What is the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?

Sunday, February 26, 2017

What is the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?

The method for calculating GPA that I just described is the general, more traditional method for calculating GPA, but there are actually several ways a student’s GPA can be computed.

This can get pretty confusing, so you should check with your child’s school and ask how they calculate GPA.

Typically schools compute two separate GPAs for each student, their weighted GPA, and their unweighted GPA. I know what you’re thinking…

How can my student have two GPAs? WHAT IS GOING ON???

Unweighted GPA

The unweighted GPA is the average of all class grades based on the 4.0 scale I described at the beginning of this post.

If the student earned an “A” in an advanced English class, the unweighted grade would still be a 4.0– the corresponding number on standard grade conversion charts–instead of, for example, a 4.5.

Regardless of class level, each class is graded on the same point system. Things can get a bit confusing when schools have an unweighted scale but still offer and “A+” that is worth 4.3 points. While still unweighted, this GPA is higher than a 4.0.

Weighted GPA

Many schools offer Accelerated and Advanced Placement (AP) classes to students who show academic merit. To distinguish an “A” in the advanced geometry class from that in the regular one, schools often assign a different point system to harder classes.

They may, for example, bump up a student’s grade by .5 points if the class they took was accelerated. Therefore, a student with three “Bs” in a regular class may have a 3.0 GPA while one with three “Bs” in advanced classes may have a 3.5 GPA.

If a student takes only accelerated classes and their school bumps up each accelerated grade by one point, they may potentially earn a 5.0 GPA.

The weight a school assigns to each class varies, and straight “A” students can graduate with different weighted GPAs depending on the school they attended.

Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, right?

Don’t get too excited though. Most colleges only ask their applicants to report their unweighted GPA, not their weighted GPA–this brings me to my next point, the unweighted GPA.