How do colleges look at high school grades?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Before I start, I just want to thank you in advance for reading this potentially lengthy post and for any help you may be able to give me.

My main question is, how do colleges look at your grades/averages that are on your transcript? (I don’t mean physically how, but rather what are they looking for.) At my school, we aren’t given unweighted and weighted GPAs on a 4.0 or >4.0 scale. We are instead given weighted and unweighted averages (out of 100 for unweighted and above 100 for weighted). So, when I submit my transcript to colleges, will they convert my average(s) onto another scale or onto a 4.0 scale or something like that?

The reason I ask is because my overall weighted average for 9-11 grade is a lot lower than I had expected. The reason being is that my school used certain grades from 8th grade, before I was in high school, to calculate my overall average. These grades were from three regents tests I took in 8th grade (regents grades are statewide tests) which I thought wouldn’t be significant as a part of the college admissions process. Would colleges disregard these scores and recalculate my average being that they’re from before high school?

Additionally, while my grades from the beginning of high school are good, they aren’t as strong as my grades from my junior year and even my sophomore year. Will colleges be considering this improvement in my grades as well? I believe that it is also important to note that I have taken the most rigorous course load available to me consistently throughout high school.

2

Your high school will submit a school profile along with your transcript that explains their grading policy. All universities recalculate averages based on their own formula.

3

Thanks for clarifying.

Not all schools explicitly recalculate grades. The University of Michigan used to be an [url=https://www.michigandaily.com/content/u-no-longer-recalculate-gpa-admissions-process]example[/url]. (This article is from 2009 and they have since gone back to recalculating.) I don’t know where to find more general information about which schools do and don’t recalculate. I think it’s safe for students to assume that their academic performance will be evaluated fairly, though.

4

Assuming you’re from New York State, no, colleges outside of NY do not look at your regents scores.