<p>Why does unweighted GPA matter? I mean, schools vary so greatly, that an A somewhere is a C somewhere else, and vice versa. I understand that everyone should just try to do well in whatever environment they're in, but there still shouldn't be as much weight in UW GPA as class rank, guidance counselor recs, and weighted GPA.</p>
<p>Anyone care to explain what I'm not seeing?</p>
<p>Different schools have different ways of weighting GPAs. Some may have a scale up to 6.0 while others may have a scale that is 5.4. Imagine if colleges had to memorize every single weighted system that different high schools use. It would be very hectic for the college admissions committees. </p>
<p>Unweighted GPAs are always 4.0 and most, if not all schools, conform to the system (A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0); therefore, it make it easier for colleges to compare UW GPAs than weighted GPAs. Of course, comparing UW GPAs is not without faults, so colleges look into the rigor of courses, ECs, etc.</p>
<p>What if your school does not calculate UW GPA? Will colleges do it themselves?</p>
<p>^Yes, agreed. </p>
<p>Does the guidance counselor’s rec have a lot to do with how the UW GPA is interpreted? As in my case, certain departments are a lot more lenient than others, therefore giving out much higher grades for much less work, and so on. Do schools take this heavily into account when looking at UW GPA?</p>