<p>Hi, everyone. Sorry to ask this but I attend a mid-sized private school that must have had too many co-valedictorians one year because they use a plus and minus system. In this system, A+ is a 4.67, A 4.33, A- 4.0, B+ 3.67, etc. One extra point is given for honors and two are given for AP. (A+ is 97 and up, A 93 and up, A- 90 and up) Since the highest possible GPA is technically around 6.3, will colleges understand that some classes are hard enough to simply get an A in? Thanks.</p>
<p>First, your high school will send something called a School Profile along with your transcript and recommendation. The School Profile typically explains the way the school calculates its GPA and the level of courses offered, and colleges can figure it out from there. Colleges will also get some information about your school, and the different courses you've taken, from the information your guidance counselor provides on the school recommendation form.</p>
<p>If colleges still have questions that need to be answered in order to evaluate you, they'll contact your school counselor or a school official for a more detailed explanation. </p>
<p>I always advise students to ask their high school for a copy of the School Profile to get an idea of what it says about your school, the courses offered, and how the GPAs are computed - that can put a lot of your worries to rest, and also give you some idea of how colleges may look at you in the context of what is available at your high school. It is also a good idea to take a look at the recommendation forms, and talk with your guidance counselor about what he/she will include in terms of information about the courses you have taken. In particular, you want to ask how the counselor will rank the challenge of your coursework compared to your peers at your high school. Class ranks, when schools send them, will also give colleges an idea about how challenging your coursework has been.</p>
<p>Additionally, many colleges also will recompute GPAs for every applicant. Each school that does this has its own system. Some, for instance, recompute everyone to an unweighted 4.0 scale, some drop out non-core academic courses, some have weird other criteria they use. It never ever hurts to ask each college admissions office these questions: "Will you use the GPA shown on my transcript or do you recompute the GPA? If you recompute, what courses are included, and what scale do you use?"</p>
<p>But, don't worry -- college admissions offices have seen every possible grading and GPA scale imaginable. They know how to figure it all out. :)</p>
<p>Not to hijack this thread, but I had a question similar to yours and didn't want to make a brand-new thread for it.</p>
<p>I go to a Jesuit high school and therefore take 4 years of Religion/Theology classes. Do colleges take these grades into account when calculating GPAs? [The school does]</p>
<p>I've heard that most don't count religious classes that are otherwise mandatory in high school.</p>
<p>I've heard that some colleges recalculate GPA according to their standards- but I agree that they probably know how to handle basically any kind of system.</p>