So, where does all this leave you? Based on the example in this article, you should be able to calculate your weighted GPA and determine whether you need to take more difficult classes to improve your stats for college! You should pay attention to your weighted GPA because it will have an impact on the college application process and on how you interpret advice about GPAs. Earning high grades in harder classes will have a significant positive influence on your weighted GPA. If you need to create a schedule for yourself in order to keep up with your goals, go for it. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar. This traditional GPA scale does not give one class more weight over another, so a basic math class will receive the same GPA as an advanced or honors math class. A high GPA is one thats closest to the maximum grade point average for your school. We've compiled all the information in a database to make it simpler for you! I would say there are three main things that you can do if you want to make your GPA better in the eyes of colleges: This may seem paradoxical. However, you may be able to gain acceptance to a less selective school with a GPA that's as low as a 2.0 or C- average. Weighted GPAs incentivize you to take more difficult classes without fear of slightly lower grades messing up your GPA. It most likely means that you have a good chance of admission. I understand that asking for help isn't always easyI know that I myself avoided it for years, and it only hurt me. Plus and minus grades are evenly dispersed within: a B+ is a 3.3, for example, while an A- is a 3.7. So, maybe you have a 2.5 GPA as a freshman, but a 3.0 as a sophomore, a 3.5 as a junior, and a 3.8 as a senior. So, not only can a good GPA help get you into your dream school, but it might also help you avoid student loans, too! Each college class has a certain number of credit usually 3, but they can sometimes be 45 if the class is particularly difficult, or requires extra time, like lab work. To give a slightly less selective example, at the University of Oregon the average GPA was a 3.6, meaning most students earned around a B+/A- average in high school. If your goal is to be an Honor Graduation, you will likely need a 3.5 GPA or higher. A 3.8 GPA may be competitive for the top 30 or so schools, but you will need a higher GPA to have a stronger shot for the top 10-15 school such as the Ivy League. You can use our free High School GPA Calculator or refer to the GPA conversion table below to find out your GPA! A 3.8 GPA is considered very good and places you in the 92nd percentile grade and is impressive on a college application! A 4.1 is a very good GPA. You want to take as many difficult classes as you can while still maintaining an A average. Lets say during your first semester of senior year in high school you had these grades, and GPA scale values. Send us a note. Looking into attending state schools and need some advice on how to pay your way? Here are some tips to get you started: The best way to get higher grades in your classes, and thus increase your grade point average, is to do better on individual assignments! Simply put, an uptrend GPA is one that increases from your freshman to senior year. Finally, bear in mind that getting some expert advice can help! Learn about which GPA matters more for college admissions. Your coursework and GPA are one of the most important pieces to your college applicationsome colleges consider it your MOST important factorso make sure you do your research and know where you fit in. Read more here. Why? Learn more about how to get into the most selective colleges. This can make it challenging to compare student GPAs in the admissions process, as mentioned above, but admissions counselors have determined ways to level the playing field. The problem with weighted grade point averages is that the way they are calculated varies from high school to high school. The weighted GPA solves this dilemma by adding an extra point to the letter grades you receive for AP and honors classes. As mentioned above, if you take an AP or Honors class, your A is converted to a 5.0, instead of a 4.0. A 4.5 GPA indicates that you're in very good shape for college. If a school has an admissions rate of less than 20%, you can assume that you're expected to have a record of very challenging coursework in addition to meeting the average GPA standards. The best colleges, like the Ivy League schools, want to see near-perfect grades. Determining what a good GPA and a bad GPA mean for you mainly means considering three different factors. Students who are applying to selective colleges or submitting an Early Decision or Early Action application usually need a GPA close to 4.0. Learn the basics for calculating your own GPA (it's not that hard, trust us). A weighted GPA is a GPA that takes the difficulty of your classes into account along with your grades. Click above to watch a video on what a good GPA is. Likewise, calculating a letter grade is usually done by looking at a particular percentage. If they are unweighted GPAs, colleges will consider the student who takes higher-level classes to be more