Unweighted vs Weighted GPA: Understanding The Difference
GPA is short for grade point average, and it measures academic performance across all high school courses. Generally, GPAs are calculated on a 1.0-4.0 scale. It is the primary measure of a student’s academic success. It’s used by admissions offices and can also be considered for scholarships.
Generally, unweighted GPAs are the more widely used calculation. Typically on a 4.0 scale, an unweighted GPA is the raw score and only factors course grades. The biggest flaw with an unweighted GPA is that AP and honors courses take more effort and skill than many standard courses, and this extra effort isn’t accounted for in an unweighted GPA.
The most common way to convert your GPA can be found in the table below:
| Letter Grade | Percentage | Unweighted GPA Scale |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | 97-100 | 4.3 |
| A | 93-96 | 4.0 |
| B+ | 87-89 | 3.3 |
| B | 83-86 | 3.0 |
| C+ | 77-79 | 2.7 |
| C | 73-76 | 2.3 |
| C- | 70-72 | 2.0 |
| D+ | 67-69 | 1.3 |
| D | 63-66 | 1.0 |
| D- | 60-62 | 0.7 |
| F | <60 | 0.0 |
Ivy League schools are looking for a GPA over 3.5. If a student’s high school transcript is a mix of mainly A’s and A-‘s, they will achieve around a 3.85, which is precisely what Ivy’s are looking for. If their transcripts have more B’s and the occasional C, the GPA may fall below 3.5.
However, remember that an unweighted GPA does not account for course difficulty. If a student takes AP courses and receives a 3.3 unweighted GPA, they might be more competitive than those in regular classes with a 3.5. If the school a student applies to only uses an unweighted GPA, students should consider the number of AP and honors classes they complete.
Understanding weighted GPA is pretty simple. This version of a student’s grade point average accounts for the difficulty of the courses on their transcript. Specifically, challenging courses are scored on a larger scale than with unweighted GPA.
High schools usually assign weighted GPAs on a 5.0 scale, but it can go higher. For example, if a student earns an A in an AP course, they will receive a 5.0, and if they earn a B, they receive a 4.0, and so forth. With course difficulty factored in, students may have a higher GPA than someone with similar grades.
Each school calculates on its own scale, so this is only an example:
| Letter Grade | Weighted GPA | Unweighted GPA |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | 5.3 | 4.3 |
| A | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| A- | 4.7 | 3.7 |
| B+ | 4.3 | 3.3 |
| B | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| B- | 3.7 | 2.7 |
| C+ | 3.3 | 2.3 |
| C | 3.0 | 2.0 |
| C- | 2.7 | 1.7 |
| D+ | 2.3 | 1.3 |
| D | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| D- | 1.7 | 0.7 |
| F | 0.0 | 0.0 |
The academic expectations of top universities are well above average; in fact, most Ivy League students graduate high school with a GPA over 3.5.
