<p>So on sites like usnews.com that shows a colleges "Average GPA", is it safe to assume that is unweighted GPA for all the schools vs. weighted?</p>
<p>It is safer to assume they are unweighted than weighted . . . Most schools’ web sites will specifically say what their average gpa for admitted students is, and whether is unweighted or weighted. </p>
<p>Another excellent source for information is the school’s own Common Data Set, which you can find by searching for it on the school web site or just a general google search (for ex, “Vanderbilt Common Data set”). Common Data set shows percentages of students in different slices of gpa range and testing and class ranks. Very useful to see, for instance, if you fall within the top 25% or bottom 25%. Most, but not all, schools report this. A few schools we looked at do not make the Common Data set info available, including, I think, Tulane, Bard, Univ Chicago, though I could be mis-remembering. </p>
<p>Good luck,</p>
<p>yes, for the purposes of feeling out where the kids were, I calculated their unweighted GPA in core academic classes - our school’s GPA takes all classes into consideration on a 4.0 scale and then looked at the common data set which for most colleges report on a 4.0 scale (so unweighted). In reality it’s erring on the conservative side, since most college bound kids mostly get As in the non-core classes…</p>
<p>it’s also why you have to parse threads as there can be a significant difference between a kid with a 3.6 weighted and a 3.6 unweighted GPA if those kids are taking a rigorous curriculum.</p>
<p>I hope this does not sound presumptuous. I did not mean it that way. I learnt it the hard way…
What is much more important for some universities important is how many students with that GPA were <em>not</em> admitted.</p>
<p>It’s just one of several factors, except for less selective unis that admit based on ACT/SAT and GPA only.</p>
<p>Miami is one of the (rare?) schools that publishes the weighted gpa in its CDS.</p>
<p>Thank you for the tip on the common data set, been very enlightening. Looking at the bands has me a bit more worried about his 3.45 unweighted relative to some of the schools he is interested in.</p>
<p>Don’t forget class rank. If a 3.45 at your HS is top 10%, then his gpa is golden at most colleges (since they will recognize the grade deflation). But if that gpa is below median (just as an example), then his choices will be much more limited.</p>
<p>Having been there, done that…know just as that stats are very important for selective colleges, they are not sole determinants of admission. Top tier schools have their choice among applicants and are filling “slots”. If your son is not in the middle of the accepted range for a selective school, it is unlikely, but not impossible, he will be accepted (without a 'hook") However, a 4.0 and 2400 SAT does not guarantee admission either. Thousands of valedictorians, and thousands of 4.00/2400 students are not accepted to their dream school.</p>