The Difference Between Weighted And Unweighted Gpa. Which One To Look For?
Grades are inevitable parts of a student’s stress. Not only do they decide which institute you take admission in, they also direct your career and life choices. But there is a lot of confusion among students about their GPA, that is, Grade Point Average.
GPA constitutes a lot of things in your mark sheet like your test results, assignment grades, and lab report writing, etc.
You might have seen there are two kinds of GPA in your mark sheet- unweighted and weighted GPA. And you must be confused about which GPA matters for your admission.
This article explains the basic differences between unweighted and weighted GPA. And it can help you have clarity in the application process.
Let’s get into it.
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What Is An Unweighted GPA?
Unweighted GPA calculates average grade out of 4.0 without regarding the course levels. In this above 93% or grade A, the unweighted GPA does not change from 4 points. It means it does not differentiate between A or A+. Similarly, below 65% it calculates GPA as 1 point regardless of the course level.
This can cause problems with some students and their parents because it does not differentiate between honors or advanced placement classes with that of A- level.
Letter Grade | Percent Grade | Grade Point |
A+ | 97-100 | 4.0 |
A | 93-96 | 4.0 |
A- | 90-92 | 3.7 |
B+ | 87-89 | 3.3 |
B | 83-86 | 3.0 |
B- | 80-82 | 2.7 |
C+ | 77-79 | 2.3 |
C | 73-76 | 2.0 |
C- | 70-72 | 1.7 |
D+ | 67-69 | 1.3 |
D | 65-66 | 1.0 |
E/F | Below 65 | 0.0 |
Credit: sources/Google
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What Is A Weighted GPA?
Weighted GPA calculates average grade out of 4.0 or more taking into consideration of grades and course level.
It means it calculates your performance in your class as well as course difficulty. But the problem is high schools have different systems of calculating weighted GPAs. And many can have different courses and extracurricular activities, lab report writing, included in it.
Letter Grade | Percent Grade | Honors/AP Level GP | Standard Level GP |
A+ | 97-100 | 5.3 | 4.0 |
A | 93-96 | 5.0 | 4.0 |
A- | 90-92 | 4.7 | 3.7 |
B+ | 87-89 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
B | 83-86 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
B- | 80-82 | 3.7 | 2.7 |
C+ | 77-79 | 3.3 | 2.3 |
C | 73-76 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
C- | 70-72 | 2.7 | 1.7 |
D+ | 67-69 | 2.3 | 1.3 |
D | 65-66 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
E/F | Below 65 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Credit: sources/Google
Weighted GPA grades an A higher than 4.0 and so on, which can never be in unweighted GPA.
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Which One Is Important?
You might be thinking which one matters the most for my admission? The answer is not quite that simple. There are three important factors to consider.
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Colleges Recalculate GPAs
Since weighted GPAs vary with high school, college administrators calculate their own unweighted GPAs for students. That too, considering only main courses like Science, Math, English, History and Foreign Language.
So, by cutting off non-academic courses like Physical Education, colleges have an easy way to compare every student’s performance in school. It means your Chemistry tutor online can benefit you in scoring your GPA high.
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Overall Application Matters
For some colleges, GPA may not be a deciding factor in the admission process. In high schools, ranks are important to measure the progress of an individual student.
In weighted GPA it can go more than 4.0 to 10.0 depending upon the various courses. But for colleges, a student’s overall academic performance matters more than their ranks. It is also important to get Chemistry help to score high in your academic grades.
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Depends On Individual Colleges
While your GPA grades do matter, some colleges may not have a preference for it. Since GPA is a varying factor and colleges look for excellence in their offered courses, your overall GPA may not matter as much.
So, in order to study, you can try getting homework help online to boost your score on tests.
In conclusion, keep in mind that while your GPAs are important, it is also mandatory to know where it falls in regard to overall college expectations.
In order to achieve the desired education graph, you need to take care of a balanced list of colleges for application, what course you should take in high schools, giving proper attention to your lab report writing, and extracurricular activities.
Colleges prefer a dedicated and smart student, so make sure you have a well-thought-out plan regarding your GPAs.
Hope this helps.