VMCAS Helpdesk

WHY DOES VMCAS CALCULATE A GPA?

By inputting your coursework into the VMCAS application, you standardize the format and content of your transcripts.  Transcripts vary widely in the type of hours credits are worth, the numeric values of grades, and course subjects. VMCAS calculates a standard set of GPAs based upon your coursework, making sure your grade values, credit values, and course subjects are consistent with all other VMCAS applicants. As a result, your veterinary programs may compare your course subjects, credit values, and grade values on a level field with all other applicants who are seeking admission to their program.

HOW YOUR GPA IS CALCULATED

VMCAS uses the information which you have entered in the coursework section of your application to calculate several tables of GPAs in multiple categories for each applicant. Each category is calculated by adding up the total number of quality points in that category (your credits multiplied by the numeric value of your grade) and dividing this number by the total credits you attempted to earn in this same category. ALL VMCAS GPAs ARE CALCULATED IN SEMESTER HOURS. The result of these calculations is several different types of GPAs.

VIEWING YOUR GPA

 GPA calculations can be viewed in the application PDF which is available from the “Check Status” tab of your application AFTER your application has been verified by VMCAS . Click on the blue icon in the upper right of each program you have applied to to bring up your application PDF.

In the Bookmarks find “GPA Information”

 

 

COLLEGE YEAR-LEVEL GPAs and SCIENCE VS. NON-SCIENCE:

VMCAS breaks down your GPA by school year, and also divides your GPA into science, non-science, and overall categories.

YEAR-LEVELS:

These GPAs indicate the school level which you categorized your courses under on your application. For example, if you marked three terms at two different schools as “freshman,” then all courses under those terms factor into the “Freshman” GPA. Please note that the “Total” row includes freshman – senior work, the “Cumulative Undergrad” row indicates freshman – post-baccalaureate work, and the “Overall” row includes freshman – doctorate degree level work.

SCIENCE VS. NON-SCIENCE

VMCAS also divides your GPA earned at each year level into Science, Non-Science, and Total (science and non-science) sections.

SCIENCE GPA: is calculated based on these Course Subject categories:Animal Science, Biochemistry, Biology, Inorganic Chemistry, Microbiology, Organic Chemistry, Other Life Science, Other Science, Physics.

NON-SCIENCE GPA: is calculated based on these Course Subject GPA categories: Business, Computer Science, English/Literature, General Non-Science, General Non-Science, Math, Public Speaking, Social/Behavioral Science

COURSE SUBJECT CATEGORY GPAs:

VMCAS breaks down your GPA by course subject, regardless of your college level. These subjects are determined by the “VMCAS course subjects” you selected for each course on your application. Please note that during the verification process, VMCAS staff will change the subject category for any courses which they determine were not categorized correctly.

COURSE SUBJECTS:If you have any questions about what course subjects factor into which GPA Course Subject Category, please see the VMCAS Course Subjects page.

DISPUTING YOUR GPA CALCULATION

Understand that GPAs are automatically calculated using the data that is inputted in the Transcript Entry section of the application, and most often are correct. On the rare occasion that they are not, it is most often because something has been labeled incorrectly in the coursework section. Before disputing a GPA calculation, it is the applicant’s responsibility to understand the following:

• How VMCAS GPAs work mathematically. A common error applicants make is to add their GPA from each of their four years of undergraduate study and then divide by 4, which they erroneously believe is their overall undergraduate GPA. In fact, this is their AVERAGE GPA, which is very different from an Overall GPA. Review all of the instructions and examples on this page to ensure your math is correct.

• How VMCAS GPAs work specifically. This includes the notes above on common reasons they are different from the GPA on your transcripts. VMCAS GPAs are not and should not be those found on your transcripts.

• VMCAS can and can NOT help you in regards to your GPA. VMCAS cannot assist you if you are unhappy because your GPA is “wrong.” It is impossible for us to determine what the issue might be if you simply believe it is incorrect. In order for us to either help find what may be causing an error or help you understand why a certain number is correct, we require more specific information.

If you believe your GPA is incorrect, the first step is to choose an area that you believe is incorrect (i.e. Post-Bac Science GPA) and attempt to calculate the correct GPA yourself. Instructions for how to do so are below.

ONLY after you have attempted to calculate the GPA on your own should you CONTACT VMCAS BY E-MAIL ONLY with a specific set of calculations for a certain portion of your GPA which you believe is erroneous and we will review and explain the discrepancy. Email vmcasinfo@vmcas.org with the subject line “Verification: GPA Inquiry” and include a description of the issue and the calculations you have made.

NOTE: GIVEN THE TIME AND ATTENTION NECESSARY TO REVIEW A GPA DISCREPANCY, VMCAS WILL NOT ACCEPT GPA REVIEW REQUESTS BY PHONE. Any applicants who call customer service requesting a GPA recalculation will be instructed to resubmit their request via e-mail.

Q: When will VMCAS calculate my GPA?

A: VMCAS will calculate a standardized VMCAS GPA after your application has been verified. To learn more about what is required before VMCAS can begin verifying your application, please see the VMCAS Verification page.

Q: How can I calculate my VMCAS GPA by hand?