qualified. Here is how that works. All rights reserved. Traditional GPAs are unweighted, which means they're measured on a scale from 0 to 4.0. Not sure which classes you should be taking in high school to ensure that you have a good shot at selective colleges? The credit hours are multiplied by the course grade point, and then divided accordingly. Admitted students at these top schools sport some of the highest GPAs at their high schools. A weighted GPA showcases the hard work and challenge of your high school career by reflecting whether the classes you took were standard level, honors level, or AP/IB level. Lets say youve taken the following class, and you have 10 grades for the final report card. Your weighted GPA in high school tells colleges a lot about your ability to take on academic challenges. Now, we take that percentage, and convert it into a letter grade. SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination BoardTM. You should only follow this advice if your GPA is already good by the numbers but you aren't taking difficult classes. GPA is usually based on a 4.0 scale where each letter grade is worth a certain number of grade points: A+ = 4.3 A = 4.0 A- = 3.7 B+ = 3.3 B = 3.0 B- = 2.7 C+ = 2.3 C = 2.0 While colleges like to see applicants who have succeeded in a broad range of rigorous courses, taking too many challenging classes can wreak havoc on your GPA. A good way to do this is with a chart, such as the blank one we've included below that you can fill in. What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? If you're a junior, you should probably focus more on improving your test scores. Its important to understand why your GPA is important and how it balances or enhances your other high school accomplishments. Procrastination and lack of studying may be hurting your grades more than your academic ability. For College Students Download it for free now: hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(360031, '688715d6-bf92-47d7-8526-4c53d1f5fe7d', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(360031, '03a85984-6dfd-4a19-93c8-5f46091f5e2b', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. But if there's a subject you're really interested in or think you might want to pursue as a course of study in college, try and push yourself to take high-level classes. What is Early Decision II, and why should you take advantage of it? The average GPA at many Ivy League universities ranges between a 3.7 to 4.0 GPA, or higher, showing that they take into account weighted classes. A student with a 4.0 weighted GPA may be in the lowest-level classes earning all As or in the highest-level classes earning all Bs. If you need additional help, consider getting a subject-specific tutor or a tutor to help with your study skills. A weighted GPA, however, better illustrates the difficulty of each class. If you're getting all As in the highest-level classes your school offers, yes, your GPA is amazing, and colleges will be extremely impressed. If you're below the average, you may still have a chance depending on how far off you are. Again, this is just an example to demonstrate the underlying how of college GPA calculation; if you're interested in calculating your own college GPA, check out our easy to use college GPA calculator which will handle all of the math for you, no questions asked. To figure out your cumulative GPA, or high school career GPA, we simply add up all your semester GPAs, divide them by how many semesters completed, and get your average GPA. Lastly, keep in mind that college admissions officers will see your senior-year grades, so make sure you continue to . The point is that a better GPA doesn't necessarily mean a higher one; you should challenge yourself with your coursework first and foremost. Clearly, there are many variables in calculating GPAs from high school to high school. Even with the same weighted GPA, these two cases will not be viewed the same way. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. is only worth 2 credits. Generally speaking, having high grades means having more As than Bs, which means you'll come out to a 3.5 unweighted GPA or above. The chart above is the typical GPA breakdown, however there are variations of that scale. Most likely, during high school you've taken a mix of classes: some honors, some standard, and some APs. What are colleges seeking in the new introductory videos some of them are requesting? But I got an A+ in gym! Heres a typical scale, for regular (not AP or Honors coursework) at the high school or college level. High school GPA is one of the most important parts of a students college application packet. Generally speaking, though, top schools will look for unweighted high school GPAs starting at 3.5, or weighted GPAs closer to or exceeding 4.0. The best answer is both are important! You can use the College Insights tool to compare schools and find out more about their eligibility requirements and the average high school GPA of their student populations. A Comprehensive Guide. If your goal is to be Valedictorian or Salutatorian, you need at least a 4.0 or higher (if your school uses a weighted GPA