Wondering do colleges look at weighted GPA or not? Most universities don’t prefer it over unweighted grade point averages. However, colleges do accept weighted GPAs.
Discussed below is everything you need to know about weighted and unweighted grade point averages, as well as how college admissions view them.
What is an Unweighted GPA?
An unweighted GPA is your grade point average without considering the struggle of the classes you took. It would have a maximum score of 4.0. What’s great is that there would be no mathematical difference between getting an A or A+.
Many people criticize unweighted grade point averages because a student who took regular classes and got a 3.5 GPA would have an identical GPA to a student who scored a 3.5 average and took advanced courses.
What is a Good Unweighted GPA?
If you consistently scored A’s for classes, you would get a 4.0 unweighted GPA. The more A’s compared to A-s you get, the closer to 4.0 your score will be. Someone who only scored A-s will likely graduate with a 3.7 unweighted grade point average.
Are you applying to a very competitive program? The closer to 4.0 your GPA is, the better.
If your high school transcript is a mix of As and Bs, you will end up with an unweighted GPA of around 3.5. A selective school probably won’t accept candidates that scored less than 3.2.
What is a Weighted GPA?
A weighted GPA considers the struggle of the coursework and subjects you had to do. Compared to unweighted GPAs, a grade in an advanced class would be increased by one whole grade.
Depending on the high school you attended, the grade-point scale that would be used would differ. The 5.0 scale is quite common. However, many schools employ 9.0 and 10.0 grading scales too.
What is a Good Weighted GPA?
Well, this depends on the grade-point scale your school uses. As mentioned, it would differ from the regular 4.0 scale and be a 5.0, 9.0 or even 10.0 scale
A general rule is that a student applying to a very competitive course should aim for a weighted GPA that is as close to the maximum score they could get.
Your high school’s guidance counselor will likely explain everything to you. They would discuss how your school weighs GPAs and everything you can do to bring yours up.
Do College Checks Weighted or Unweighted GPAs?
Frankly, it would be unfair if colleges preferred weighted over unweighted GPAs and vice versa. University admissions compare the two grading systems equally. How? By going through school reports, talking to guidance counselors, and doing background research on the high school you attended.
A lot of universities recalculate applicants’ GPA results into their own grading systems as well. The subjects considered would be math, science, English, foreign languages, and history.
Also, some college admissions look at class rank. At one point, it used to play a significant role in deciding whether a student would get accepted or not, but it’s not as popular anymore. Schools stopped favoring it, as it made students more cutthroat.
How Do You Improve Your GPA?
If you’re looking to apply to a more competitive program, you’d want to score the best possible GPA. If you’re not doing well in classes, how do you improve your grades?
Make sure to attend class regularly. You’ll understand complex topics better, as you’d be there when your teacher is explaining them. What’s more, you would get tidbits of information that would help you understand what you’re learning too.
You should be very organized as well. This would help you stay on top of your workload. The best thing you could do is make a weekly study schedule.
If you must, you should get a tutor. The additional help could be what you need if you need straight As for all your classes.
Final Thoughts
College admissions consider weighted and unweighted grade point averages equally. They usually take the subjects applicants did and create their own grading system to equally assess them. A lot of universities also speak to counselors, look into the schools’ applicants went to, as well as their individual coursework.
If you’re struggling, here’s everything you can do to improve your grades:
- Go to close regularly
- Hire a tutor
- Create a study schedule
- Cut out distractions
