Difference between ugpa and gpa?

Hey everyone! I've been seeing these terms ugpa and gpa floating around when it comes to college admissions. Could someone explain the difference between the two? Thanks in advance!

Hi there! Sure, I'd be happy to clarify the difference between ugpa (unweighted GPA) and GPA. When talking about GPA in the context of college admissions, there are generally two types:

1. Unweighted GPA (ugpa): This is the most basic representation of your academic performance, calculated on a scale of 0.0 to 4.0. To determine your unweighted GPA, you would assign a point value to each letter grade you received, and then average those values across all of your classes. Essentially, an A would be worth 4 points, a B would be worth 3 points, a C would be worth 2 points, and so on. Unweighted GPA doesn't take into account the level of difficulty of your courses, so all classes are treated equally in this calculation.

2. Weighted GPA: This is similar to unweighted GPA, but this calculation takes into account the level of difficulty of the courses you've taken, such as honors, AP, or IB courses. Weighted GPA is typically on a scale of 0.0 to 5.0, where a standard-level course retains the same point values as in unweighted GPA, but advanced or rigorous courses receive an additional point value (e.g., 5 points for an A in an AP course). This allows students who challenge themselves with a more difficult course load to have their efforts recognized in their GPA, as it's often higher than their unweighted GPA.