One of the key factors that universities will look at while evaluating your application is your GPA. However, the method used to determine GPA at various schools can vary greatly. Weighted GPA and Unweighted GPA are the two types of GPA keenly analyzed by university admission authorities.
Whereas unweighted GPAs do not recognize the complexity of your curriculum, weighted GPAs do. This is the fundamental distinction between unweighted vs weighted GPA.
In this blog, we’ll answer a variety of questions, ‘what is a weighted and unweighted GPA?’, what is the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?’ and, ‘do colleges check weighted or unweighted GPA?’ so on and so forth.
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Table of Contents: |
What is a Weighted and Unweighted GPA?
Grade point average, or GPA, is a term used to describe how well students performed in all of their high school courses. GPAs are typically calculated on a scale from 1.0 to 4.0. It is the main indicator of a student's academic standing.
Now, Unweighted GPA vs weighted GPA, what are they?
GPA is typically determined using an unweighted scale. A scale from 0 to 4.0 is used to calculate unweighted GPA. It doesn't consider how challenging a student's coursework is. Whether an A was obtained in a fairly low class or higher class, an unweighted GPA interprets it as a 4.0.
Whereas, A scale from 0 to 5.0 is used to calculate the weighted GPA. This is done to account for scores in higher-level classes, where a 5.0 on the weighted scale equates to an A, depending on how rigorous the subject was.
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Unweighted VS Weighted GPA
When calculating your GPA for admission to universities abroad, it is essential to know the difference between Weighted and Unweighted GPA. Next, let us look at the key points that will help you distinguish between weighted unweighted GPA:
- The term "weighted GPA" refers to your grade point average that has been modified to account for the number of very difficult courses you have enrolled in. Honors courses and Advanced Placement courses, among others, are harder or particularly designated courses that give you extra points. A weighted GPA is often assessed on a broader scale than an unweighted GPA. Whereas, an Unweighted GPA is referred to as your conventional GPA, which is normally calculated using a 4.0 scale and only takes into account your course grades.
- The weighted GPA is calculated on a 5.0 scale or higher and the Unweighted GPA is calculated on a scale of 4.0.
Weighted Versus Unweighted Conversion Chart
Before we start calculating our GPAs, let’s take a look at how our grades are converted into GPAs:
Unweighted GPA
|
Grade |
GPA |
|
A+ |
4.0 |
|
A |
4.0 |
|
A- |
3.7 |
|
B+ |
3.3 |
|
B |
3.0 |
|
B- |
2.7 |
|
C+ |
2.3 |
|
C |
2.0 |
|
C- |
1.7 |
|
D+ |
1.3 |
|
D |
1.0 |
|
F |
0.0 |
Weighted GPA
|
Grade |
Honors GPA |
AP GPA |
|
A+ |
4.5 |
5.0 |
|
A |
4.5 |
5.0 |
|
A- |
4.2 |
4.7 |
|
B+ |
3.8 |
4.3 |
|
B |
3.5 |
4.0 |
|
B- |
3.2 |
3.7 |
|
C+ |
2.8 |
3.3 |
|
C |
2.5 |
3.0 |
|
C- |
2.2 |
2.7 |
|
D+ |
1.8 |
2.3 |
|
D |
1.5 |
2.0 |
|
F |
0.0 |
0.0 |
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Calculation: Unweighted and Weighted GPA
Now that we know the key difference between weighted and unweighted GPA let us take a look at how they are calculated and how you can convert weighted to unweighted GPA and unweighted to weighted GPA.
Unweighted GPA
Number of classes you take: 6
|
Class |
Grade |
GPA |
|
1 |
A |
4.0 |
|
2 |
A+ |
4.0 |
|
3 |
B+ |
3.3 |
|
4 |
B+ |
3.3 |
|
5 |
B |
3.0 |
|
6 |
C+ |
2.3 |
ADD- 4.0+4.0+3.3+3.3+3.0+2.3=19.9
DIVIDE-19.9/6=3.3167
3.3167 is your Unweighted GPA.
Weighted GPA
Number of classes you take: 6
|
Class |
Grade |
GPA |
|
1 (HC)** |
A |
4.5 |
|
2 (AP)** |
A+ |
5.0 |
|
3 (AP)** |
B+ |
4.3 |
|
4 (AP)** |
B+ |
4.3 |
|
5 (HC)** |
B |
3.5 |
|
6 (HC)** |
C+ |
2.8 |
**(AP-Advanced Placement class, HC- Honors Class)
ADD- 4.5+5.0+4.3+4.3+3.5+2.8=24.4
DIVIDE- 24.4/6=4.067
4.067 is the weighted GPA
Weighted to Unweighted GPA
Suppose, you have a Weighted GPA in AP class=4.0, subtract 1.0 from it and bring it down to 3.0 and then calculate.
Unweighted to Weighted GPA
Multiply your unweighted GPA by the count of classes you have taken. Add 0.5 for each mid-level course you've registered for and 1.0 for each high course. Divide the outcome by the total number of courses you have taken.
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Do Colleges Look at Weighted or Unweighted GPA?
Whether your high school uses a weighted or unweighted scale is irrelevant to colleges. But to assess your application, they will require to verify which scale was applied. The systems used by your high school will always be taken into consideration by admissions offices to ensure that you are being evaluated accurately.
- In the college admissions process, you will appear better than someone taking regular-level coursework who has a 4.0 GPA if you push yourself in classes but lack a pristine GPA.
- Your class rank could not truly depict the work you put in if it is solely determined by your unweighted GPA.
- Under the weighted approach, an exceptional GPA will likely be nearer to 5.0.
- Considering your GPA is a representation including both your scores and the ranks of the courses you earned, a weighted GPA makes it more likely that your class rank will accurately represent your academic motivation and aptitude.
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Whether your GPA is weighted or unweighted, the college will assess your application for admission along with the courses you took in addition to your grades. Therefore, put all of your efforts into achieving the highest grade possible, and let the rest be history. For any further queries, subscribe to Yocket premium and talk to our team of experts today!
