I'm in my junior year and starting to look at college applications. I keep hearing about unweighted and weighted GPAs and I'm still confused about the difference. How do colleges view these different GPAs during the admissions process? Does one have more importance over the other? I'd also love to know how I should report my GPA if it's weighted on my school transcripts and if that changes anything in my application.
Sure, I’d be more than happy to help explain the difference between unweighted and weighted GPAs.
The unweighted GPA is the most straightforward—it's calculated out of a 4.0 scale, regardless of the difficulty of the classes you take. Essentially, an A in an AP/IB/Honors class is valued the same as an A in a regular or less rigorous class. The weighted GPA, on the other hand, adds extra points for more difficult classes. For example, on a 5.0 scale, an A in AP/IB/Honor classes would be typically valued as a 5, whereas an A in a regular class would still be valued as a 4. This means the weighted GPA can often be higher than an unweighted one, assuming you're doing well academically in those more challenging courses.
In terms of which one is more important, it depends on the school. A good number of colleges will look at both, but they often use the unweighted GPA for comparison as it offers a standard measure across all students. Some colleges may also recalculate your GPA based on their specific criteria, for instance, only considering academic courses.
When you're reporting your GPA on your applications, if schools ask for your unweighted GPA, you should report that. However, if your school only provides a weighted GPA, then that's what you'll need to report. In that case, you should also include details about your school's grading scale. The good news here is that colleges typically receive a school profile alongside your transcript that explains the nuances of your school's grading system.
Lastly, while GPA is important in admissions, remember it's not the only thing colleges consider. They also look at course rigor, extracurricular activities, recommendation letters, essays, standardized test scores (at colleges that are not test-blind), and so forth, attempting to understand who you are as a student and person from multiple angles.
Was that helpful? Let me know if you have further questions!
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