scale). Finally, job opportunities can be dependent on a persons GPA. Read this guide on the best way to ask for recommendations. Try to level up as you progress through high school to show that you're willing to work hard for your grades. If you're taking Honors or AP classes and want to see what your current weighted class grades are, try our weighted grade calculator which lets you select different weights for each of your high school class assignments. Its a number that represents your childs academic performance, and its cumulative, incorporating grades from all high school courses. A weighted GPA is a GPA that takes the difficulty of your classes into account along with your grades. There are plenty of ways to improve your GPA. The easiest way to figure out GPA is to use a GPA calculator. These rules are in place for a reason, but if you feel you can handle more, its always worth talking to your teachers, guidance counselor, and/or principal to create the schedule thats best for you. Given the advanced subject matter, college can be a more challenging academic undertaking than high school, and tends to result in lower GPAs [ 1 ]. Get the latest articles and test prep tips! For example, lets say that you are shooting for a 3.8 GPA, but your professors dont hand back assignments on that grading scale. (Note that these national averages may not apply to you, especially if your school has experienced grade inflation in recent years! This GPA is outside of the normal 4.0 range of unweighted GPAs, meaning your school measures GPA on a weighted scale. See how the 5.0 scale for the Honors and AP classes increased the GPA to an A- range, even though you earned 3 B grades? What's a Weighted GPA? In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar. Even if you have fantastic standardized test scores, a lower GPA can sink your application. Here are some example charts of the classes you may have taken, their levels, and your grades for each semester: The weighted GPA for this semester is the average of all the numbers in the last column. There may come a time when you realize you cant do it all alone. So what's the easiest way to figure out what your weighted GPA is? If you take classes that are particularly difficult, Advanced Placement (AP), or Honors coursework thats even better. We wont get into too much detail, but lets quickly look at college GPAs, because theyre calculated a little differently. Not too bad! Average in other academic courses (foreign language and other academic courses not in the core curriculum): 3.14. Honors classes on a weighted scale typically give an additional half-point, so an A grade would be a 4.5 GPA. HOW COULD THEY NOT WANT ME?? If you get a test back that has a percentage grade of 94%, you can safely assume that you just earned an A. But, how is that calculated in relation to your GPA on your final grade? Nevertheless, even less selective schools like to see more As than Bs and may look elsewhere if they see Cs or Ds on your transcript. Explore what a good or bad GPA score is, and how you compare to the average high school student. So far, your cumulative weighted GPA is a 3.9. Lastly, keep in mind that college admissions officers will see your senior-year grades, so make sure you continue to get good grades throughout the application process! #2: Research the average GPAs and admission rates for the colleges on your list. Recalculating High School GPAs: How Its Done The most common GPA structure is the 4.0 scale, in which an A equals 4.0 and an F equals 0.0. Schools view this number as an indication of academic potential and college readiness. To convert that to a percentage, we move the decimal point to the right two spaces, giving us a percentage grade of 89%. Then you add all of your classes up, and average them. GPA stands for "grade point average" and is calculated using a scale of 0 to 4. Many schools also offer mid-level classes between regular and honors classes where an A translates into a 4.5. To figure out your overall GPA at the high school level (college is a little differentwell take a look at that in a second), you convert your class letter grades to grade points using a GPA Scale. Divide by the total number of course credits to get the GPA. Your GPA tells an important story about you as a student: how you perform, what your academic interests are, the challenges you accept and overcome, and more. What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. However, not all high schools calculate weighted GPA the same way. First, lets add up all the GPA Scale points: 4.0 + 3.0 + 3.0 + 4.0 + 4.0 = 18. There isnt a hard-and-fast rule, because each college decides how it accounts for academic rigor. Let's say you're in the middle of your sophomore year, so you've completed three semesters of high school thus far. In most situations, calculating your GPA is simply taking the average of your courses to illustrate your overall class score. Your GPA, in combination with your SAT/ACT scores, provides colleges and universities with a baseline of how well you will do as a freshman in college. GPA is short for grade point average, and it measures academic performance