My Unweighted GPA is a 3.63
My Weighted is a: 4.18
Which one matters more to colleges? My school only sends out weighted GPA’s. Does this make me look better to admissions people?
There is no standard weighting system that is used by high schools, so most colleges will either look at the UW or will recalculate based on their own parameters. AOs know how to read a transcript even if the school only reports weighted GPA.
Having said that, if numerous students from your HS apply to the same college, you should assume that AOs will compare weighted GPAs across applicants.
Most selective colleges recalculate GPA under their own scale/system. That way, for example, if some high schools count gym in the GPA and others don’t, the college can make a more even comparison. DD’s high school will also send a sheet with the student transcripts basically telling the college they are sending a weighted grade based on a 4.0 scale.
Some colleges actually do take weighted HS GPA at face value. For example: http://admission.gatech.edu/first-year/academic-preparation and https://scholarships.ua.edu/faq/ .
For such colleges, it may be advantageous to attend a high school with a very exaggerated weighting system.
@ucbalumnus I doubt that GATech will consider a weighted GPA of 4.5/5.0 the same as a 4.5/6.0.
Generally for more selective UW is what matters. The problem is that no 2 schools use the same system. So unless you are familiar with the school the weighted GPA doesn’t really tell you anything.
Although my oldest S got an automatic merit scholarship using the weighted GPA. This was at a not particularly selective directional U. We expected him to qualify for the lower level, but since they used weighted he qualified for the “4.0” level of the automatic scholarship.
Your HS will send a school profile that describes things like the weighting system at the HS, the levels of courses offered etc. along with the transcript so admissions officers will view your GPA in the proper context.