Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA: What's the Difference?
/Do colleges look at weighted or unweighted GPA? Is weighted or unweighted GPA more important? What is cumulative GPA?
Your child’s high school transcript may include a weighted gpa, which factors course difficulty into its calculation
----
Introduction
Whether your child is applying to college soon or you’re just planning ahead, you likely know that grade point average (GPA) is one of the factors colleges consider when making admissions decisions. You might, however, have questions like “What’s the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?” or “Which GPA do colleges care about?”
Maintaining a high GPA is probably one of the most challenging responsibilities of your college-bound high school student. It requires consistency and deliberate study, but also a little bit of strategy.
You may have heard, for instance, that colleges want both great grades from applicants and a rigorous course load. But what if your child can earn straight As taking regular classes, rather than earn Bs on the AP or IB track? Should they play it safe and go for the easy A?
Let’s take a step back. Sure, a strong GPA is a key part of any college application, and it’s certainly one of the first elements that any admissions officer will check when reviewing your child’s file. But there are several other factors that admissions officers are considering when presented with this number.
You may have heard about “holistic admissions,” a process by which applicants are evaluated for qualities outside of grades and SAT or ACT scores. This means that colleges are looking to see if your child has made the most of the opportunities available to them. Colleges want to see that your child has challenged themselves academically by selecting courses that align with their strengths, interests, and career goals. A student whose high school has twenty AP classes available is not treated the same way as a student whose high school has zero or one.
In other words, a 4.0 vs. a 3.8 vs. a 3.5 means nothing without knowing your child’s course history, your child’s high school’s course offerings, the academic opportunities available to your child, etc.
So, yes, the number matters—but so does the context in which that number was achieved.
----
What’s the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?
Your child’s GPA is the average of how well they perform in their classes. But it’s not necessarily a simple mean (i.e., mathematical average). The GPA can also represent how difficult those classes were—in other words, how much your child challenged themselves by going as far as possible in a given field.
If you’re the parent of a younger high school student and you take nothing else away from this article, take this: encourage your child to select challenging courses in their areas of interest. For example, if your child loves science and aspires to become a doctor, AP Biology would be a good option if their school offers it.
But wait. Won’t encouraging your child to challenge themselves come at the risk of a lower GPA? What if your child likes AP biology but might earn a B on the harder track? Why not let them make an A in regular biology, even if that means they ultimately won’t be challenged as much?
Luckily, high schools across the nation have come up with a way to address this dilemma. Your child will probably have two numbers that matter on their college application:
Their unweighted GPA, the simple mean of all their grades over four years
Their weighted GPA, which takes into consideration the difficulty of each course
In a standard, unweighted GPA, an A receives a 4.0, a B receives a 3.0, and so on. In the unweighted system, coursework difficulty is not accounted for. This means that an A in AP Biology counts the same as an A in regular biology, and both of those count the same as an A in a physical education course.
By this system, in theory, a student who took all the easiest coursework and breezed through their classes could end up with a 4.0, possibly surpassing the students who took on the heavy lifting of enrolling in five AP classes in a single semester.
In a typical weighted GPA, AP or other advanced classes correspond to a higher number, so when they’re averaged in with the less difficult classes, they contribute more strongly to the average, thereby pulling the overall GPA higher. For example, an A in an AP biology class could equate to a 5 in your child’s GPA, whereas an A in a regular biology class only counts for 4.
Therefore, your child is rewarded for challenging themselves, both in the numerical GPA and also when (especially when) the admissions officer delves into your child’s course history.
----
Do colleges look at weighted or unweighted GPA?
Remember that colleges aren’t looking at GPAs out of context. After checking the GPA on your child’s high school transcript, the very next thing an admissions officer does is dig into the listed courses. Within seconds, they’ll be able to assess the rigor of your child’s coursework and immediately contextualize your child’s GPA compared to those other piles of transcripts stacked on their desks.
