Unweighted vs weighted confusion

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>My class rank is 50/923 and my weighted GPA is a perfect 4. However, my counselor showed my unweighted GPA the other day and it was BAD: a 3.2. I took a look at one of those "admission charts" with the y axis being GPA and the x axis being ACT/SAT. I was extremely alarmed to find that I probably won't make the cut for my target school, U of I @Urbana Champaign. I've had a few sleepless nights ever since. The counselor said that colleges ONLY look at unweighted GPAs. However, my senior friends are all saying that the weighted GPAs and the class rank count as well. </p>

<p>My classes are/were</p>

<p>9: Hon Geo, Hon Bio, Hon World, Hon Eng, Gym, Health, French 1
10: Hon Adv Alg, Hon Chem, Hon Gov, Hon Eng, AP Euro, French 2, Gym
11: Hon Precalc, AP Eng Lang, AP US, AP Chem, Hon Physics, AP French, Gym</p>

<p>I think the three things killing my UW GPA are getting a C in English freshman year (we had a newbie substitute teacher while our teacher was away on maternity leave and a lot of weight was given to this one grammar test which we hadn't covered at ALL in class and her attitude was "since you guys are honors students you should know your stuff", but I got an A the next semester), a C+ in Adv Algebra last year (A lot of procrastination as well as making silly mistakes on tests, I got a B- the next semester), and a C in French this year(I did not make the transition from regular to AP very well.) </p>

<p>Right now, I have a D in Precalc Hon and a C in Hon French 3 (I dropped AP French). I'm trying to get them up, I swear. But I don't know if I can improve my GPA this semester, and after that, that's it. Colleges don't look at your senior year, right?</p>

<p>Would colleges only look at my UW GPA? Or would they see it and take into account that I have a hard schedule,? Would they be impressed by my good class rank more than they would be put off by my mediocre UW GPA? Does that mean that people who take easy a$$ classes and get A's without lifting a finger are in a better position than hardworking AP nerds?</p>

<p>I'd appreciate some feedback and clarification.</p>

<p>Peace :)</p>

<p>PD</p>

2

<p>They look at both. Colleges want to see if you challenged yourself - which is the point of W GPA. They will look at the GPA, strength of schedule (compared to what is offered), class rank (if available), and a lot of other things. A low UW GPA is not the only thing they look at.</p>

<p>Most colleges will consider both your weighted and unweighted GPA, and most high schools will report both to the colleges to which you are applying. Colleges want the weighted GPA to reflect your class rank, as well as the relative rigor of your high school course load. But they will not use this weighted GPA in comparing you with other applicants.</p>

<p>Most colleges will use the unweighted GPA as the best reflection of your high school performance. While the weighted GPA will reflect the relative rigor of your high school coursework, the unweighted GPA reflects your actual performance in those courses. So don’t be lulled into complacency when you get a “B” on an AP course by telling yourself that B work equals an A in a less rigorous course. The fact is that colleges will pay closer attention to your unweighted GPA than to an average that is artificially inflated. Furthermore, many colleges today are “stripping” GPAs of any fluff courses, such as gym, art, music, business, or other courses not considered to be sufficiently academic in nature. Padding your GPA, therefore, is not really possible by getting a straight-A average in chapel or woodworking or glee club. Colleges want to know how well you do in your academic core subjects: English, math, science, social studies, and foreign language.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

3

<p>Some schools would recalculate the GPA. For most admission stat, they are posting uwGPA in 4.0 scale. Your wGPA may be 4.0, but it is obviously not a “perfect” 4.0 as the max of your wGPA must be more than 4.0. The fact that you have C and D grades, you are expected to have a rather low GPA.</p>