How does a 3.5 weighted GPA stack up for college admissions?

I just got my cumulative GPA, and it's a 3.5 weighted. So here's my question: when colleges see a weighted GPA, do they take the difficulty of courses into account, or will they recalculate it to suit their own scale? How will they perceive my 3.5 weighted GPA?

Colleges definitely take the difficulty of your courses into account when evaluating your GPA. A 3.5 weighted GPA generally indicates that you've taken some advanced classes and have performed reasonably well in them. Admissions officers typically look at your transcript in conjunction with your GPA to get a sense of the rigor of your course load. Some colleges even recalculate your GPA based on their own grading scales, often stripping away the weight of honors or AP courses to create a standardized measure for comparing applicants.

Keep in mind, though, that the competitiveness of your GPA can vary depending on the selectivity of the schools you're applying to. For highly selective universities, a 3.5 weighted GPA might be on the lower side, but it could be quite competitive at many other institutions. It's essential to look at the average GPA of admitted students at the colleges you're interested in to gauge how your GPA stacks up. Regardless, your GPA is just one part of your application, and strong essays, recommendations, test scores, and extracurricular involvements can all help paint a fuller picture of your abilities and potential.