<p>Do colleges appreciate lower weighted GPAs if a student has taken more classes?</p>
<p>For example, next year I'm debating whether or not to add more classes to my schedule at the risk of lowering my GPA. Either way, I'll be taking 4-5 APS, but I'm wondering whether it would be advisable to add more non-AP classes to that schedule even though it would lower my weighted GPA.</p>
<p>I read somewhere that colleges would rather have a student who takes more classes that suit his or her passions, even though it technically means a lower weighted GPA.</p>
<p>Essentially, I'm asking if I should take more classes, and thus earn more credit, even though it would lower my weighted GPA? Is that advisable, or even helpful in the college admissions process?</p>
<p>Say you take one additional non-honors/non-AP class senior year and get a A, yet your weighted GPA is 4.3. That one additional class will move your GPA by a few hundredths of a point lower - it will have no effect on your admission status. However, I can see the logic you’re using, and it’s a prime example of why weighted GPA is a bad idea - it’s does create a disincentive to take a class you may really be interested in, but no matter how well you do, it can only hurt your GPA and cut your class rank.</p>
<p>Colleges want rigor, so taking classes on auto repair wont help you. Taking extra AP or other college level work will. </p>
<p>The only exception for non-ap/college level might be classes that are in your field of study. For example, taking a programming class would look good if you are looking at computer science. </p>
<p>^^And there you’d be wrong. A straight-A student who dabbles in auto repair and building hot rods may prove to be far more interesting than your typical drone who takes 6 APs, swims, does orchestra and debate, and all the other cookie cutter things. </p>
<p>Last year on her college interviews, D repeatedly found that interviewers were far more interested in her woodshop work than any academic class, and she managed to tie her woodshop work and working with her hands into being a surgeon in the future in her college essays. Must have worked, she wound up in a pretty good school. And during senior year, after cutting herself in woodshop and needing stitches, she managed to get the ER doc to allow her to shadow him for several weeks this summer.</p>
<p>Never underestimate the value of any class you have an interest in - it just might lead you to something new or to where you want to go, but by an unconventional path.</p>
<p>Go for the GPA priority. One example of an exception might be if you’re interested in architecture, and a non-AP class in tech drawing (or even regular drawing) is offered.</p>
<p>@MrMom62 But that all depends on the sorts of institutions the applicant is interested in. Publics and many scholarship committees only care about UW GPA. They don’t have time to sift through the fine details.</p>
<p>There are times when the grade-grubber has an advantage over the true learner.</p>
<p>Try to maintain your GPA above the admission average of targeted colleges while taking more rigor courses. That way, it would maximize your chance for admission and the possibility to get more AP credits. As many colleges would drop the subgrades during GPA recalculation, you really don’t want to get too many grades below A- for competitive schools.</p>
<p>Weighted GPA as calculated by your high school is often meaningless to colleges, which may recalculate their own weighted and/or unweighted GPA. However, high school weighted GPA may be indirectly relevant to the extent it influences class ranking, for colleges that consider that (e.g. Texas public schools).</p>
<p>You do want to get the highest grades possible in what your counselor will mark as the most demanding course selection on your recommendation, if applying to highly selective colleges.</p>
<p>I’m really confused as to why you people would advise the poster not to take the class…
Just so his/her GPA can be .03 higher? Doesn’t make any sense at all.
This is actually why the weighted GPA system is so flawed. Students in choir, band, woodshop, art, etc. are at a disadvantage (or so they think they are)…
Pursue the classes you want to pursue. No one is going to care if your weighted GPA is slightly lower… It seems ridiculous to think someone would.</p>
<p>The difference in GPA may be trivial, but it might be a larger drop in class rank if your school ranks. Unfortunately schools do use class rank in calculating their academic index. You can see on the CC Academic Calculator that using class rank would lower your index relative to using absolute grades. </p>
<p>Can you take the unweighted classes pass/fail? That solves everything. </p>
<p>Honestly it depends how much you want to be in those classes. If they’re something that you are legitimately interested in, then take them. Personally, I don’t believe in selecting classes solely for the purpose of GPA boosts. Just know that your GPA will take a small hit, and try to figure out what that will do to your class rank if you can. If you do take more rigorous courses instead, just be sure that you can get an A. The last thing you want is to take a course you aren’t as interested in and still have to take a GPA drop. </p>
<p>Our school stopped ranking and stopped weighting for exactly this reason. It probably hurts the honors and AP kids because the school profile shows the GPA distribution (forgot if it was deciles or quartiles). Now a kid with all CP classes can be valedictorian; Before it was mathematically impossible. </p>