across all high school courses. You're most likely in high level classes earning As and high Bs. As a reminder, your GPA is a number that colleges and universities look at to determine if youre eligible to attend. On a typical unweighted scale (which is solely based on grades and not on the difficulty of your classes), GPAs are recorded as numbers ranging from 0 to 4.0. However, each class grade that is an AP course receives an extra point, and each class grade that is an honors course receives an extra half point. For example, many high schools are trending toward not including freshman-year grades in the number they print on the transcript. It is the primary measure of a student's academic success. Finally, we divide the total points by total credit hours to get the semester grade point average, like so: Not too shabby! An A in a standard course earns you a 4.0 grade, while an A in an advanced course gives you a 5.0. And, although many high school achievements are considered, admissions officers need a baseline to determine how students might fit at their campus. Sometimes, students feel that they get all the homework problems right and understand lectures, but when they get to the test, they cant remember a thing! This is your weighted sum. Typically a 3.5-4.0 GPA, which means an A- or A average, is expected for admission to top colleges. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Remember, colleges, universities, scholarship committees and future employers are looking at your GPA as an indicator of how good a student you are. As we see, you earned 340 points out of 380 available. This will increase your GPA, almost automaticallyso, its a great idea to take AP and Honors classes whenever you can. If your school uses weighted GPAs, however, the scale goes up higher. What Is a Weighted GPA? An unweighted GPA is the average of all your grades on the 4.0 scale above.. Most of us are familiar with letter grades. Since early childhood, weve most likely received grades on our report cards that are based on the letter grade system. It's a number that represents your child's academic performance, and it's cumulative, incorporating grades from all high school courses. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? Track and save your high school GPA to keep tabs on your academic progress. While a lower level or regular class will be measured by the 4.0 GPA scale, an honors or AP course will be calculated on a 5.0 scale, with a 5.0 representing an A. A higher GPA than 3.7 means more As than A-s, while a lower GPA than 3.3 means more Bs than B+s. For a student with a B+ in a 4-credit math course, it would be 4 x 3.3 = 13.2 grade points. The types of classes you took in high school. An A in an AP class may translate into a 5.0 weighted GPA, while an A in a regular-level class will give you a 4.0 weighted GPA. Some weight classes, some do not. For this reason, a traditional GPA is out of 4.0 (the grade point average for getting all As). Most commonly, students graduate cum laude (Latin for "with praise") when they earn a 3.5-3.7 GPA, magna cum laude ("with great praise") when they earn a 3.7-3.9 GPA, and summa cum laude ("with highest praise") when they earn a 3.9 GPA or higher. The scale for calculating weighted GPA can range between 0 and 5.0. If that sounds like you, you need to start developing a more effective study schedule so that when you arrive on test day, you dont find that your knowledge has abandoned you in your hour of need. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education. Click. Let us help you figure out the pros and cons of weighted and unweighted GPAs with our comprehensive explanation. However, "good" often depends on context. To calculate GPA without a GPA calculator: If your child is part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, it can be difficult to know how those grades convert to a standard GPA. Ask below and we'll reply! If you're taking Honors or AP classes and want to see what your current weighted class grades are, try our weighted grade calculator which lets you select different weights for each of your . Considering the standards of top schools, it's likely that most of those GPAs were earned in the highest-level classes in high school. The most popular method for calculating a . Ask below and we'll reply! The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points, How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer, Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests. Use our handy tool to take the complexity out of calculating weighted grades. Asking for help is the SMART thing to do, and it's going to allow you to get the individual attention you might need in order to understand concepts better. With a GPA of 4.18, Harvard requires you to be at the top of your class. