Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA: What do colleges consider?

Hey everyone, I have a question about college admissions. I've been hearing a lot of mixed opinions on whether colleges prefer to see weighted or unweighted GPAs. Can someone clarify this for me? Do most of them take class rigor into account, or do they just look at the raw GPA without considering the difficulty of courses taken?

The differences between weighted and unweighted GPAs can certainly be puzzling! Both types of GPAs carry significance in the college admissions process, and schools use their distinct attributes to weigh different aspects of your academic performance.

In general, most colleges do not have a "preference" for either weighted or unweighted GPAs. Instead, they look at both GPA scales to evaluate academic performance holistically. The unweighted GPA, which scales from 0.0 to 4.0, no matter the difficulty of your courses, gives admission officers a straightforward understanding of how you performed in your classes on a standard scale.

On the other hand, a weighted GPA is beneficial because it takes the rigor of your academic course load into account. Weighted GPAs, which typically scale to 5.0 or above, assign additional points to more challenging courses, like Honors, AP, and IB courses. This demonstrates to an admissions officer your performance within the context of harder coursework.

A student with a high weighted GPA but a lower unweighted GPA might show that they have challenged themselves extensively with difficult courses, even if they didn't always earn perfect grades in those classes.

Additionally, it's worth mentioning that every college has its process for recalculating GPAs based on their unique formula, so they can compare students fairly. And, of course, all colleges consider your course rigor as a significant factor in the application review process, as they want to see you're both challenging yourself and thriving acadically.

Using both GPA scales, colleges can assess the breadth and depth of your academic achievements. Keep in mind, every school varies, and it's a good idea to research the specific GPA criteria each college on your list emphasizes.