This may be a stupid question...

<p>What is the difference between unweighted and weighted GPA? What weighted GPA is good enough for Stanford and Duke? My unweighted GPA is 4.0 while my weighted GPA is 4.13. I am a junior, and this GPAs are from only my freshman and sophomore years.</p>

<p>It's just a difference between normal courses and honors/AP/advanced courses, so that you can tell the difference between say, two people who both have 4.0 but one takes all honors and one normal. Something like that, I don't think i'm explaining this well =/</p>

<p>It works differently depending on how your school does it, but i know that at my school they add a certain number of points to your grade depending on the level of your class. For example, in Honors English I might recieve a 93 but when you add the 6 points my school has assigned to honors courses, my weighted grade is a 99. </p>

<p>As far as telling the difference between two people who have taken different level courses, the colleges can just look at your transcript, which probably lists the classes you took (and their levels).</p>

<p>My school adds one point for Honors and AP classes</p>

<p>if your unweighted is 4 on a 4 pt scale, that means you earned all solid As in your classes. If you are taking all unweighted classes, your GPA is still a 4, but if you are taking honors classes, your GPA would be a 5 on a 4 pt scale. Weighted GPA shows that you are taking more academically challenging classes and thus rewards you with an usually higher GPA. Unweighted, assuming that you are taking honors classes, shows that you are an exceptional student who can earn As, even in honors classes. if you take honors classes, you will most likely want to post your weighted GPA. if you aren't taking honors classes, go with the unweighted because your weighted would be about a point lower.</p>

<p>our school uses a 4 pt scale for unweighted GPAs (just based on your letter grade regardless of class status), but a 20 pt scale for honors. an academic A would be an 18, an honors A would be a 20 and an honors A+ would be a 20.166666. academic B 16, honors B 18, ... the 20 pt scale then is converted back to a 4 pt scale, 18 being a 4.</p>

<p>some schools (like Michigan ive heard) unweighs your GPA and would treat an honors student with all As the same as an academic student with all As. pick classes based on the academic criterion of schools you want to get in to.</p>

<p>Sooo...is my GPA okay for good colleges, or is it not impressive enough? Right now, as a junior, I am taking 3 Honors (Math Analysis, English and Chemistry) and 2 APs (USH and Psychology). Next year, I plan to take 5 APs (English, Gov't, Biology, Calculus and Chemistry) and 1 Honor (Physics).</p>

<p>it depends what kinds of colleges you're aiming for..i'd say with ap calc in senior year, getting into a math or science oriented school might be kinda tough :/</p>