<p>Unweighted GPA does not measure intelligence or how hard you've worked. My unweighted GPA is 3.43, but I have taken for the most part the hardest courses I can (AP English and History, and advanced maths and sciences) and I have friends that have 3.9s that have taken the easiest courses they could. Had I chose to take say Algebra I freshmen year rather than geometry (although I've gotten all As in Math the point is still relevant), Earth Science rather than Honors Bio, Regular English and history instead of Honors and AP my UW GPA would probably be about 3.7 or 3.8 (only because I suck at french). Why should someone who has taken the less rigorous road be rewarded for their lack of initiative (not to offend anyone), and someone that has taken the harder load be left in the dust. There is a reason we have weightings, and to not use them is a slap in the face to people like me. The basic weighting colleges should look at should be +1 for AP and +.5 for honors, because it best reflects how hard the student worked. </p>
<p>and also I understand that the rigor of schedule is factored into it, but why isn't GPA weighted at all colleges, rather than some of them?</p>
<p>Well… there are more than twenty thousand high schools in the United States, and every school uses a different system to weight to GPA, not to mention the differences in the rigor of such courses. It would be a nightmare for colleges to recalculate your GPA individually, so unweighted GPA serves as a nice baseline for guidance. </p>
<p>Colleges will take into account the rigor of your course load when they consider you for admission. In fact, for some competitive colleges, a rigorous coursework is almost certainly expected from every applicant.</p>
<p>When adcoms say the transcript is the most important part of the app, they mean the entire transcript, not just the GPA. Kids are not rewarded for getting "A"s in slacker courses. When an adcom looks at the school profile and sees that 23 APs were offered and Suzy took none of them, Suzy’s 3.8 GPA is put in context, and she’s not an attractive candidate for Elite U.</p>
<p>Unless you are only applying to colleges that use formulaic admissions criteria, your rigorous course load will get you father in admissions than the slacker approach</p>
<p>I know I’m a little late, but my counselor says that weighted GPA shows the rigor of your classes, while unweighted GPA shows how you did in those classes. If you went to my school, you would have a 3.4 UW and probably a 4.4 W, while your friends would have a 3.9 UW and a 4.1 W. Colleges would know. Admissions officers are not idiots. Dont sweat it. They will love that you took all APs and honors. The only general classes i’ve taken are two gym classes and two music classes - and an “easy” Algebra I freshman year. 15 of my 21 classes are AP or Honors.</p>