<p>Okay, I'm a little confused here and maybe there is an obvious answer I am missing, but reading threads I see references to un-weighted GPA's of over 4.0. How is this possible? I can see a weighted GPA (additional points for honors or AP classes) being over 4.0 if you're using a 5.0 scale, but once you strip out the extra points how do you end up with over a 100 or 4.0? At son's high school, only AP classes get extra points, 6, so in theory you could get 106 for a final grade for an AP class, but strip out the points and you have a 4.0. What am I missing.
thanks</p>
<p>Some schools give 4.33 or 4.3 for A+'s.</p>
<p>^ Yeah, but I don’t get how colleges can judge you on GPA if high schools calculate them differently. Someone told me that admissions officers only look at GPA and not your whole transcript, which doesn’t make sense because of this.</p>
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<p>That is incorrect. GPA is just a nice way of quantifiably summing up the most important part of one’s application: the transcript.</p>
<p>A students transcript contains many things to include an description of the grading scale and how the GPA is calculated.
The admissions officers use this information to accurately evaluate each student individually. They are very adept at looking at grading scales all over the country - and internationally - that are more different than you could imagine.</p>
<p>Okay, that makes a little more sense, but in a sense I then agree with ripemango, how do colleges compare if everyone does it different. At son’s HS 90-100 is 4.0, 80-89 3.0, 70-79 2.0. Is one way more common than another, or is it about half and half? I do not know how they do the weighted GPA with the AP points, we don’t have final transcript from junior year which is the first chance our kids have for AP classes. I assumed they’d get more than a 4.0 weighted, but now I’m not positive. Small classes and we’ve been there for 15 years so far, and now that I think about it, I don’t know of any senior with higher than a 4.0 even when weighted. Which I need to find out about, son might end up with a final grade in AP History of over 100 depending on his AP exam grade which counts as his final exam for the class. More I learn, more I find out I don’t know.
Thanks</p>
<p>I heard that some colleges unweight all grades, and count only academic classes, and then refigure your GPA so that everyone is aligned. It seems like a lot of work to do. I’m not sure how common a practice like this is, or if it’s only done for scholarships.</p>
<p>I think I’ve heard of schools going 5.0/5.0 unweighted. Dunno how that would work.</p>
<p>^ The grade recalculation is similar to what GATech does. I don’t know the specific names of other schools that recalculate this way, however I know that there are some. Some just look at the Jr/Sr year. </p>
<p>Our grading scale changed half way through S2s high school years. Talk about confusing!</p>
<p>Our grading scale is different than the counties that border us to the east, west, and the private high schools… All four unique grading systems.</p>
<p>It does seem to work out. The adcoms are very aware of the differences.</p>
<p>Some schools use different grading systems.</p>