The student who took all the easy courses and earned a 4.0 won’t get into an Ivy League school. However, the student who earned a 3.7 taking the most challenging courses offered while balancing extracurricular commitments is a competitive candidate.
That said, not every college takes such a holistic approach to admissions. Large public universities, because they often receive a far greater number of applicants than small liberal arts colleges do, often sort applicants based on whether they meet a minimum GPA requirement.
For example, the University of North Carolina requires a minimum GPA of 2.5 (weighted) to be considered for admission. These minimums don’t guarantee admissions; on the contrary, they limit the admissions committees’ holistic assessments to only those applicants whose GPAs are above their minimum standard.
Further, most scholarships at these types of schools require a GPA above the general admissions minimum. So, whereas a 2.0, whether it’s a weighted or unweighted GPA depending on the school, might qualify your child to apply, they may need a minimum of a 3.0 to qualify for financial scholarships. But remember: these are minimums, so the rigor of your child’s course load is still considered when the admissions teams evaluate transcripts.
With all this pressure placed on GPA, it should comfort you to know that most high schools that offer varying degrees of course difficulty to their students also calibrate their GPAs accordingly. This calibration, the weighted GPA, typically works on a 5.0 (rather than 4.0) scale.
Though not every high school calculates their weighted GPAs the same way, they do communicate their methods to colleges. If your child’s school has nontraditional approaches to grades or doesn’t have a standard practice for weighting, you can talk to your child’s guidance counselor and request that they provide as much information as possible in the counselor recommendation that they write for your child.
If your child took courses at a community college and wants to see that weighted accordingly on their transcript, this again should be brought to the guidance counselor’s attention, as it will likely need to be addressed on a case-by-case basis (unless your child’s school already has a defined system in place, which they would communicate to colleges).
Here’s the bottom line: regardless of whether your child’s GPA is weighted or unweighted, colleges will consider that number in the context of the coursework they took and that was available to them. In addition, it will be clear to admissions officers whether the GPA is weighted or unweighted. So, if your child’s high school only provides an unweighted GPA, don’t worry that this will look bad when compared with the weighted GPAs of other applicants.
----
Calculating weighted and unweighted GPA
How to calculate unweighted GPA
Let’s get into the nitty gritty and show you how to calculate each type of GPA, beginning with unweighted. Here are hypothetical course histories for two students who we’ll call Mario and Danielle. Remember that, with an unweighted GPA, an equal number of credits is associated with each class.
Mario
AP Biology: A
AP English: B
AP US History: A
AP Calculus: A
Danielle
Earth Sciences: A
American Literature: B
World History: A
Algebra: A
Now, let’s crunch the numbers:
Mario gets a 4.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 4.0. Those numbers summed and divided by 4 (the number of courses) give Mario an unweighted GPA of 3.75.
In an unweighted system, an A is an A and a B is a B (regardless of course difficulty,) so Danielle would end up with the same GPA of 3.75.
Both appear equal in this system, but they’re not. The college admissions officer will take note of Mario’s rigorous course load and weight it accordingly when making her decision.
How to calculate weighted GPA
A typical weighted GPA works on a 5.0 scale, which allows for advanced courses (like those in AP and IB) to be scored a point higher than standard classes. So, using the same course list from above:
Mario, who only had AP courses, gets a 5.0, 4.0, 5.0, and 5.0. Those scores summed and divided by 4 (the number of courses) gives him a weighted GPA of 4.75.
Danielle, on the other hand, still gets a 4.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 4.0—and a 3.75 weighted GPA.
Mario wins, both numerically and in the eyes of the admissions officer.
However, let’s hypothesize that Mario did less well in his coursework than Danielle did because the courses he took were tougher. Let’s say Mario earned the following grades:
Mario
AP Biology: B
AP English: C
AP US History: B
AP Calculus: B
In a weighted GPA, Mario’s grades would result in a 3.75 GPA (4.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 4.0 summed and divided by 4), matching Danielle’s GPA despite having technically lower letter grades.
