D will be taking 5 core classes every year of high school. She also will have other required classes in the arts. When assessing what her gpa is in the eyes of colleges should we be focusing on just those 5 classes each year or everything? I know every college is different, but is their a general consensus when doing this? Thanks so much.
Like you said, each college is different, but I would expect that they’ll look at everything. Especially if she’s going to a school with required classes in the arts and is interested in a liberal arts college or go into the arts, but even if she doesn’t. Her high school, I’m assuming, is factoring those art classes into her GPA, which will affect the GPA the colleges see and her class rank. The university also wouldn’t like seeing that a student is only focusing on core academics - the more well-rounded a student’s profile, the better.
@Srabookworm Thank you. D won’t be going into the arts, but does well in those classes which are a big part of her school (performing arts school). It’s just that her gpa is different including those classes and not including them so it’s hard to figure out what gpa the colleges will look at. In retrospect, her arts classes don’t really make a huge difference one way or the other in her gpa, but there is a small difference.
I don’t think there is a consensus that would work for all or most schools. My D’s college was clear that they recalculate GPAs as unweighted and using academic subjects only but most colleges are not that transparent. It probably sounds obvious but your D should work hard and try her best in every course to show that she is a well rounded student who gives her all to everything she does.
@happy1 thank you! I’m mostly thinking about a list of colleges and it’s hard to know what GPA they are looking for. We have the unweighted, the weighted, the one for the core classes, the one for the entire courseload… It’s a little confusing. I guess she will have to take with the guidance counselor in the fall.
She can also reach out to admissions at the colleges on her list and ask. Some will tell her. As one example, at UMass Amherst, we consider weighted GPA, etc… Some will tell her.