Key Takeaways: 

  • Differences: Weighted GPAs give extra points for tougher classes like AP or honors, while unweighted GPAs treat all classes the same, regardless of difficulty.
  • Effect on College Admissions: A weighted GPA can show that you’re ready for challenging coursework, while an unweighted GPA reflects your overall academic performance. 
  • Course Load Matters: Choosing harder classes can strengthen your college application, but it’s important to maintain good grades in those classes. 
  • Converting GPAs: You can convert a weighted GPA to an unweighted one by removing the extra points for advanced courses and calculating it on a 4.0 scale.

Grade Point Average (GPA) is a crucial indicator of a student’s academic performance. GPA is used by schools, universities, and even certain companies to assess applicants. For a student is a highly important number as it can affect things like college admissions, scholarships, and career opportunities. 

✅ Request information on AUA's MD program TODAY!

YOUR PATH TO SUCCESS BEGINS HERE

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

However, students are often left thinking, should I seek a weighted or unweighted GPA?

While they are calculated differently, they both have their advantages and disadvantages. Join us in this article as we tackle the weighted vs unweighted GPA debate, exploring the main differences between the two, hoping that this will help you decide which one is better for your goals. 

What Is a Weighted GPA?

A weighted GPA is a grading system that grants additional points for taking more difficult classes, such as honors, AP (Advanced Placement), or IB (International Baccalaureate) courses.

With this kind of GPA, students can score higher than 4.0(which is the case with unweighted GPA) if they take advanced courses. Thus, students can receive a score of up to 5.0 on a weighted GPA system. 

Weighted GPA is intended to encourage and reward students who enroll in advanced courses and push themselves academically. It helps provide a clearer picture of a student’s academic abilities and achievements by demonstrating the amount of work they have put into their education.

How to calculate a weighted gpa?

You can calculate a weighted GPA in a few simple steps:

  1. To begin, assign a point value to each of your grades. An A typically has a value of 4.0, a B of 3.0, and so on.
  2. Give yourself additional points for challenging courses like International Baccalaureate (IB) or Advanced Placement (AP). For example, honors classes might be worth 0.5 points, while AP/IB subjects can be worth 1.0.
  3. Multiply the grade points by the amount of credits for each class if the credit values vary, such as three credits for one class and four credits for another.
  4. Add up all the grade points and divide the total by the number of classes or credits to get your weighted GPA.

Since different schools may use different systems, it’s always a good idea to verify with your school. For instance, AP courses could use a 5.0 scale instead of a 4.5 one.

What Is an Unweighted GPA?

An unweighted GPA is a grading system that disregards the difficulty level of a class. It takes into account all of your grades, treating each class the same, whether it’s an easy or advanced course.

For example, if you get an A, it’s worth 4.0 points; it doesn’t matter if the class was an AP (Advanced Placement) or a regular class. The same goes for all other grades—no extra points are added for honors or harder classes.

Therefore,  an unweighted GPA gives a more simple view of how well a student is doing overall in school but doesn’t show if they’ve taken more difficult courses. 

How to calculate an unweighted gpa?

To calculate your unweighted GPA, follow these steps:

  1. First, give every grade a point value. For example, an A has a value of 4.0, a B of 3.0, a C of 2.0, and so on.
  2. Next, add up the points you earned from all of your courses.
  3. Then, divide the total scores by the number of courses you have taken to calculate the average.

An unweighted GPA is always calculated on a 4.0 scale unless your school specifies a different scale.

Key Differences Between Unweighted and Weighted GPA

Weighted and unweighted GPAs differ primarily in how they take course difficulty into consideration. No matter how challenging a class is, an unweighted GPA assigns the same point values to grades for all courses. 

On the other hand, advanced courses such as honors or AP get extra points in a weighted GPA, allowing the GPA to surpass the conventional 4.0 scale. These differences also influence factors such as class ranking, college admissions, and the impact of course load and difficulty. 

In the following paragraphs, we will explore these differences in more detail, focusing on the GPA scale, class ranking, and how they affect college admissions.

