GPA Calculation Question

I failed a pass/fail class during my covid semester for a class that does not count towards my major. I lost a loved one during this time, so it made it very difficult to focus on school and I was just trying to do the bare minimum. I played a dangerous game and learned my lesson.

What if I were to put my GPA on my resume with an asterisk, then wrote in the footnotes something like "GPA calculated by taking the sum non-pass/fail grade points earned divided by credit hours." I probably could world better. Some schools do this already - they do not include failed pass/fail courses in GPA. So it is not like I am inventing a whole new grading system.

Not including the fail I had for my pass/fail class will have a tremendously positive impact on my GPA; it definitely would decrease the chance my resume gets sifted. Moreover, I am not being dishonest or misleading, for I am explaining exactly how I calculated it. I understand if I were to report my cumulative GPA by using this method, that would be dishonest because my calculation is not the way my school does it.

My only concern is that the people who read my resume will look badly upon it for some reason, although I am not sure why that would be. Can anyone share some perspectives or concerns with my approach? 

5 Comments
 

Hey, I would consider talking to you school about how it accepts proper GPA calculations. I would not worry about this so long as it matches what is on your transcript and rounded appropriately.

Edit: I think as long as you are giving a calculation that your school finds acceptable you will be fine. Additionally, so long as you explain the calculation fully you should be ok

 

Thanks for your response, but the whole point was to ask whether it was acceptable to show a different calculation than the one used by your school. Of course, I would show that I am using a different calculation than the one my school uses. I need to do this because this one fail in a pass/fail class for a course I do not need to take is tanking my overall GPA.

 

It's pretty normal to include failed courses in GPA, even if they were P/F. It seems like you're really trying to justify it, but honestly, recalculating it is unusual. It's like someone getting a C and recalculating their GPA without the C because they were going through a tough time that semester. You could try making a note I guess, but it'll be very unusual and will attract attention to it. If your GPA is that low, just leave it off then 

 

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