R score
What is the R score?
The R score, or CRC (Cote de rendement collégial), is used by the admissions offices of Quebec universities to compare and rank CEGEP students.
The R score assumes that a grade of 80 given by one teacher in one course is not the same as a grade of 80 given by another teacher in a different course or in a different section of the same course. The R score attempts to level the playing field, as it were, in order to make it possible to compare the grades one student gets in all his/her courses to the grades another student gets in all his/her courses. All grades between 0-100 generate an R score.
There are three main components in the R score:
- The first component is the student’s rank in the group based on that individual’s grade and the standard deviation within the group (the college Z score).
- The second and third components are both, respectively, the indicator of the strength of the group (ISG) and the indicator of the dispersion of the group (IDG). Since the college Z score does not consider the specific characteristics of groups of students the ISG and the IDG are corrective measures applied to the College Z score to resolve the disparity and ensure students are fairly assessed. The ISG and IDG use the final grades in Secondary 4 and 5 subjects for which uniform examinations are imposed by the MEES to improve the accuracy of the college Z score. The subjects concerned are Secondary 4 history, science, and mathematics and Secondary 5 Language of instruction and second language.
Note: The course or group average used by the Ministry of Education to calculate individual R scores is not the one you see on your Vanier transcript. The Ministry's course or group average is considerably higher since it does not include failures below 50%.
Score calculations and university admissions
The R score is calculated for all courses or groups of courses except:
- High school mathematics
- Science make-up courses
- Remedial English and French courses
- A course or group of courses with fewer than 6 students in it
- A course or group of courses in which fewer than 6 students have a grade of at least 50.
The R score average – the weighted cumulative average of a student’s individual R scores – is then calculated. The weighting is a function of the number of credits attributed to each course. Two R score averages are calculated:
- Program R score: the R score average of all the courses of the program the student is graduating in.
- Global R score: the R score average of all the courses the student has taken. This is different from the program R score if a student has been in more than one cégep program.
All Quebec universities, except McGill, use the program R score for admissions purposes. McGill uses the Global R score. If you want McGill to use your program R score rather than your Global R score, you must indicate this on the application by checking off the “extenuating circumstances” box and explaining the reasons for your request.
To know your science or mathematics pre-requisite R score, add your individual science and/or
mathematics R scores and divide by the number of R scores.
The R score is expressed by a number that can range from 1-50 although most R scores fall within the 15-37 range. To give you an idea of what the numbers mean, an R score average of around 36 is usually required to be admitted to Medicine, an R score average between 27 to 29 is required to be admitted to Management. The R score is calculated by the Ministry of Education and accessed by the Registrar’s Office on behalf of students.
R-score updates
The R score is updated in October, mid-January, beginning of February and June and includes results for courses taken in the Autumn, Winter and Summer semesters respectively. Students can check their R scores on Omnivox.
FAQs
Where do I find My R Score?
Students can access the R Score through the Omnivox Portal. Once on Omnivox go to Lea, The Omnivox Classroom, Grades, and Statement of Final Grades.
What happens to my R score if I change programs and I am assigned a Substitution (SU) for a course taken in my original program?
The R score continues to be part of your Global R score but will not be included in the R score of your new program as no R scores are attached to SUs.
What R score do I need to get into university?
It depends on the program, it depends on the university.
How can I improve my R score?
You can improve your R score by improving your grades. However, the more credits you
complete, the less impact your new R score results will have.
For example, if you have completed 10 credits and add 10 credits, your new R score will be based on 20 credits, of which the new 10 credits constitute 50% of your new R score (10 / 20). In this case, adding these 10 credits can have significant impact on your R score.
On the other hand, if you have completed 40 credits and add 10 credits, your new R score will now be based on 50 credits, of which the new 10 credits constitute 20% of your new R score (10 / 50). Adding these 10 credits will not have the same impact on your R score as in the former example.
How much can I improve my R score if I get 80 in all my current courses?
We cannot predict this in advance. Aside from the fact that Vanier does not do the calculation, R scores can only be calculated after all final grades have been reported and the Z score and ISG have been calculated. We can say this, though: the higher your grades, the higher your R score will be.
How do universities access my R score?
When you apply to a Québec university, you must provide your Permanent Code, found on your Vanier transcript. With this code, the universities access your R score directly from the Ministry.
What can I do if I don’t get an R score high enough to get into my program of choice at university?
You can apply for another program for which you are eligible, do well, and try to transfer into your program of choice. We recommend that you choose something you can live with, in case you do not succeed in getting your transfer.