65% – 69% | B- | 6.5-6.9 | 2.7 |
60% – 64% | C+ | 6.0-6.4 | 2.3 |
55% – 59% | C | 5.5-5.9 | 2 |
50% – 54% | C- | 5.0-5.4 | 1.7 |
45% – 49% | D | 4.5-4.9 | 1.3 |
40% – 44% | D | 4.0-4.44 | 1 |
0- 39% | F | 0-3.9 | 0 |
Apart from this, many useful websites help you calculate and convert your GPA scores easily.
Along with India, many other countries follow a 10-point grading system to evaluate their students. The most widely accepted method of converting a percentage to a 10-point grade is to divide by 9.5.
The formula for calculating your grades on a 10-point scale is
GPA= Final percentage/9.5
For instance, what is the GPA of 80% by this method? It will be 80/9.5= 8.4
This is a simplified method of converting your percentage into a 10-point grade scale.
10- POINT GPA | DETAILS |
10 | Outstanding |
9.0-9.99 | Excellent |
8.0-8.99 | Very good |
7.0-7.99 | Good |
6.0-6.99 | Above average |
5.0-5.99 | Average |
4.0-4.99 | Pass |
0-3.99 | Fail |
While your GPA can fluctuate throughout the semester, it is important to maintain your GPA above a certain level if you’re aiming at highly competitive universities or scholarships. Some universities utilise GPA scores to provide club and association memberships.
On the other hand, employers can also consider your GPA while interviewing you for a job. This helps them gauge your skills and knowledge about your academic field.
It is essential to clarify the required GPA scale with your university of choice. Some universities accept a 4-point GPA scale, however, there is also a 5-point GPA scale that is used to grade students and might be a requirement in some universities.
As an Indian student, if you plan to study overseas in countries like Australia, the US, Canada, Europe, or the UK, there’s no escaping GPA conversion. Luckily, many popular universities and their admission committee are familiar with the Indian grading system. You can easily clarify the grade requirements by emailing your universities. At the same time, there are multiple agencies and websites available today to convert grades accurately in exchange for a certain amount.
There’s no reason to be worried about your college applications. Prepare your documents in advance and choose your universities according to your GPA and academic profile. This will help you save time and money, and help you get into a top university of your choice.
In conclusion, this seemingly simple and small step is important and should not be taken lightly. As a priority, it should be dealt with first so that it can be added to the list of already prepared documents and files for the entire journey of studying abroad. Intimidating thoughts of application rejection might trouble you sometimes, in those hours of confusion- Reach out to us for a Virtual Counselling session.