<p>I dont understand why I spent the last 3 and a half years in all honors and AP classes, working hard and getting B's rather than doing no work in regular classes and getting A's, to find out that madison, my top school, does not take weighted GPAs and doesnt consider course rigor. Does anyone have an explanation for why they do this??</p>
<p>Madison looks at unweighted because everybody who goes here took at least some amount of honors. They do look at rigor though too. If you take 6 aps and get a 3.2 it will look better than somebody who took one ap and got a 4.0. They look at your unweighted and look at how many honors you took. It also depends on the school you went to.</p>
<p>They do consider course rigor. A lot.</p>
<p>Taking the most rigorous courses your HS has to offer counts. If honors and AP are available and you avoided them that shows something about you- UW will wonder why you did not take them. By not weighting gpa’s UW takes away any gpa advantage students whose HS offers the honors and AP courses compared to those who are stuck without them. You are much better off by having to work in HS classes instead of having no study skills. Students used to getting A’s without doing much work/studying have been known to flunk out of college when they are faced with needing to study and not knowing how to.</p>
<p>If you do not get accepted due to a B/3.0 average you may be better off at another school. The competition for UW is such now that most students will have taken the rigorous courses and gotten at least several A’s in them. Be sure to discuss your options with your guidance counselor- s/he knows your ability (and HS) more than we do. Also considered will be the AP test scores from prior years- some will ace a HS AP course but get a 3 or less on the AP test. If your AP test scores are 4s or 5s that shows knowledge.</p>
<p>For all HS students. The reason to take those advanced/honors/AP courses is to stretch yourself academically and to learn as much as you can. Some students discover that they would learn more in regular classes and should go that route. </p>
<p>The “B” student in the rigorous courses- hard to know the chances. That student may be prepared for and can handle UW work, but there may be too many others with better credentials who take the available spots. Those declined students may make great transfer students- they attend another good college for a year or two, get top grades and then transfer to get the benefits of finishing their major at UW. The most important years are the final ones- the breadth requirements and basic courses can be taken elsewhere and the advanced courses taken at UW. </p>
<p>I give you credit for taking on the rigorous course load- much better than being a lazy student. BTW- who knows, you may have gotten B’s in the regular classes, depending on the teacher, etc. Sometimes students are bored or underestimate an “easy” course and get stung by lower grades than they expect.</p>