Academic Factors

Across the board, for most colleges--the most important determining factors for admission are a student's academic record and performance. Here are the academic factors that are part of one's admissions profile:

Rigor of Secondary School Record/High School Record = Roughly translates to the # of APs/Honors you've taken (within the context of your school offerings). This consideration is about how challenging was your course load over your high school years (mostly centered on Sophomore, Junior, and Senior year).
Academic GPA (look at our blurb "All About GPA")
Standardized Tests = ACT/SAT Scores, SAT II Scores, and to a smaller degree, AP Scores
Class Rank = mathematical summary of a student's academic record comparing them to other students in the class, typically taking into account the overall GPA and the total number of Honors/AP classes taken.
Letters of Recommendation = A teacher/supervisor's good word is often considered an academic factor, since they are commenting upon their experience of you as a student or intern/employee
Essay = while this isn't tied to test scores, GPA, and transcript, the essay is still a reflection of your demonstration of who you are--both as a person and as a student

These factors are often considered FIRST before non-academic factors are considered.

All About GPA

GPA Overview

Most 4-year universities have minimum GPA requirements for applicants. Most of these are suggestions rather than hard limits, but they're good guidelines to follow if you want to have a strong chance of acceptance.

Colleges with minimum GPA requirements tend to be public schools. Since these schools receive larger pools of applicants, it's much easier for them to sort students by statistics like GPA. For example, CSUs require a 2.5 GPA minimum and UCs require a 3.0 GPA minimum. While minimum GPA determines eligibility to apply, it's really finding out the "target GPA" for each campus. In general, to get into any four-year college, your GPA should be at least a 2.0 or higher. If you're aiming for selective colleges (less than 60% acceptance rate), you should shoot for at least a 3.5.

Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA

Most high schools present GPA in an unweighted fashion. This means the all courses are weighted equally in a 4.0 scale, and the highest possible is a 4.0. However, weighted GPA comes into play by awarding Honors and AP levels a possible 5.0 scale. This allows colleges to take into account the difficulty of your coursework while unweighted GPAs don't.

So, which do colleges care more about then, your weighted or unweighted GPA? The short answer is that most colleges care somewhat more about weighted GPAs because they do a better job showing the difficulty of the classes you took. But colleges do also consider your transcript in context and examine how many AP/Honors level courses are typically offered in your school.

At FUHSD

On your FUSHD transcript, you’ll see the following GPAs. ALL GPA’s are unweighted. A=4pts, B=3pts, C=2pts, D=1pt, F=0pts.

Cumulative GPA unweighted: Includes ALL courses taken.
Unweighted 10-12 A-G GPA: Includes all A-G courses taken in grades 10-12.
There are NO weighted GPAs listed on your FUHSD transcript.
To calculate your weighted GPA, use a GPA calculator
To determine your GPA for UCs, go here

To Determine Your Chances

Naviance is an important tool to use to measure your chances of being admitted into a selective college. Naviance compiles school-specific information and offers a GPA range that was admitted to a specific school. In our Naviance tutorials, you can learn how to use the Naviance portal to compare your GPA with the GPA range associated with admission to your target school.

Pulled from "College GPA Requirements" & "What's the difference? Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA"

Navigate To Other "Getting In: What Colleges Want" Pages

Return to the College Planning Hub