"Weighted" GPA

Parents Forum
1

<p>My child's school does not calculate a "weighted" GPA. Could someone educate me about this? If the HS doesn't calculate one, does the college or university? How is it done?</p>

2

<p>Just do a Google search for 'weighted GPA calculation' - there are umpteen examples & walk-throughs that will show up.</p>

3

<p>Do colleges do this for the student? Doesn't the fact that my kid's school does NOT do this affect class rank?</p>

4

<p>quiltguru: I have noted from most colleges that admissions looks at transcript grades and recalculates any weighted grades back to the 4 point scale or to one of their own making. Weighting at our school is used to determine class rank only. The rank is written on the transcript, but the weighting is not reflected in the GPA. Highest would be a 4.0.</p>

5

<p>guiltguru, I think I understand your question and I'll try to answer it like this: if your kid's school does not use weighted GPA to rank then the college certainly can't use weighted GPA to re-rank (the college doesn't know the other kids' classes and grades). (If I am wrong and that is not your question-well, as Miss Emily(?) Litella from old SNL would say-"Never mind." LOL.)</p>

<p>I will make the assumption that you feel your student's rank would improve if Honors, IB, and AP classes were ranked. We'll accept arguendo that you are right. Given that, a note from the guidance counselor, sent along with the class rank, explaining how class rank is determined at this particular school, would be very helpful as it does differ from how a number (IMO a majority) of other high schools who do rank would do it. Colleges won't change the rank, they will recalculate GPA based on a formula (which differs school to school). </p>

<p>Whenever anything is odd like this that is potentially detrimental to the child's application, I'd ask that the counselor simply disclose how the numbers are arrived at by the school, not as an excuse for a sub-standard performance -just an explanatory note. JMO.</p>

6

<p>Cur and all : I have a newbie question on this, too. I know that for admissions, schools re-calculate GPA, so that A- is 3.7, etc. But when they report GPA for the common data set, do they report it on their recalculated basis, or do they report it as it comes off the transcript? </p>

<p>In other words, USNWR reports UMich's average GPA as 3.7. Does that mean that the 3.7 is from students' sophomore & junior year, with all weighting, art, gym, etc., removed? Or is that the straight GPA off the kids' high school transcripts, including weighted scores, art, etc.?</p>

7

<p>Our school doesn't calculate a GPA, at all. Nor do they rank students. </p>

<p>Here is what I was told would happen once the transcript arrives at the college:</p>

<p>The college will calculate a GPA, making use of the high school's profile, which includes a description of classes and identifying what is honors level. The college will weight the grades accordingly.</p>

<p>Also, if there is no rank, your child will not be penalized. </p>

<p>guilt, I don't see how the lack of a weighting at your school would affect rank because ALL of the students are treated equally.</p>

8

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<p>Your school only uses unweighted GPAs, so class rank is based on that GPA. If you're asking if weighted GPAs would change the order of the ranking, the answer is yes...but your school doesn't weigh for GPA so in essence class rank is not affected.</p>

<p>Many colleges recompute GPA based on their own formula. Some weigh honors/ap courses and some do not. Most who recompute use only academic courses (no electives that are not academic...so no band, or PE, or sociology, or music theory). And the grades they use vary as well. Some schools only do 10th and 11th grade. Some do 9, 10 , 11. And of course some don't recompute at all.</p>

9

<p>I may be naive, but even in the age of computers, its hard to imagine a college with 20,000 + applications going through each transcript with a fine tooth comb to compute GPA based on each high school's description of their courses, # honors and AP classes taken, subtracting out certain electives and then translating various letter or number grades into a 4.0 scale.</p>

10

<p>Donemom, D's school doesn't even compute an unweighted GPA. Only weighted. The transcript shows only the weighted gpa. When I questioned the GC about it , she said that I was the first person to ever ask her that question in her more than a decade of GC-ing. We will have an explanatory note.LOL.</p>

<p>I talked to an adcom at the local national doctoral university and they said they knew that everybody did it differently . She said they recalculated it on every app.</p>

11

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<p>My understanding is that Boston University recomputes GPA using its own formula. They had over 25,000 applicants.</p>

12

<p>"guilt, I don't see how the lack of a weighting at your school would affect rank because ALL of the students are treated equally."</p>

<p>Momsdream - Lack of weighting affects rank because a student with all As in the easiest, lowest level courses will be ranked above a student who took all honors and AP classes and received a single B with all the rest As. With weighting, the difficulty of the student's courseload as well as the grades earned are factored into the student's rank.</p>

13

<p>MotherofTwo, this is indeed why I was asking. Top 4 or 5 in class have no AP and GPA 4.1 to 4.3. My kid has 5 AP with one B+ and one A-. Therefore lower in class rank...also is small school, so top 10% means only 6 kids.</p>

14

<p>quiltguru: As curmudgeon suggests, the GC's responsibility is to place your kid's course selection in the context of what is offered at the school. The school profile which accompanies the transcript should affirm the GC's rating of "most difficult courseload" selection on the recommendation form. Talk to your kid's GC to see if she/he would include a short reference to "only one B" when taking more difficult courses than those ranked higher.</p>

15

<p>Maize&Blue, I agree 100%. And to the OP, if the GC will put the info in there that explains the rank situation the schools will "get it". After talking to a few adcoms, they may be smarter than a lot of us give them credit for on this board. LOL.</p>