GPA calculation

Applying to College
1

<p>My son's school calculates the GPA using grades from each semester, but when I was talking to my friend, she told me at her son's school which is in the East Coast, the GPA is calculated using the end of year grades only. I know that colleges like to look at your transcript as a whole rather than looking at your GPA; however, it does make a big difference for my son's GPA if the school considers only the end of year grades. His grades always improved from fall semester to spring semester.</p>

<p>Do any of you know if colleges themselves do their own calculations using the grades posted on the student's transcript?</p>

2

<p>I don’t think it matters, what counts is the final GPA. What impresses colleges is the year-to-year improvement. And to answer your question, colleges do do their own calculations using the grades posted on a student’s transcript. This is because they need to weight a student’s GPA based on their own weighting scale for Honors and AP/IB classes.</p>