You can calculate your VMCAS GPA by completing the two calculations below

VMCAS Weight of Your Grade x Semester Hours = Quality Points For Course

Total of Quality Points for All Courses / Total Semester Hours for All Courses = VMCAS GPA

Q: What is the VMCAS Weight for each grade?

VMCAS Weight	VMCAS Grade
4.00	A
3.7	A-
3.5	AB
3.3	B+
3.00	B
2.7	B-
2.5	BC
2.3	C+
2.0	C
1.7	C-
1.5	CD
1.3	D+
1.0	D
0.7	D-
0.5	DF
0.0	F

Q: How do I know how many semester hours my course was worth?

If your transcript uses the semester calendar and does not have a credit conversion, your semester hours will be listed on your official transcript. These are sometimes referred to as “credits” or “credit hours”.

If your transcript has a credit conversion, refer to the credit conversion on the back of the transcript. If you have difficulty determining what the credit conversion should be, check with your registrar’s office to determine what the appropriate conversion is.

If your transcript lists quarter hours, multiply the number of quarter hours by .667 to convert your quarter hours to semester hours. Report the number of quarter hours which appear on your transcript in the coursework section. You will only perform this calculation on paper when calculating your GPA by hand.

Generally, you will enter the number of Semester Hours Attempted rather than Semester Hours Earned if your transcript makes a distinction between those two numbers.

Q: What are quality points?

You can determine the number of quality points you received for any particular course by multiplying the numeric value of the grade by the number of semester hours the course was worth.

Q: What GPAs are calculated by VMCAS, and what courses are included in each GPA calculation?

VMCAS will calculate separate Science, Non-Science and Total GPAs for the following subcategories:

• Freshman
• Sophomore
• Junior
• Senior
• Total (Consisting of Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior)
• Post Baccalaureate
• Cumulative Undergraduate (Consisting of Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior and Post Baccalaureate courses)
• Graduate
• Professional
• Overall (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Post Baccalaureate, Graduate, and Professional courses)

Science GPAs will include courses with the following course subjects: Animal Science, Biochemistry, Biology, Inorganic Chemistry, Microbiology, Organic Chemistry, Other Life Science, Other Science, Physics.

Non-Science GPAs will include courses with the following course subjects: Business, Computer Science, English/Literature, General Non-Science, General Non-Science, Math, Public Speaking, Social/Behavioral Science

In addition to the year-by-year Science, Non-Science and Total GPAs, the following subtotals are calculated.

Courses with the following course subjects are calculated into the Biology/Chemistry/Physics/Life Science GPA:

• Animal Science
• Biochemistry
• Biology
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Microbiology
• Organic Chemistry
• Other Life Science
• Other Science
• Physics

Courses with the following course subjects are calculated into the Math GPA:

• Math

Courses with the following course subjects are calculated into the General Education GPA:

• English/Literature
• General Non-Science
• Social/Behavioral Science

Courses with the following course subjects are calculated into the Other GPA:

• Business
• Computer Science
• Public Speaking

 Q: Why would my VMCAS GPA differ from the GPAs listed on my official transcript?

VMCAS GPAs are likely to be different from those calculated by the colleges and universities you attended due to the VMCAS grade standardization process. When calculating your GPA by hand, bear in mind the following standardization processes:

• GPAs include all verified credits and grades from U.S. and English-speaking Canadian institutions.
• All courses with credit hours and a VMCAS Grade are calculated into the VMCAS GPAs, regardless of whether the credit counts toward a degree or has been counted toward a college/university GPA.
• VMCAS counts grades and hours assigned by the school where the courses were originally taken, not by any school that has granted transfer credit.
• VMCAS will include ALL initial AND repeated course work in its GPA calculations.
• Grades and credit hours for all FAILED courses will be included in the VMCAS GPA, even if they are not included in the GPA calculations of the transcript-issuing institution. The schools to which you are applying may recalculate your GPA excluding repeated coursework.
• VMCAS will include all courses on your transcripts, even if they are marked as “Freshman Forgiveness”, “Academic Bankruptcy”, or as being part of any other institutional forgiveness policy.
• Foreign courses are NOT included in VMCAS GPA calculations.
• The following course types are not counted in VMCAS GPA calculations:

• Advanced Placement
• CLEP
• Incomplete
• Institutional/Departmental Exam
• Regent’s Exam

• If “Quarter”, the VMCAS system will automatically convert quarter hours to semester hours (Quarter Hour × .667).
• If “Unit”. VMCAS manually converts unit credits to semester hours for each course.
• VMCAS determines which courses should be included in each GPA by referring to code in “Course Subject” field.
• Grade value of the course is multiplied by the semester hours for that course. The product of this multiplication equals the quality points.
• Cumulative quality points are divided by the cumulative attempted semester hours. (Total Quality Points ÷ Total Semester Hours Attempted = GPA)
• All credit hours are rounded to the hundredths place
• VMCAS GPAs are round at the hundredths place

Q: When will my VMCAS GPAs be available?

Your VMCAS GPAs will be available as soon as your application has been verified. Typically, this process can take as many as 4 weeks from the date your application reaches “completed” status.

Q: Where can I see my VMCAS GPA Calculation?

GPA CALCULATIONS can be viewed on the “Program Status” tab of your application PDF AFTER your your application has been verified by VMCAS .Click on the blue icon in the upper right of each program you have applied to to bring up your application PDF.