<p>As a parent of a high school freshman I am somewhat confused about weighted vs. unweighted grades. My D is in honors classes and her school calculates averages as weighted. However, I am told that when she applies to college they will only consider unweighted. I know that here if Florida, UF, FSU, and UCF calculate honors, AP, and regular classes differently and assign different weights to each. However, I am wondering what private universities consider when they look at a student's stats?</p>
<p>Because schools weigh courses so differently the more selective the school is the more likely they are going to use the unweighted gpa. This is the reason why the school profile is important because it will explain how courses are weighted at your school and what the requirements are for AP/IB/Honors classes.</p>
<p>Thank you! Makes sense.</p>
<p>I am particularly concerned because the counselor in my D’s school told her that she has a 4.0. That’s not the case because she did get some B’s and clearly the counselor was talking about her weighted average. I told my daughter that it may be that her unweighted will be most important in the future.</p>
<p>Precisely the point. At some schools the B (3.0) sould be weighted to a b+(3.33), while at other schools the B (3.0) coud be weighted up to an A (4.0).</p>
<p>At more competitive schools, there is already an assumption that the student is taking the most rigerous cirriculum the school offers and is doing well in those courses.</p>
<p>The universities will likely either recalculate using their own method and weighting (if any), or just holistically eyeball the transcript in context with what they know about the high school. It is rather unlikely that they will use the high school’s GPA calculation as a basis of comparison with applicants from other high schools, except for indirect use in trusting the high school’s class ranking, if that is considered.</p>
<p>You can easily calculate the unweighted gpa by using the grade without correcting for honors et al. Colleges will notice the Bs- the more elite the school the more likely more students will have the most rigorous schedules and As in their courses. Freshman year counts least- encourage your D to do her best, especially as the years go on.</p>
<p>Thank you to all for your wise thoughts. I appreciate the knowledge gained on this forum as we plan for the future!</p>