The GPA ranges from Common Data Set: What does it tell us? What are its limitations? Given test optional, how can a student know where he/she/they stand?
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Almost nothing. There is no standard definition. Some weight. Some donât. Some make their own.
I donât remember the specific school, but there was one recently reporting a 4.1+ GPA and less than half of the students in the top 10% of their class. Someone said they recalculate everyone applicantâs weighted GPA with any honors course being a 5.
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You have to know the scale they use. Use the University of South Carolina for example. They say that 64% of their students have a 4.0. They are not using a standard 4.0 scale.
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I posted about this today on another thread. Over the years I have spoken to many institutional reporting peeps re: the CDS. Some of these conversations were about the GPA calc, which many (maybe most) schools leave blank on the CDS.
There are many different ways that IR departments calculate the CDS GPAâŠthere is no guidance on the âcorrectâ way to do it. Some schools recalculate using core courses only (some schools consider engineering (PLTW), CS, and/or arts courses core, some donât), some schools recalculate and include all courses, some schools donât recalculate at all and take the highest GPA off the transcript (so lots of 4+ GPAs in the calculation). Lastly, some IR departments calculate the CDS GPA in a completely different way than does admissions when they are evaluating applicants. 
Bottom line: CDS GPAs are unusable unless one knows exactly how a school calculates it (and then has to make sure itâs the same way in admissions), and certainly one canât compare CDS GPAs across colleges.
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Strange to me that there are no requirements beyond a 4.0 scale. Why have it at all if not apples-to-apples? Colleges are in lawsuits for falsifying information, like test scores and graduation rates. On the other hand, CDS allows for elusiveness. For what purpose?
Reminds me of how colleges seem to be able to falsify data, these days, with spring admit programs.
I do not get it.
Do we know if each college even does it consistently in the same way?
No, there is no consistency in how the CDS GPA is calculated. In my post I shared a few of the ways that schools calculate it, if they even choose to complete that field.
I donât think thatâs a requirement (nor is completing a CDS a requirement).
If colleges want to take weighted GPAs off of transcripts (thatâs the only GPA that some HSs put on transcripts), or recalculate using their own method for assigning weighting for honors/ap/ib courses they can. Florida publics, the UCs, U of SC, Miami Ohio for example, all calculate GPAs in their own way for admissions (not sure what, if any GPA data, makes it to the CDS of those schools).
Here are the South Carolina HS grade values for calculating HS GPA:
https://ed.sc.gov/tests/tests-files/eocep-files/uniform-grading-policy-february-2018/
A 100 numerical grade in an AP, IB, or dual credit course counts as 5.875 in the scheme linked above.
I guess a related question is whether it makes sense to see how a college fills that information in to gain insight into admissions practices, by school.
Depends what info one is seeking. Sometimes the CDS is the only place to find ED numbers/acceptance rate, for example. I donât know any schools that breakout ED1/2 if they offer that, Hamilton used to but they donât anymore AFAIK.
But, because IR completes the CDS at many schools, admissions isnât always involved. For example, the GPA problem I mentioned above where IR calculates some median GPA in a manner different than admissions does when actually admitting students. There can be mistakes in the relative factors table too, especially in the demonstrated interest line.
Sections of the CDS I find helpful:
-admission rate by gender
-proportion of full pay students (have to do the math)
-average need based FA
-average merit award/discount
-$ amount of athletic scholarships
-ED acceptance rate
-ACT/SAT mid 50% ranges
-Proportion of matriculants submitting test scores
-proportion of matriculants whose transcript reported class rank
Iâll close by saying I have generally found IR staff to be helpful when I have questions on the CDS, and they always seem willing to engage regarding whatever questions I have.
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The University of Michigan does, also.
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I find the most valuable and interesting information on the Common Data sets are the number of students and amount of institutional merit awarded to students not qualifying for financial aid.
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Part of the other thing thatâs maddening about the CDS - you can only see PREVIOUS years. And why thatâs maddening is - if you look at whatâs Very Important/Considered/Not Important etc, sometimes it changes from year to year. I.E. one university listed ECs as âNot Consideredâ for 2021, but Somewhat Important for 2020. What is going to be for 2022? Same with the essay and demonstrated interest.
Yes, at times the data is more than a year old, same as IPEDS. Some 21-22 CDSs are just coming out now, but most are still for Class of 2024/those who were first years in Sept 2020.
It is almost like we need some kind of standardized test. 
good one, but with spring and international admits and test optional, standardized test information may be as useless as it ever has been.
I use CDS data quite often (a lot easier than IPEDS, IMO). GPA, which OP specifically asked about, is a big problem, but much of the remaining data is quite useful.
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I think spending too much time thinking about reported (or not GPA) is a terrible idea. As many have pointed out, it is impossible to know for sure how these are calculated. But there are other pieces of information that can give you excellent guidance. For example, middle 50% test scores and % of students in the top 10% should be more than enough to know at first glance how competitive a school is. Also remember that ALL schools try to look good, even Harvard. Usually, your schoolâs guidance counselor should be able to tell you enough about local schools too. Then there are other programs like Naviance, if your district/school uses one.
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Since academics are the number one things colleges look at when deciding who to accept - I like to look at it closely. Even with inconsistent data, you can understand it at the school level and draw some conclusions.