Weighted GPA vs. Unweighted GPA - which matters more?

What's more important when it comes to college admissions - weighted GPA or unweighted GPA? I've been getting mixed messages, so any clarity would be amazing!

When it comes to college admissions, both weighted and unweighted GPAs are considered, but they serve different purposes. Here's a quick breakdown:

Weighted GPA: This takes into account the difficulty of the courses you took, such as honors, AP, or IB courses. Colleges often look at this because it demonstrates the academic rigor of your course load. A high weighted GPA indicates that you challenged yourself beyond basic courses, which is a positive indicator for college admissions officers.

Unweighted GPA: This is the traditional scale (0.0 to 4.0), which doesn't factor in the difficulty of the courses you took. It reflects your overall academic performance and consistency throughout high school. Unweighted GPAs are beneficial because they provide a common scale for comparing students from different schools with different grading systems.

In short, colleges will examine both your weighted and unweighted GPAs to better understand your overall academic performance and the rigor of your coursework. It's important to maintain a strong, consistent unweighted GPA while also taking challenging courses to earn a higher weighted GPA. You can learn more about the role of weighted and unweighted GPAs in college admissions on CollegeVine's blog: https://blog.collegevine.com/is-weighted-or-unweighted-gpa-more-important

Keep in mind that each college has its own methodology for evaluating applications, so ultimately, a combination of factors, such as your GPA, test scores (if applicable), essays, and extracurricular activities, will be considered in the admissions process - no single credential will get you in on its own. Additionally, colleges may recalculate your GPA using their own methodology, so focus less on the exact number and more on doing as well as possible in each individual class.

Good luck!