<p>Hey guys,
im kinda confused on how your gpa is calculated. I know that an a is a 4, b is 3, c is 2, and d is 1. In an ap class, an a is a 5. But I dont understand how people have gpas of 96... How does harvard calculate gpa?
What would my gpa be? This is my first freshman semester.
honors geometry- b+
honors english- b
french-a-
debate-a
health-a
biology-a-
does harvard give me a bit more credit for taking an honors course? do b+ have more value than a b?</p>
<p>Every high school calculates GPAs differently. Some schools have honors class A's be 5's and AP A's be 6's. Our school system reports grades on a 0-100 scale and weights both honors and AP's by 1.1. So if you were able to take all AP or honor classes the top theoretical GPA is 110. Their transcript does explain what's considered an A or B etc in our system, but leaves it up to Harvard to translate it to some system they like better. In addition some schools might not count your health or debate course. Some schools count A+'s as 4.3 and others don't.</p>
<p>According to* A is for Admissions* - Ivy schools care more about your rank than your grades. But I've never seen anything that says how or if Harvard calculates GPAs from what they are given. No one from our public school gets in without being in the top 2% of the class.</p>
<p>But yes, Harvard expects you take a demanding curriculum - so an honors course is better than non-honors and a B+ will look better than a B.</p>
<p>Mathmom, I have taken the most difficult classes available at my high school. But my school does not weight classes for difficulty and uses + and - in figuring GPAs and class rank. I am ranked behind people who have not taken any APs but who have gotten higher grades in the easier classes they have taken. Will Harvard figure this out or am I doomed because I am not in top 2% of my class?</p>