@yearstogo thank you. Our school reports the weighted average, honors classes are 1.05% and AP are 1.10% so it’s possible to get over a 100. I do agree though that all the different “ways” is just confusing.
@andrealynn 4.0 varies depending on school. Most cut off at 93 (unweighted), some as high as 94 and some as low as 90. I prefer grades on a 100 scale because then the colleges can see if it’s a solid A, high A, or just scraping by A.
I have seen weighted GPAs as high as 6.0 (+1 for honors; +2 for AP) and that seems a bit silly to me. As @yearstogo has said, colleges will recalculate as they see fit. Some strip out +/- in addition to removing the weighting. Your school will provide a report that will contextualize the grades your child has earned with respect to the rest of the school.
@JanieWalker My D got her driver’s license just before Christmas, eek! Actually, she’s a very good driver and it’s much easier on the parents the second time around. With D21, we were a bit anxious.
Question, for the PSAT I thought there was a way to look at the questions you got incorrect and it will show you what the answers are via the online portal. Are you only able to see that via a booklet that should have been returned? She only gets a check mark for correct or X for incorrect. I could have sworn I was able to see the actual questions last year when she took the PSAT 8/9
@andrealynn my D18 had 2 friends use Prepscholar for ACT prep. One moved from 28 to 33 and the other from 29 to 33.
Their high school also does the 100pt scale with honors and AP weighted the same as yours. As someone else said, no need to convert, admissions will get the transcripts and see what they need to see. After D18 admissions experience with top 20 schools, I feel like they look at their unweighted GPA more than the weighted one along with rank and test scores.
@andrealynn still haven’t figured out courses for next semester, waiting to see a few classes that might be offered. For example they typically only offer AP physics or level 2, no honors. Her class is large, so we’re hearing rumors that is changing. Leaning towards: AP AB, APUSH, AP Research, AP French, honors English 3, honors physics.
2nd semester ends next week and then midterms. Will be above 4.6 GPA for Q2. On the personal side, she’s in a budding relationship, young man is a junior, so might be prom dress shopping next month!?
Also, she’s taking a complimentary ACT next wknd to get a baseline. Will be interesting, S18 did much better on ACT than SAT
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/student-claims-accused-cheating-sat-exam-held-review/story?id=60136387
I’m sure you all saw this but just in case. She was accused of cheating for going from a 900 to a 1230.
@andrealynn In the article I read the College Board said increase of 330 points wasn’t the reason for the dispute but rather there was some issue that her correct and incorrect answers were similar or identical to another student.
@burghdad I saw the report on the news and they didn’t mention that. I just found a link to the story. I didn’t think a 330 point increase was that alarming, so what you stated the article reported makes a little more sense.
Hello…my S21 currently has a 4.21-he’s a sophomore at a private school. He is currently taking two AP course which are weighted higher than honors. So whereas he earned an A in both of them, his GPA went over a 4.0.
I’m wondering what others think about getting As in honors versus Bs in the AP classes. My son took two APs this year-one driven by passion (AP Euro History) and AP CS Principles (Based on a counselor’s recommendation-evidently there is less coding in this AP CS course than is in the standard, required CS course). He is not a CS person at all, and he is now wishing he took regular CS…where he would have done better. He had an A in the basic CS prerequisite. Looking at next year, I am encouraging him to pursue only APs where he both loves the subject and excels in it. Thought?
Welcome all, @NorthofBoston26,
D will take many, APs. For us (not shooting for selective schools at all). The APs are a better deal. The honors classes (for those honor classes that have AP corresponding class), the non AP students are not academically focused at our Title 1 school.
Also the AP courses will give D a foundation for college that I do not think the honors will. So Bs in APs rather than As in Honor courses.
@bingewatcher do you feel like your daughter’s AP classes prepare her for the exam? Our school has a good track record of 4s and 5s on most tests but our niece’s school just five miles away doesn’t do as well prepping the kids. Each high schools’ AP classes aren’t the same.
@northofboston26 not sure of how the actual math plays out GPA wise, but when we were touring schools with S18, general message was they liked to see kids challenged with tougher classes, within reason and I think B in an AP vs A in honors falls into that category. We preach that with our D21 all the time. Better to work and be challenged than coast to easy A. We believe it serves them better in the long run. Now if they’re struggling, different story. IMHO
I think you’d still want to only choose APs where it might be possible for your student to get an A. For elite schools anyway, they want AP and honors classes with As. A few Bs is fine. At least at our school, kids still get into elite schools with two or three Bs through junior year. Ask around. Find out from other students what each AP class is like. Are at least half of the kids getting As? Are those the type of kids that are similar to yours? We have some APs that are tough. Few kids get As. Usually, in those classes though, there are a LOT of 5s on the exam and you can report those on your applications. Each school is different. One has to do their homework locally.
I agree that a B in AP looks better than an A in honors. @BingeWatcher I think it gives them a better into into what college would be like. D is just starting to work on her classes for next year. I think the plan is 4-5 APs. She has a friend who graduates this year who serves as her mentor so she has to talk with her. We are driving to Pittsburgh for dance MLK weekend together so they will have plenty of time to talk.
One thing I will say on this subject is at some colleges (not elite schools) they will give generous college credits for 4 and 5s on AP tests. This can result in quite a savings. For example my D18 got 35 credits from her AP and duel enrollment courses at Clemson. Many of those credits eliminated general education requirements. As such she can graduate in 3 years.
Again at top schools that doesn’t happen, but it can be a consideration at some schools so you might want to keep that in mind and look at the policies of the colleges your students are interested in as they decide on AP vs honors
@NorthofBoston26 - welcome! I am also from MA and have a S18 and S21.
We had the same issue with S18 and APs. I think it is a matter of balance. His first AP in sophomore year was hard for him and he got a B which hurt his unweighted GPA. For Junior year, it definitely affected how he decided on his classes. He realized that taking 3 AP would put him over the edge so he stuck with 2 in subjects he liked. It also depends on your school - have your son ask upperclassmen about classes he is considering. The kids usually know how challenging they are. Good luck!
@NorthBoston26 – I think you’ve received good advice here so far. In addition to grades, there’s other implications about APs classes – rigor compared to other students in his school.
There’s no ‘right number’ of APs because colleges know that there’s a lot that varies across schools. From how many are offered period to whether it’s traditional or block schedule (the latter allows more classes overall therefore more APs). Also, some schools limit how many (or if any) APs can be taken Freshmen and Sophomore years. For example, at our school, you can’t take any as Freshman and only 1 as a Sophomore.
If he’s interested in top colleges, the key is for his school counselor to check the box “most rigorous” in terms his particular course load. So if ends up taking half or even 2/3 of the number of APs as other top students, that box might not get checked. Of course, most HS don’t exactly reveal how they make that determination. You can try to find out through word of mouth or directly asking the guidance counselor’s office.
Not sure if he’s aiming for tippy top colleges, but just wanted to add that dimension/wrinkle.
@homerdog, D’s school is the academic magnet. It is in a very seeding part of town filled with vape shops and tattoo parlors. So it has at least 2 types of kids, the kids that live in that neighborhood and the transfers (we don’t even live in the district) that go there as it is the most rigorous school in West Texas. So those academically focused kids do very well on the exams. The school district pays for AP exam fee for those that score in the top 10% district wide scores on a comprehensive test. So it is likely all her AP exams are free.