Of Weighted and Unweighted GPAs

Just a little confused here about GPAs. Can someone explain the difference between weighted and unweighted GPAs? Which one do colleges usually look at?

The distinction between a weighted and an unweighted GPA is linked to the difficulty of the courses you've taken.

An unweighted GPA is the traditional method where each grade from A to F is assigned a value somewhere between 0 and 4.0 (or 5.0 depending on how your high school grades). Often, A = 4.0, B = 3.0, and so on.

With a weighted GPA, however, harder, more advanced classes receive extra "weight" or points due to their high level of difficulty. For instance, an A in an AP or IB class may be assigned a 5.0 instead of the regular 4.0. The result is a GPA that exceeds 4.0.

Now, as for which GPA colleges look at, it's a bit of a mixture. Many colleges recalculate the GPA per their own scale to have a uniform measure to compare all applicants. They often consider both your weighted and unweighted GPA to understand both your overall academic performance (unweighted) and your willingness to challenge yourself with tough classes (weighted). But they also focus on your course rigor, which is related to how many challenging courses you've taken regardless of your grades in them.

Keep in mind, there is no ideal GPA that guarantees admission to specific colleges. Each school has its own criteria and it is also important to have a well-rounded application, not just a high GPA.