Quick question, when colleges list incoming freshman gpas, and when people talk about their high school gpas, are they calculating it using all classes like gym and electives? Or are these classes not factored in and only core classes are used to calculate freshman gpas. If anyone could clarify because there is a noticeable difference between my “core” gpa and my cumulative gpa, the gpa including every course.
Thanks again
Many schools calculate GPA using grades from all classes. My kids claimed that gym and most electives are ‘easy’ A and helped their GPA a lot.
Calculating your GPA will depend upon the college. Some use 9-11th grades for “core” classes. Some use 10-11th grades for “core classes”. Some use a weighted system and many use unweighted GPA. Most do not include PE or “fluff” electives.
@4kidsdad so does that mean there are benefits to taking electives which are easy A+'s?
@Gumbymom would colleges use or consider electives like economics or advanced writing or law and ethics?
Those sound like they would be considered “core” electives, so yes.
@Gumbymom
Is that true for selective schools(Top 10) and selective liberal arts schools? (where they remove the “fluff” courses)
There is no one answer. Some top schools remove the fluff courses, others don’t. But here’s the kicker - the college usually will not tell you what they do, so reading the tea leaves is pretty pointless.
Not sure how your HS calculates GPA, but my son’s had 3 GPA’s on their transcript.
Academic GPA cumulative: 9-12th grades for “core” classes
Academic GPA for 10-11th grades for “core” classes (mainly for CSU/UC schools)
Total Cumulative GPA which included grades for all classes 9-12th grade
Each school will calculate your GPA based on their own criteria including weighting honors/AP/IB and DE courses. I am a California resident, so I am most familiar with the CSU/UC system which uses
"a-g courses (academic classes) for 10-11th grade only with extra points for honors/AP/IB and DE courses taken during that time.