Weighted vs. Unweight GPA

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1

<p>yes, this has nothing to do with the SAT, but I didn't know where else to post this question:</p>

<p>What's the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA. I live in Canada and here people don't use those terms...I'm applying to colleges in the states and I noticed a lot people use these two terms very often.</p>

<p>So can someone explain them to me?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>Weighted GPAs allow for classes to count for an extra gradepoint. For example, an AP class often counts as a weighted class. Usually, on a 4.0 scale, an A counts as a 4, a B as a 3, a C as a 2, and a D as a 1. Weighted classes are one gradepoint higher (A counts as a 5, B as a 4, etc) and raise your GPA. A weighted GPA allows classes designated as weighted to count for more points and therefore your weighted GPA is higher than your unweighted GPA. An unweighted GPA treats all classes as unweighted clases (aka A=4, B=3) and a weighter GPA allows for some weighted classes (A=5).</p>

<p>Example: you got an A, a B, and a C as your final grades. The class you got an A in was a weighted class like AP English. Your unweighted GPA would be 4+3+2 divided by 3 = 3.00. Your weighted GPA would be 5+3+2 divided by 3 = 3.33.</p>

<p>Hope that helped :)</p>

<p>source: <a href=“http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/question/index?qid=20070619001030AAWAlrL[/url]”>http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/question/index?qid=20070619001030AAWAlrL&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Probably here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I don’t know about Canada, but here, we use an ABCDF grading scale</p>

<p>A: 89.5%-100%
B: 79.5%-89.4%
C: 69.5%-79.4%
D: 59.5%-69.4%
F: 0%-59.4%</p>

<p>Then, in unweighted GPA, we simply convert these letters into numbers like so. There is a letter grade for each class, so with 6 classes, your GPA would be these 6 numbers averaged.</p>

<p>A: 4
B: 3
C: 2
D: 1
F: 0</p>

<p>HOWEVER, in weighted GPA, the numbers given for each letter grade differs depending on the rigor or difficulty of the course. So in hard courses (usually called honors courses or AP courses), the scale is altered to be like this:</p>

<p>A: 5
B: 4
C: 3
D: 1
F: 0</p>

<p>However, in less difficult courses, the scale remains the same.</p>

<p>Therefore, the weighted GPA is simply a way to give a higher GPA to students who take harder courses.</p>

4

<p>As they said ^ its goal is to give you a higher GPA for harder classes, however the actual “weighting” varies greatly state to state and even from school to school. At my school your GPA isn’t based on your letter grade (A, B, C, D, F) but on your number grade. For example a 100 is worth a lot more than a 93 (lowest A). Also an “honors” classes gives you an extra .5 while an AP is an extra point… but I don’t think my school is normal in this regard by any means.</p>