GPA scale and class ranking

The GPA scale, whether weighted or unweighted, plays an important role in determining how students rank in high school. In an unweighted GPA system, all students are ranked based on their overall grades, with each grade having the same point value, no matter how hard the class was. 

However, in a weighted GPA system, students who take more advanced classes, like AP or honors courses, often have higher rankings because they get extra points for those harder courses. This means students who choose tougher courses may rank higher than those who take easier classes.

In general, class rankings show how a student compares to others, and the GPA scale used by the school can greatly affect these rankings.

Impact on college admissions

GPA is a crucial factor for college enrollment. In this process, colleges assess a student’s academic achievement using both weighted and unweighted GPAs.

The weighted GPA of a student shows how prepared they are to take on and do well in more difficult classes, such as honors or advanced placement (AP). This can help them get into college since it shows that they can handle challenging schoolwork. 

An unweighted GPA, on the other hand, helps colleges evaluate students from different schools and grading systems with consistency. An unweighted GPA allows for an “equal” evaluation of all students, regardless of the type of education they had in school.  

Lastly, some universities recalculate GPAs by using their own algorithm that takes into account the difficulty of classes as well as the students’ grade consistency. This is done to evaluate each student’s achievements in the context of their particular school.

Course load and difficulty

As we mentioned, weighted GPAs take into account a course’s difficulty and give extra points for advanced classes like AP or honors courses. In contrast, unweighted GPAs treat all classes equally, disregarding the level of difficulty.

Taking challenging courses is important because it shows that a student can handle difficult subjects and is ready for college-level work. Naturally, this will also strengthen a student’s college application.

However, there are risks to taking too many difficult courses, such as increased stress or lower grades. This can impact both weighted and unweighted GPAs. In a weighted system, the extra points for advanced classes may help balance out lower grades, but in an unweighted system, the grades directly affect the GPA without any adjustments for course difficulty.

How to Convert Weighted GPA to Unweighted GPA?

Students might need to convert their weighted GPA to an unweighted GPA for things like college applications or scholarships, as many schools and programs require an unweighted GPA to compare students fairly.

Here’s how to do it in simple steps:

  1. First, figure out what GPA scale your school uses.
  2. For each course, take away the extra points added for harder classes like AP, IB, or honors courses.
  3. Now, give each grade a point based only on the standard 4.0 scale (for example, an A = 4.0, a B = 3.0, and a C = 2.0).
  4. Add up all the points from each course and divide by the total number of courses you took to get your unweighted GPA.

Which GPA Matters More for College Admissions and Scholarships?

The “better” GPA for college admissions and scholarships depends on the situation and what the college or scholarship program values. A weighted GPA shows a student’s ability to handle more difficult classes, like AP or honors courses. This can give students an advantage in competitive college admissions, especially at schools that care about students taking challenging courses. 

On the other hand, an unweighted GPA is a simple and standardized way to compare students, no matter what kinds of classes they’ve taken. Many scholarship programs and colleges use unweighted GPAs to see how consistently a student has performed across all their classes. 

Colleges usually look at both weighted and unweighted GPAs to get a full picture of a student’s academic performance. This helps them understand not just the grades a student has earned but also how challenging the courses were.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both weighted and unweighted GPAs are important for understanding a student’s academic performance. A weighted GPA shows how well a student does in challenging courses, while an unweighted GPA shows their overall grade consistency. 

For college admissions and scholarships, it’s important to find a balance between taking tough classes and getting good grades. Both of these factors help create a strong academic profile. By choosing challenging courses and doing well in them, students can improve their chances of success in the college admissions process.

Curious about pursuing a medical degree? Explore the opportunities at AUAMED and see how our programs can help you take the next step toward your healthcare career.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use both weighted and unweighted GPAs for college applications?

Yes, you can use both weighted and unweighted GPAs for college applications, depending on the school’s requirements.

Do colleges prefer weighted or unweighted GPAs?

Colleges consider both, but they often prefer weighted GPAs to assess academic rigor, especially for competitive programs.

✅ Request information on AUA's MD program TODAY!

YOUR PATH TO SUCCESS BEGINS HERE

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.