As you can see by this calculation, the weighted system plays in the favor of those students who challenged themselves with their coursework and rewards them with higher numerical contributions per letter to their overall GPA.
In some cases, schools might grade out of 100% rather than use a 4.0 or 5.0 scale. But no matter how your child’s grades are calculated, an admissions officer will consider course rigor.
----
Frequently asked questions
Which should your child report to colleges, a weighted or unweighted GPA?
Your child likely won’t get to choose which GPA colleges see. Your child’s high school has likely long established what kind of grading system they report to colleges. In the day of AP classes, most will use a weighted GPA. The ones that don’t, however, will communicate clearly with the college admissions offices that they’re using an unweighted system, so you don’t have much to worry about in either case.
If you do get to choose, it’s almost always in your favor to choose the weighted GPA because it reflects both the earned scores and course difficulty.
What if your child’s high school doesn’t offer AP courses?
Let’s face it: not all high schools are created equally. Some high schools don’t offer AP or IB courses, and so their graduates—the best of whom boast a 4.0—will be forced to compete with other applicants with a 5.0.
Again, let’s take a step back and remind ourselves what it is that college admissions committees really care about: whether your child made the most of what was available to them.
If your child took the most challenging courses available, they’ve demonstrated drive and commitment to their education. A counselor or teacher letter of recommendation can help make that clear by placing your child’s accomplishments in the context of the school—for example, “Johnny is the first student to take every honors class our school has to offer.”
If your child is a freshman or sophomore planning for future coursework and you see that your high school doesn’t offer AP courses, look for offerings outside of the school setting. For example, can your child enroll in an online AP class or self-study for the AP exam? Can they take a class at the local community college?
Even if those alternatives won’t contribute to your child’s numerical GPA due to their high school’s unweighted system, admissions officers will appreciate that your child went above and beyond to further their education. It will go a long way in proving to the admissions committee that your child took the onus onto themselves to follow their passion beyond limitations. That’s the kind of grit and initiative an admissions officer wants to see.
How are UC GPAs calculated?
If your child is applying to University of California schools, you may have encountered yet another type of GPA: the UC GPA. The UC GPA is considered a “weighted, capped GPA” because the formula adds extra points for honors-level courses yet limits the courses taken into account. Only “A-G” courses (i.e., academic or art classes) taken between the summer after 9th grade and the summer after 11th grade may be considered.
This can result in your child’s UC GPA differing from their weighted and unweighted GPAs. For example, if your child’s grades were poor freshman year but improved subsequently, their UC GPA might be higher than either their weighted or unweighted GPA.
On the other hand, if your child has loaded up on AP classes, their UC GPA might wind up being lower than their weighted GPA. That’s because the UC GPA limits the number of extra points that can be awarded for honors-level courses.
You can read more about the UC GPA formula here.
What about colleges that recalculate GPAs?
Like UC schools, some colleges recalculate all applicants’ GPAs so they are on the same scale in order to make it easier to evaluate prospective students. Your child’s recalculated GPA might vary from school to school, since colleges with this practice may have differing formulas.
At Oberlin, admissions officers calculate an unweighted GPA based on core academic classes (i.e. no electives, vocational courses, or independent studies). University of Michigan does the same but uses the absolute value of grades (i.e., an A+, A, and A- are all a 4.0) earned between freshman and junior year. And some schools, like Stanford, recalculate GPAs without freshman year grades.
If a college recalculates GPAs, it’s likely that they also use the recalculated numbers when evaluating students for scholarships or when reporting their average incoming GPA. So, it’s worth researching the GPA policies of each school on your child’s college list.
Final thoughts
GPA matters but it’s only a piece of the admissions puzzle. Encourage your child to take challenging courses that align with their strengths and interests. Complement those passions outside the classroom with a unique extracurricular profile, stellar personal statement, and thoughtful supplemental essays, and your child’s application will speak for itself, far beyond the limitations of that nagging little number posted at the top of your child’s transcript.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on college admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into top programs like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT using his exclusive approach.
