<p>Now, I know that both are important, and that having both is the best. But how do colleges weigh the two out? I go to a very difficult high school (approximately ranked 50 on US News), and I have a 3.7 GPA weighted, with only APs weighted and only .4 for every AP, and I've taken 3 this year, and 4-5 next year, my senior year. I don't think that my high school does rankings other than the top 10%. You would think that the rigor of my high school would make it easier to get in with a 3.7, but my town is filled with a crazy competitive sense of learning. With the huge number of workaholics, and you usually need a 3.8 or higher to get in :(. How does my GPA compare to kids from around the country who might be slightly higher in GPA, with a 3.8 or a 3.9?</p>
<p>It depends on the type of college you envision yourself attending. The bulk of US colleges input GPA/scores into a formula and viola: admit/reject. </p>
<p>If you intend to apply to more selective colleges, your taking a more difficult courseload is evaluated much higher than the 4.0 kid who coasts by taking easy classes. That poser gets weeded out every time.</p>
<p>It depends on the college, check out the CDS for the college that you are interest in. For example, Penn stated that rigor of secondary school is the most important, more than class rank and GPA.
Colleges compare you to the peers of your high school not the kids from different high school. Competitive high school gets a bit more respect but not much more.</p>