What is a weighted GPA?

Hi everyone, I'm a high school junior, and I've been hearing people talk about their 'weighted GPAs' quite a bit. What exactly is a weighted GPA and how does it differ from a regular, unweighted GPA?

Hello! A weighted GPA is a form of calculating high school grade point average (GPA) that takes into account both the grades a student earns and the difficulty of the courses they take. Weighted GPAs typically use a scale that goes up to 5.0 or sometimes even 6.0, as opposed to the 4.0 scale used for unweighted GPAs. The idea behind a weighted GPA is to give students taking more challenging courses, such as honors, Advanced Placement (AP), or International Baccalaureate (IB) classes, additional credit for their efforts.

In a weighted GPA system, higher-level courses often carry an additional point value. For example, an A in an AP course might be worth 5.0 points (instead of the 4.0 points for an A in a standard course), a B would be worth 4.0 points, and so on. By contrast, an unweighted GPA system assigns the same point value to all courses, regardless of difficulty, with a scale that goes up to 4.0 – an A is worth 4.0 points, a B is worth 3.0 points, and so on.

Colleges will often recalculate GPAs based on their criteria or convert weighted GPAs to unweighted or vice versa, as different high schools may use different weighting scales. When comparing students during the admissions process, colleges will consider the rigor of the courses on your transcript, so both your weighted and unweighted GPAs provide valuable information.

In short, a weighted GPA is designed to reflect both your academic performance and the rigor of your coursework, while an unweighted GPA focuses solely on your performance in all courses, regardless of difficulty.