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How Australian Students Can Convert Their 2023 VCE Grades To A GPA For Top US Universities!
11/12/2023•16 minute read
Curious how you can use your VCE grades to apply to top universities in the US? Look no further. Read on to learn everything you need to know about how admissions officers look at VCE grades and why converting them to a Grade Point Average (GPA) can increase your odds of acceptance.
If you are an Australian student interested in walking the halls of Harvard or the yards of Yale or the science labs of Stanford — then learning about how you can use your VCE results (which eventually make up your ATAR), to apply to top US universities is an important part of your successful application journey.
The good news is that the majority of admissions officers at top US schools are aware of the various curricula offered by countries around the globe, including Victoria’s VCE.
That said, being able to convert your scores to a more globally familiar GPA (or Grade Point Average) is important — as you will be asked to report your GPA (along with your school grades) on your applications.
Before we dive into the conversion methods, let’s take a quick look into the VCE and how your subject marks are converted into an ATAR.
What is the VCE and How is an ATAR Calculated?
The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is the highest educational award you can achieve at secondary school in Victoria and is generally completed over two years. Each subject consists of four semester-long units, and students usually study 20 to 24 units across Years 11 and 12, typically completing Units 1 and 2 in their first year, and Units 3 and 4 in their second year. At Unit 3 and 4 level, there are three Graded Assessments for each study, consisting of school-assessed coursework (SACs), school-assessed tasks (SATs) and external examinations.
The three Graded Assessments for each study (two for VCE VET) are used to calculate a Study Score. The maximum Study Score is 50. Each year, and for every study, the mean Study Score is set at 30 with a standard deviation of 7. This means, a score of between 23 and 37 shows that you are in the middle range of students; a score of 38 or more indicates that you are in the top 15%.
These scores are then eventually calculated and scaled into an overall ranking or percentage or ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank). To obtain an ATAR, you need to have at least four study scores, one of which must be from the English group.
VCE Study Scores Explained
| For studies with large enrolments (1000 or more): |
|---|
| 2% of students will achieve a score on or above 45 |
| 9% of students will get a score on or above 40 |
| 26% of students will get a score on or above 35 |
| 53% of students will get a score on or above 30 |
| 78% of students will get a score on or above 25 |
| 93% of students will get a score on or above 20. |
So how does the ATAR system compare to the US system where a Grade Point Average (GPA) is the primary numerical summary of all your accumulated grades? To answer this question, we can start by explaining what a GPA is and exactly how it is calculated.
What is a GPA and How is it Calculated?
In the US, most schools use a letter grading system, with a corresponding letter grade, for example an A or B or C. This is measured by a number called a Grade Point Average, or GPA. Your GPA, which is measured on a scale from 0 to 4.0, is the cumulative average of the grades in all of your subjects and is calculated by dividing the total amount of grade points earned by the total amount of credit hours attempted.
Here’s a simple chart that shows how US students convert their letter grades to the 4.0 scale.
Grade Point Average (GPA) Explained
| Letter Grade | Grade Points | Numerical Value |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | 4.0 | 97-100 |
| A | 4.0 | 94-96 |
| A- | 3.7 | 90-93 |
| B+ | 3.3 | 87-89 |
| B | 3.0 | 84-86 |
| B- | 2.7 | 80-83 |
| C+ | 2.3 | 77-79 |
| C | 2.0 | 74-76 |
| C- | 1.7 | 70-73 |
| D+ | 1.3 | 67-69 |
| D | 1.0 | 64-66 |
| D- | 0.7 | 60-63 |
| F | 0.0 | 0-59 |
Weighted vs. an Unweighted GPA
An unweighted GPA is the average of all your grades on the scale shown in the table above. However, some US schools use a ‘weighted’ GPA scale, which gives more ‘weight’ or points to grades in more difficult or accelerated courses like an ‘Honours’ class or a more difficult AP course. So, while an ‘A’ might normally be a 4.0 on the unweighted scale, on a weighted scale, an ‘A’ may be a 5.0.
What is a Good GPA?
Different people may have different answers to this question depending on their academic and US uni goals. Generally speaking, a good GPA is over 3.5 and — if you are aiming at top US universities — ideally over 3.7. Here is a table which shows the average GPA of students admitted to the top 30 US unis. Remember, this is an average so there are students who are admitted with GPAs slightly above or below this median.
Average GPA at Top US Unis
| University | Average Unweighted GPA |
|---|---|
| Princeton University | 3.97 |
| Harvard University | 3.97 |
| Columbia University | 3.9 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Techology | 3.95 |
| Yale University | 3.95 |
| Stanford University | 3.96 |
| University of Chicago | 3.85 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 3.9 |
| California Institute of Technology | 3.97 |
| Johns Hopkins University | 3.74 |
| Northwestern University | 3.92 |
| Duke University | 3.94 |
| Dartmouth College | 3.9 |
| Brown University | 3.94 |
| Vanderbilt University | 3.76 |
| Rice University | 3.89 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 3.89 |
| Cornell University | 3.9 |
| University of Notre Dame | 3.9 |
| University of California - Los Angeles | 3.89 |
| Emory University | 3.78 |
| University of California - Berkeley | 3.86 |
| Georgetown University | 3.89 |
| University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | 3.82 |
| University of Southern California | 3.79 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 3.69 |
| University of Virginia | 3.69 |
| University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill | 3.65 |
| Wake Forest University | 3.65 |
| New York University | 3.69 |
Do US Universities accept VCE alongside any calculated GPA?
In short, yes!
International curricula such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) or A Levels are widely recognised; therefore, they are theoretically easier curricula for US universities to evaluate and compare. However, admissions officers in the US are aware of the various global curricula applicants take and will understand the VCE and the nuances around it.
That said, it’s important to remember that admissions officers from top US unis receive an enormous amount of applications. For example, in the latest admissions cycle, Harvard received 57,435 applications for only 1968 places.
Reporting a GPA that is calculated from your VCE grades therefore acts as a relevant reference point for admissions officers across the board enabling them to “translate” your results in a more commonly applied format.
To summarise, while US universities accept VCE grades and welcome applicants from Australia who study this curriculum, it is very helpful to present your grades in a 4.0 GPA scale alongside your VCE reporting.
Ready to calculate your GPA using your VCE (or predicted VCE) grades?
