Letter: Beware of grade conversions in Running Start program

I’m writing to provide a warning to students and parents in the Richland School District. If you’re considering Running Start in high school, you should be aware of how the college grades transfer to the high school.

When you receive your transcript from the college, it gets converted to a letter grade at the high school and then converted to a different GPA scale. Your grades may be lower in the long run. For example, if a student earns a 2.9 in a college class, the grade won’t be rounded up to a 3.0 (B). Instead, it gets rounded down to a 2.7 (B-).

I wasn’t aware of this when I entered the Running Start program, and if I knew, I don’t think I would have signed up. The students suffer when the grades are always rounded down, as our GPAs mean everything when it comes to getting scholarships. I lost .5 points to this system last quarter alone.

The difference between a 3.0 and a 2.9 is enough to lose qualifications for many universities. It may be just a number to them, but that’s your future they’re rounding down. Be careful and make sure the program is worth it to you.

This story was originally published March 19, 2016 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Letter: Beware of grade conversions in Running Start program."