Courtesy: www.infozee.com. Corrections and improvements are welcome.
Filling up Application Forms, GPA Conversion, Financial Aid, Visa - the deciding stage , Life in USA, Study Abroad Websites, Study Abroad
One of the most confusing issues that trouble students is the conversion of percentage or grade into Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). To clear any doubts that you have or you may have in future, i am giving you the details of this important aspect of your application process. Academic evaluation in the US is generally done through CGPA on a scale of Zero to Four. Most Indian universities follow a percentage system. Conversion of your percentage of marks into CGPA is not possible since the method of evaluation in India is different from that of the U.S. You need to include the percentages you had obtained, in the applications to U.S. universities, which would be used by them for processing.
Calculation of CGPA is not practical for Indian students since they are evaluated by percentages and grades, unlike in the U.S system, where they are evaluated by a CGPA, which depends on the number of credit hours one gains. Even if somebody tells you there is a method to calculate the CGPA, please do not try that, since it is inaccurate and does not reflect your percentages correctly. Just indicate your percentages in the coloumn "CGPA" of the universities' applications. Instead of giving a wrongly calculated CGPA, you should furnish the following information, which will be accepted instead of the CGPA by the authorities responsible for admission to the universities:
The intention of CGPA is to let the Admissions Committee know where you stand with respect to your class. The above information will prove equally useful.
Also, you can submit a percentile.Your percentile is represented by the total number of students below you/total number of students who took the exam. So, if you stood third in a class of 30, your percentile is 27/30 = 90 (even though your percentage is 73). Whatever you do, explain it clearly in your application and/or the Statement of Purpose. But do not try to convert your percentage into a CGPA.