Hi I’m a 10th grader at a College Preparatory High School near Los Angeles, California. I was wondering what colleges look at, weighted GPA or unweighted GPA. I have around a 3.8 weighted GPA and something like a 3.5 unweighted. I took 2 honors classes last year, 2 this year, and I’m taking 2 APs next year. I get the extra weighted points from the honors classes. Here’s how my school’s weighted system works.
Honors Class: A = 5 points for the class on weighted GPA but regular 4 points on unweighted / B = 4 points weighted
Regular Class (they call them college prep classes): B = 3 points for the class / C = 2 points / D = 1 point
AP Class = 5 points on unweighted GPA and weighted GPA
In theory at my school you could a 4.86 or something like that if you take all APs and Honors plus the required religion course which there is no honors for (complete bullcrap because it stops you from taking another useful class and is an easy A). People have gotten 4.86s but the question is that what do colleges look at?
P.S. I am involved in the Drama Program (I am the Head of Props). I also acted in a play.
P.S.S. The point of the first P.S. is to basically ask will I get into Emory which is my dream school???
What do you think my college range would be in terms of acceptance rate? Like Emory has a 24% acceptance rate or something like that do you think I could get in? I understand SAT and ACT scores matter but based on GPA what do you think?
UCs and CSUs have their own formula to calculate the HS GPA used in most of their web pages. Recalculate your HS GPA this way if you want to use it to compare with UC and CSU admission stats.
In most other cases, unweighted HS GPA with context of course rigor is most relevant, since your high school’s weighing method may not be the same as that used anywhere else.
It depends on the college. Some look at unweighted, then look at the rigor of your coursework. Others, like UMass Amherst, look at your weighted. It varies by school.
It depends on the school. My daughter asked all the schools she appiled to what they used. They either used the weighted (what her school reported) or they recalculated her unweighted adding weight back in using their own specific formula. She had no fluff classes in her transcript so pretty sure her hs weighted is what ended up being the weighted that the colleges used. This was confirmed by her acceptances and merit offers.
Here is the press release on the Emory 2022 admission info. 18.5% acceptance rate this year, and the article specifically notes that “the median unweighted high school GPA of admitted students was 3.91”.
Weighting is so different at every school, and so is class rank. You can have a student with a much easier load coming in at number 1 rank wise at some schools. Another school would have the harder schedule student at first. At our school, honors and AP have equal rank.
Student 1:
9th: Honors Algebra. A 5 points
10th: Honors Geo. A 5 points
11th Honors Algebra 2 A 5 points
12th Honors Trig/ Precalc A 5 points
Student 2:
9th: Honors Algebra 2. A 5 points
10th Honors Trig/Precalc A 5 points
11th AP Calc BC B 4 points
12th. AP Stastics. A 5 points
All things being equal at our school, student 1 would definitely have higher standing in class rank due to higher GPA. Student A has higher both weighted and unrated. I would assume that most colleges would NOT rank these two students the same. Actual numbers mean very little without the transcript.
There are a lot of students at the top of the class rankings in my son’s school who have 0 AP classes. My son, and many others have 11 or 12 AP classes by graduation and may have a B or two or even a C on some of the really hard ones like AP Calc BC or AP Physics. I haven’t seen this hurt anyone in college admissions, and the kids with the rigorous schedules seem to do fine.
Even though it is listed above that the median unweighted GPA of admitted students is 3.91, the median of enrolled students will be a little lower.That also means that 1/2 are above that number and 1/2 are below. I would think a weighted of 3.7 would make you a viable candidate. Your chances would increase significantly if you were to apply early decision.
Emory has a holistic process, which means everything counts. They will look at rigor of courses and want you to take a representative number of AP courses in relation to what your school offers. As such, weighted GPA isn’t as important as a combination of unweighted GPA and course rigor. If you do well on AP exams, that counts too. So do standardized tests, extracurriculars (quality as much as quantity), how you spend your summers, part time jobs, sports, and community service.
When you get to October of your senior year, then see if you have a reasonable shot. If you do and Emory is still a dream school or one of your top choices, then consider early decision. For now, do your best and revisit your few choices next winter or spring when you start visiting schools.