GPA Question - University of Maryland

Has anyone figured out how the University of Maryland calculates GPA for admission? Also, what's the average GPA of admitted students?

The University of Maryland uses a weighted GPA on a 4.0 scale in their admissions decisions. This means they consider the rigor of the courses you have taken alongside your grades. If your high school uses a different scale (like a 100-point scale or a 5.0 scale), UMD will convert it to a 4.0 scale.

For instance, if you took a lot of honors, IB, or AP classes in high school, you will generally be given a slight GPA boost to reflect the high academic rigor of these classes. The specifics of how much a weighted class boosts your GPA can vary based on the policies of your individual high school.

As for the average GPA of admitted students, for the most recent freshman class, the average high school GPA was about a 4.45 (on a weighted 4.0 scale), which indicates that admitted students typically earn A grades in their high school classes.

Please remember that while GPA is a crucial component of the admissions process, University of Maryland reviews applications holistically, meaning they also take into account factors like leadership, community engagement, essay quality, letters of recommendation, and so on. So, a lower GPA might be offset by strengths in these other areas.