Does weighted GPA matter to colleges?

I'm a bit stressed out with the whole weighted/unweighted GPA situation. Does anyone know if colleges mainly look at our weighted GPA or the normal one? Also, how do they view GPAs from different high schools, given that some courses might be more rigorous than others?

There's no need to stress too much about the weighted vs. unweighted GPA question, as colleges consider both but in different contexts. In general, colleges will look at your unweighted GPA as a measure of your academic performance. This gives them a baseline to understand how well you performed in your classes, because an unweighted GPA is a standard scale (4.0) that does not factor in the rigor of your classes, so it provides an apples-to-apples comparison across all applicants.

On the other hand, the weighted GPA, which does factor in the rigor of your classes (like Honors, AP, and IB), helps demonstrate your course load's difficulty. A higher weighted GPA can showcase that you've successfully taken on challenging courses. So, in a nutshell, your unweighted GPA show colleges your consistent academic performance, and your weighted GPA shows them your intellectual curiosity and ability to handle rigorous courses.

As for your question about the differences in rigor across high schools, universities take the specific context of each high school into account. They often receive a school profile from your counselor which provides an overview of your school, including curriculum, grading scale, and even the types of classes available. This information helps them understand your GPA and class rank within the context of your specific high school.

In addition, by looking at your transcript, they can understand the rigours you've taken on—the kind of AP, IB or honors classes you've chosen, the grades you've scored in them and the overall pattern of your academic growth over the high school years. Always remember, colleges appreciate when students challenge themselves and take advantage of the rigorous courses available at their high school.

That's why it's also important to perform as well as you can in your classes to maintain a strong unweighted GPA while also continuing to challenge yourself with more rigorous classes when possible to showcase your ambition and academic curiosity.