Many high schools use an unweighted GPA that doesn’t take into account the level of each class. Students who excel in honors or Advanced Placement (AP) courses may feel that their hard work doesn’t reflect when an A+ from one of their regular classes can outscore an otherwise perfect 4.0 from their honors class.
Grade Point Scale
GPA stands for grade point average and it is one of the key indicators used by colleges to evaluate whether students are ready to transition into their academic environment. A GPA can either be weighted or unweighted and there can be various differences between the two versions.
Unweighted GPA
Unweighted GPAs are calculated on a four-point scale and do not take the difficulty level of your classes into account. For example, if you achieve A’s in two honors/AP classes and B’s in three regular classes, your unweighted GPA will be 3.0; but if your friend takes all lower-level classes with flying colors and earns all A’s with ease, her unweighted GPA would skyrocket to four!
Weighted GPA
Weighted GPAs, on the other hand, are calculated on 5.0 scales to take into account class difficulty. If you earn an A in an AP or honors class, for example, it will raise your weighted GPA more than someone with all regular classes receiving As because difficult classes carry additional points.
Many schools use GPA calculations to award honors or AP students who take those courses, giving each a certain number of “quality points.” Once all their quality points have been added together they divide it by how many credit hours a student took during a semester or year.
Grades and Their Impact
Unweighted GPAs are easier to calculate because they do not take into account the levels of your classes when making calculations. If, for instance, you earn As in two classes and Bs in three others, your unweighted GPA would be 4.0 since each A counts for four points while each B counts only one point. A weighted GPA takes this into account by awarding higher marks to more challenging courses like AP or honors classes; an A in weighted calculus counts five points while one earned in standard art may only count four.
Effect on Class Rankings
Unweighted GPAs can be deceiving as class ranks can become misleading due to not taking coursework difficulty into account when calculating grades. Students enrolled in multiple AP or IB classes, for instance, might end up with lower unweighted GPAs due to A’s not matching up as well.
College Preferences for GPA
Colleges often prefer weighted GPAs because they provide more insight into the difficulty of your courses. But keep in mind that even an outstanding unweighted GPA is only part of an application; having an impressive transcript showing your child has excelled at more challenging academic subjects is also crucial for college success.
Importance in College Admissions
Some individuals question which GPA scale matters more when applying to college admissions; both scales have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Colleges generally favor weighted GPAs because they demonstrate students took more challenging courses; however, colleges will still evaluate your course load regardless of its weightedness.
Which GPA Matters More?
Weighted GPAs are calculated averages on a 4.0 scale that give greater points to classes perceived to be more difficult by high schools. For instance, an A in an honors or AP class might count for five points while one earned in standard art class may only earn four. The system strives to encourage students to take up advanced courses without fear of their grades taking a significant hit as a result.
Though some schools prefer weighted GPAs, applicants must keep in mind that many elite universities don’t care whether the grade assigned to each grade differs between weighted and unweighted GPAs; each college uses its own scales when assigning points; therefore, the amount assigned for a B grade in one school won’t necessarily correspond with what would be assigned by another high school.
