When I was in 9th and 10th grade, my school kept our GPAs unweighted. When I started 11th (which I am in currently), they switched to weighted, non-retroactive. This obviously upset me, seeing as I had already taken accelerated and AP classes in 9th and 10th. That being said, my GPA would be higher if it had been retroactive. Is there a way I can specify this when I apply for colleges next year? I've seen people applying and specifying something like '3.85 (unweighted)/ 4.0 (weighted).
Will I be able to do something like (3.87 is my current gpa)
3.87 (unweighted 9th/10th) ??
Hello! Yes, you can absolutely write your GPA as unweighted and weighted. However, in most cases, colleges will calculate your weighted GPA based on their own terms of calculation. The reason for this is that the method for calculating a student's weighted GPA varies so much among U.S. high schools. Some schools calculate it on a 5.0 scale, some on a 6.0 scale. In fact, I believe the highest recorded GPA was something along the lines of 21.0, which is obviously not possible in most schools. In colleges, most of the time they cap it off at a 5.0.
In summary:
- Don't worry about your weighted GPA, colleges will calculate it themselves.
- You can enter in your weighted GPA and unweighted when applying.
- Really, colleges only care about your unweighted GPA
I hope this helps! Let me know if I can answer any follow up questions. :)
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