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. They understand that in one school district, an A might be a 93% and above, and in another, it might be a 90% and above. Once again, colleges will understand these circumstances and take them into account. And when comparing GPAs, there are many variables. The College Entrance Examination BoardTM does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content of this site. Ad Policy Disclaimer: Product name, logo, brands, and other trademarks featured or referred to within Road2College are the property of their respective trademark holders. Make a strategic plan to apply to schools where your childs talents and skills are valued. If you stay focused now, consider college admissions, and maintain a good support system, you will set yourself up for success. Another way on how to calculate a weighted GPA in the simple way is: Follow the normal, unweighted 4.0 scale conversion for your regular classes. An unweighted GPA follows the 4.0-scale above, with an A grade represented by a 4.0 GPA. Now, to convert this to weighted GPA follow the steps listed here: Multiply your unweighted GPA by the total number of classes you have taken. This might seem kind of like Algebra! Then, add 0.5 for each mid-level class you took and 1.0 for each high-level class you took. If taking all Honors and AP classes is going to tank your GPA, then you shouldnt be enrolled in all so many difficult classes. Here is a table that explains how all this usually works in more detail: There are two different ways to calculate your weighted GPA. Lastly, if all else fails, consider changing your course load. It's pretty easy if you know your grades so far in high school and the levels of classes you've taken. Remember that the actual number value of your GPA doesn't matter nearly as much as the effort you put in to get there. Basically, to calculate a letter grade, your teacher figured out your class percentage grade, and converted that to a letter grade. Man, I should write copy for motivational posters. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points, How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer. Find out more here! Among other things, GPAs are used for college acceptance and scholarship applications. Several more difficult classes include: International Baccalaureate (IB) classes Advanced Placement (AP) classes Honors classes Other considerations in addition to your GPA include: In combination, these provide a great overview of your high school accomplishments and experiences. Knowing how your grades are converted from a percentage to a letter grade, and then into your GPA can really help you plan your future to meet your needs and goals. A GPA gives admissions counselors a solid starting point and a way to evaluate your grades in core courses. If youre feeling lost or overwhelmed, we can help! Does your school give you a weighted or unweighted GPA? And, it does help to know this information. Like high school, a good college GPA is generally 3.7 or above, and ideally higher in your major classes. If your goal is to attend a top school, aim for a GPA that falls in the middle of the range for accepted students. Here's how to get accepted to honors programs and earn merit scholarships at state schools. It does this by adding .5 to every honors class GPA conversion decimal and adding 1 to every AP class conversion decimal, creating a scale that goes from 0.0 to 5.0. A good grade in an AP class can significantly bump up GPA, but a poor grade can have the same effect in a negative direction. Here's how a 4.5 GPA compares to the nation: Percentile: 99th By plugging in your GPA and some other basic information, such as searching colleges by state, you get an idea of where your GPA stands in the admissions process and how likely you are to be accepted based on that GPA. Want to build the best possible college application? Most high schools include a school profile when they send transcripts to colleges. how to get accepted to honors programs and earn merit scholarships at state schools. If, however, your grade for that final is an 89%, which translates to a B+ or 3.3-3.6 GPA, you can see how that will fall short of your 3.8 GPA goal. This shows that your grades have consistently improved over time. First lets convert her grades. By understanding how schools calculate and view GPA, you can help your child make an optimal plan for college applications. Your GPA, or grade point average, is a way for colleges to quickly see a solid, summary indicator of your intelligence, work ethic, willingness to challenge yourself, and skills. When interpreting your GPA, its crucial to know if yours is a weighted or unweighted GPA. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? Nationally, the average unweighted high school GPA is about a 3.0, which is a B average. Similarly, colleges and universities weight and sort GPAs differently depending on what they want to compare or emphasize. Your high school may limit the number of AP classes a student can take. Regular-level classes maintain the typical unweighted scale, where an A translates into a 4.0. It can also open or close doors to what graduate or advanced degree programs might be available. What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? Get the latest articles and test prep tips! Teacher Tips: How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation for College, CONNECT WITH OTHER PARENTS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT.