<p>Does anyone know if Brown recalculates gpa? and if so what kind of formula (inclusions/exclusions) they use?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure Brown does not recalculate GPA, based on the workshops I’ve attended led by Brown admissions officers.</p>
<p>My school has a quirky way of calculating GPA. How would this work out out my school:</p>
<p>–The highest W GPA is 4.33 (all A+s in AP classes=next to impossible to obtain)
–Only way to have 4.0 W GPA is basically to have a 4.0 UW (certain exceptions)
–We add 4 pts. to grade for AP (86 in AP=90)
–2 pts. for Honors (88 in Honors= 90)</p>
<p>My question really is will Brown look at my W GPA and question why it’s so low if have high grades in my classes? Or do they only look at UW GPA? I would appreicate it if somebody helped me out here! :)</p>
<p>I’d assume that Brown focuses more on the courses and the individual grades than on a collective GPA. A 3.8 at one school is not the same as a 3.8 at another, nor is a 3.8 with easy courses the same as a 3.8 with all honors and AP courses.</p>
<p>For example, my school calculates neither a final GPA nor class rank. Grades are given out of 6 as well. One can calculate the GPA, but it doesn’t necessarily have meaning - for example, a 5.5 is considered very good, even though it’s somewhere between a 3.6 and a 3.7 doing a strict translation to a 4.0 scale. Another school gives grades out of 11. Similar problems ensue, because the highest grade is not meant to be easily attained, particularly in all courses. So although my final GPA would be the same as a 3.6 UW, I still got into Brown. GPA doesn’t tell all and top colleges know this.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, Uroogla! This makes me take a calm breath (why do we get so worked up over this?) because I wondered how strange it would look to have a low W GPA with good grades. Thanks again! :)</p>