Clarification Needed: Unweighted GPA

Hey guys, I'm seeing a lot of talk about unweighted GPAs on college applications. Could anyone clarify what an unweighted GPA is? I'm a tad confused about the concept and how it impacts my applications.

Absolutely, happy to help clarify this! An unweighted GPA is a standard way of measuring academic performance in high school. It’s calculated on a scale of 0 to 4.0 and does not take into account the rigor of the course.

So, for example:

- An A in an AP, honors, IB, or standard level course would be worth 4 points,

- A B would be worth 3 points,

- A C would be worth 2 points,

- D would be worth 1 point, and

- An F would be 0 points.

The points are averaged together, and the result is an unweighted GPA. This system stands in contrast to a weighted GPA, which assigns higher values to grades earned in more advanced courses. For example, an A in an AP class might be worth 5 points, instead of 4, in a weighted GPA calculation.

When it comes to college applications, schools usually consider both your weighted and unweighted GPAs, but will often recalculate them based on their own methodology. It's essential to remember that colleges also take into account the rigor of your course load. For instance, a student with an unweighted GPA of 3.7 who took a good amount of AP or IB classes could be more favorably considered compared to a student with an unweighted GPA of 4.0 who only took standard classes.

Unweighted GPAs also help colleges make fair comparisons among applicants, especially when they come from high schools with different grading systems. Therefore, it's a critical part of your application, but it's considered in conjunction with several other factors, including course rigor, test scores (if required), recommendation letters, essays, extracurriculars, etc.