Is Weighted or Unweighted GPA More Important?
What’s Covered:
- Differences Between Unweighted and Weighted GPA
- Does Weighted or Unweighted GPA Matter More?
- How to Decide How Many Advanced Courses to Take
- How to Calculate Your Chances of Acceptance
As you probably know, one of the most important factors admissions counselors take into consideration when evaluating your college application is your academic performance. Your academic performance can be assessed by various methods, from your course load, to your class rank, to your GPA. The latter metric is often measured in two different ways: weighted GPA and unweighted GPA.
Both methods of calculating GPA help give colleges a better idea of your high school academic record. You may be wondering which method colleges pay more attention to in the admissions process. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through differences between these two measures of grade point averages and explain how colleges view and interpret each one.
Differences Between Unweighted and Weighted GPA
Before we talk about each type of GPA, it’s important to acknowledge that there are multiple ways to calculate grade point average across high schools. For the purposes of this blog post, we will be referring to the standard 4.0 GPA scale, as it is the metric most widely applied.
Unweighted GPAs
Generally speaking, unweighted GPA does not take into account the rigor of a student’s course load. Every class is worth the same amount of “points,” which is to say that a grade of A corresponds with 4 points, a B corresponds with 3, a C corresponds with 2, and a failing grade corresponds with 1 or lower.
A plus or minus is accounted for by a difference of 0.3. That means a B- would correspond to a 2.7, a B would correspond to a 3, and a B+ would correspond to a 3.3
These values apply for every course in a student’s schedule. In other words, it does not matter if a student earned a B grade in Physical Education or in AP Environmental Science — they will earn 3 points regardless. A student who earned all A’s in AP and honors courses will have the same GPA as a student who earned all A’s in regular courses.
Weighted GPA
On the other hand, weighted GPA reflects how difficult a student’s course load is, and students taking harder classes have the opportunity to earn higher weighted GPAs. Typically, the more challenging courses tend to be weighted. This often includes Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Honors courses.
The scale for weighted courses is higher than that of unweighted courses. Although different high schools weigh classes differently, one common practice is to assign one extra point value to weighted classes on the GPA scale. In other words, a grade of A in a weighted course may correspond with 5 points, a B correspond with 4, a C correspond with 3, and a failing grade correspond with 2 or lower. As with an unweighted GPA, a plus or minus corresponds to a difference of 0.3.
Because of the different weighting of classes, a weighted GPA better reflects the overall difficulty of a student’s course load. For example, a student who earned a B in an AP English Literature and Composition course would receive 4 GPA points — just as a student who earned an A in a regular English course would.
Does Weighted or Unweighted GPA Matter More?
Though it’s tempting to want a straight answer, it’s not as simple as weighted or unweighted GPA being more important. In fact, the GPA you get from your school, or that you calculate using a 4.0 scale, may not even be the one that schools look at. Some schools might recalculate your GPA using their own scale, giving particular weight to factors that they care most about, like particular classes. The UC system is one notable example, as it relies more on grades than many other institutions.
Overall, what GPA schools care about will vary from school to school. Most care about both – they want to see you challenge yourself, but not every school offers the same courses, and so an unweighted GPA can help compare across high schools that may not offer the same honors classes.
Now, if you have taken many honors or advanced classes, don’t think that colleges won’t see that. Even for schools that don’t calculate a weighted GPA, or at colleges that tend to give unweighted GPA more attention, your course rigor will come through in your transcript and the school report that colleges will receive from your school counselor.
How to Decide How Many Advanced Courses to Take
Having heard that both unweighted and weighted GPA matter, you might now have a hard time deciding whether to challenge yourself with a harder class or not. Similar to the takeaway above, it really depends. Although taking a challenging course load is important, you must also ensure that you can handle the classes you are taking without feeling overwhelmed.
If you prioritize weighted classes too much and overburden yourself to the degree that you are earning poor grades, this will hurt your overall application. For example, a 4.0 with all B’s in weighted classes is typically viewed less favorably than a 4.0 with all A’s in unweighted classes.
Colleges want to see both that you are succeeding in the classes you are taking, and that you can handle a rigorous schedule. If you aren’t performing particularly well with a challenging course load, admissions officers may feel concerned about your ability to handle college-level coursework. Ultimately, you should opt to take the most challenging course load you can realistically handle and perform well in.
How to Calculate Your Chances of Acceptance
While GPA is one of the most important factors in college admissions, it’s not the only thing that matters. If you’re wondering how your overall profile stacks up at a particular school, check out CollegeVine’s free chancing engine, which evaluates not just grades and course rigor, but also things like extracurriculars and standardized test scores (if you have them) to estimate your odds of being accepted at over 1,600 schools across the country.
Our calculator will also give you suggestions for how to improve your chances, whether by raising your GPA slightly, taking more rigorous courses, or something else entirely, like earning a leadership position in one of your extracurriculars.
