Question: When a college/university reports the average GPA in its Common Data Set, is that reported GPA calculated using a standardized methodology for comparison across schools, or do they report the GPA simply based on the way the institution calculates applicants’ GPAs? For example, at Allegheny College, they report an average GPA of 3.69 in the 2015-16 CDS. When we met with an admissions rep during a visit there, he told us that Allegheny doesn’t weight for honors/AP (looks at rigor separately), but includes all courses (core and electives) in their calculation. At UMass Amherst, their CDS GPA is 3.83. As described during an info session, They calculate GPA using weighted core courses plus one elective each year. At the University of Rhode Island, they use what the high school provides. Seems to me that it would be extra work to report an average GPA calculated in a way that differs from the way the institution calculates it as part of the admissions process, but is that what they do for compliance with CDS requirements? From what I can tell CDS is unweighted, but it’s not clear what courses they include, but I assume it’s just core. Depending on the method of calculation, my D17’s GPA fluctuates significantly, and in a range where it could seriously impact her chances of admission (3.2 to 3.8), so I’m struggling somewhat in identifying matches and safeties (and reaches to some extent, but I’m less concerned about those).
Noone knows…apply to a variety of schools. I would just go with unweighted overall GPA and see what happens.
GCs told us that each college recalculates it differently for that institution’s purpose. This probably reflects the different focuses of the various schools. Certain classes will weigh more depending on the program your child is applying to, for example. Engineering, they are going to look closely at the math grades, right? That’s probably the most obvious.
Also the cynic in me (the realist?) believes that the schools are beholding to USN&WR ranking and they will self-servingly report the highest GPA average that they can to the outside world. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong. In other words, a 3.9 average may be what all of the weighted GPAs are and what they report, but it may be that they take scores that are lower depending on if you child is planning to be their sole major in the Magyar Department, and has a track record of spending time in Hungary. I cite for example Scripps report of 4.15 average for accepted students. That can only be achieved if they are using weighted gpas. (Am I right? Pls let me know!)
In another thread, http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19700824#Comment_19700824
@soze found a great way to figure out how to predict admissions.
Also on CC, some parents have noted that public schools tend to look at grades more stringently while privates tend to look at test scores more carefully.
@Dustyfeathers, I get that schools calculate GPA differently, but what I want to know is do they report in the CDS the GPA based on their institutional methodology or on some standardized methodology? For us, knowing that UMass Amherst uses a weighted methodology gets us much closer to that reported 3.83, but if that 3.83 is truly unweighted, core courses (or whatever the CDS criteria are), then we probably should be looking elsewhere. I am using Naviance to help give us a better idea of where we stand, and that does provide some reassurance that we’re at least in the ballpark, but it would still be good to know (and maybe it’s the $64,000 question) what the CDS reported average GPA represents–institutional or standardized methodology.
This is a great question! I am going to try and research this too- how is the GPA reported in the specific college’s Common Data set calculated? Is it consistent with how they calculate for admissions? That’s what we want to know.
It seems to be all over the place. Apparently the CDS does not dictate a methodology. The latest reference I found was from 2011 on the CDS listserve forum.
http://collegeboard.lyris.net/read/messages?id=82750#82750
I agree with one commenter on the listserve that the variability is absurd on what is supposed to be a standardized data set. However that is probably the nature of the beast.
I actually just sent an email to the admissions office at UMass. Will share anything I hear back!
It is all over the place. The methodology is SUPPOSED to be on a 4.0 scale. But there are some schools that list a GPA >4.0 in their CDS. Unfortunately there aren’t really any teeth to get the schools to follow the methodology.
I’ve always wondered if the common data set GPA is GPA at application time (9th-11th), or if it’s recalculated after admitted (matriculants) send if final high school transcripts (9th-12th)? Not that there’d be much difference, especially at elite colleges, but I remain curious.
I suspect schools inflate reported GPAs, just like they inflate SAT scores by encouraging superscoring.
Because when every snowflake is super special, the school is super special too.
I feel like I’ve been naive to expect that the Common Data Set info would actually standardize information across schools. Common, my foot. I’m reminded of the line in the “Princess Bride”: "You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Looks like it’s just a vehicle to promote the institution’s process, and if they are working to game the numbers then the numbers will be gamed.
If your question is really how do schools calculate GPA for the common data set, I have no clue. If your question how do various schools determine Comparative GPA for students applying, the answer varies from school to school, and I suggest you research each school you’re considering. In the case of one of my sons, the answer to that question mattered significantly. Because he took almost all GT, honors and AP classes, his unweighted and weighted averages were very different. He probably had more Bs than As, but his weighted GPA was well over 4.0.
Thought I’d pop back in with the response from UMass-Amherst Admissions:
“Our GPA recalculation is based on a 4.0 scale, and we add weight for honors, AP, IB, and college courses. This often confuses people, given that weighting could make an “A” grade higher than a 4.0, but it is still based on A = 4.0, B = 3.0, etc.”
So that basically reaffirms what most were speculating: at least in this case, the school is reporting CDS GPA based on their institutional methodology for recalculating GPA. Probably true for other schools as well, I would think.
we’ve decided to completely ignore the CDS GPA metric during our kids college application process since each college and high school have different calculation methodologies.
I found the GPA the least helpful part of the CDS. I just assumed that my son whose GPA could have been anything from a B+ to an A depending on how you weighted things should be cautious when trying to determine if a school was really a match or a reach.
It’s useful (to a degree, well, maybe sometimes?) if you know how the university weight’s GPA. Better yet, is the “Freshman Profile”(admitted or enrolled) that’s sometimes available on the universities website. The “profile” will typically have the middle 50% stats for GPA, SAT/ACT, etc.
But that’s the key - you generally don’t know how they weight the GPA. Do they include only core courses or electives? Do they count pluses and minuses? Do they count A+? Do they use + .5 for honors and + 1.0 for AP or no? And do they even use the same scheme in the CDS that they use when calculating GPAs for admission consideration. All a mystery!
I’ve been shameless enough to ask how the school calculates GPA at information sessions. Probably much to my D’s chagrin.
@suzyQ7, Your last question above is what I was trying to get at–I think what we’re finding is that the way the institution calculates for admission is what they are reporting in CDS.
If you are trying to figure out if your student is in range for a school, probably better to consider the reported GPA as unweighted and then give some weight for the rigor of coursework and the high school. A kid with a 4.0 unweighted with all regular level classes may not be as competitive as the kid with the 3.7 and lots of honors and APs.
If your high school has naviance or something similar, you can get a better idea of what GPA from your HS is needed for admissions.
Otherwise, probably the only way to find out is to ask the specific school how they calculate GPA.