Understanding GPA weights

I'm slightly confused about how weighted and unweighted GPAs work. Can someone explain the differences, and do colleges typically look at one over the other? I'm trying to understand how it factors into college admissions. Thanks!

Weighted and unweighted GPAs are two different ways to calculate and present your academic performance during high school. I'll break down each one and explain how they factor into college admissions.

Unweighted GPA refers to the more traditional method, where each letter grade in your classes is assigned a numeric value (A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, etc.), regardless of the course's difficulty level. The values are averaged over all your courses to calculate your unweighted GPA, which ranges from 0.0 to 4.0.

Weighted GPA, on the other hand, adds extra weight to the more challenging courses, such as Honors, AP, or IB classes. Schools may add a specific value, like 0.5 or 1.0, to the standard grade value when calculating your GPA for these advanced courses. As a result, weighted GPAs typically range from 0.0 to 5.0 (or even higher, depending on the school).

The primary difference between the two is that the weighted GPA takes into account the rigor of your coursework, whereas the unweighted GPA does not. Weighted GPAs can help give a more accurate representation of a student's academic performance, especially if they have taken a high number of advanced courses.

Colleges typically receive both your weighted and unweighted GPAs if they're provided by your high school. However, college admissions officers often recalculate your GPA using their own system or may focus on the unweighted GPA to ensure a more standardized comparison across all applicants. They also closely examine your transcript to evaluate the rigor of your coursework and how well you performed in those challenging classes.

Remember, GPA is only one component considered in college admissions. Other factors like standardized test scores (if required), extracurricular activities, essays, and letters of recommendation play essential roles in the evaluation process as well.

To sum it up, the differences between weighted and unweighted GPAs lie in the fact that weighted GPAs account for course difficulty. While colleges may use both types of GPAs, they often rely on unweighted GPA and transcripts to compare applicants more fairly, taking course rigor into account as a separate factor.