Unweighted vs Weighted GPAs
- GPA is short for Grade Point Average, basically an average grade between of all of your classes. Most schools run on a 4.0-grading system with 4 points for an A, 3 for a B, 2 for a C, 1 for a D and 0.0 for F.
- Our school gives no distinction between pluses and minuses. For example, an A+ gets you a 4.0 and so does an A-.
- Unweighted (UW) GPA is capped at 4.0, no matter what kind of classes you are taking.
- Weighted GPA awards extra 1 point towards AP, IB and honors classes for grades A, B and C. For example, an A in AP Calculus gives you 5.0 and a B gives you 4. So hypothetically, if you take all AP classes and get all Bs on all of them, then your weighted GPA is still a 4.0. However, your unweighted GPA takes a huge hit at 3.0.
- Private schools usually take your weighted GPA as BAHS sends it to them.
- UC and CSU schools have their own approved courses and some classes, despite being honors and IB, might not get you a GPA boost. For example IB Math SL.
- Please check the school's courses catalog for additional information.
- UC/CSU Approved Courses at BAHS
How Do Colleges View GPAs
- Long story short, most colleges look at both of your unweighted and weighted GPAs.
- If colleges look at unweighted GPA only, then the IB, Honors and AP kids will be at an apparent disadvantage. For example:
- Student A gets a 4.0 by getting straight As in all of his/her regular classes.
- Student B gets 3 Bs and 4 As in a schedule full of Honors, AP/IB classes and thus gets a 3.7 UW GPA because every class is weighted the same.
- While student A does a great job with a maximum UW GPA, some very competitive may assume that student A purposefully took regular classes (hence, arguably, easier courses) to maintain a high UW GPA.
- A less than 4.0 UW GPA and some lower grades multiple challenging classes impress colleges more. Colleges are academic institutions and they are most concerned with your ability to learn. Challenging courses show that you are academically enthused and ready to work hard because of the overwhelming workload. Colleges think that this work ethic will (usually) transfer when you're a college student.
- On the other hand, colleges do not only look at weighted GPA only because some schools inflate their GPAs. I heard from a friend named Golden Spear (name altered for privacy purposes) that he got a 5.0+ GPA last year? Turns out he wasn't the only one at his school...
- Because certain schools grade their students harder/easier on the higher level courses, unweighted GPA is also crucial.
I'm sure lots of teachers have told you that school is not a competition but I guess class ranking is an exception to the rule, especially when it comes to college apps. It is school's policy that the school doesn't provide an exact ranking, but counselors can give you a decile range. For example, Mr. Scott can tell you if you're in the top 10% of your class or not.
Class ranking is the most reliable method for college to figure out how you are doing among your peers. As I mentioned above, my friend's Golden Spear's 5.0+ GPA might be common at his school but it is almost unheard of at ours.
When applying to the highly selective colleges, I would recommend your weighted GPA to be in top 10% of your class. It is easier said than done, I know.
- If you apply as a certain major, it is best if you pick high school classes related to your major.
- For example, if you major in engineering you probably want to take Mathematics, Physics classes,...etc
- Pick hard classes for a good GPA boost but don't overdo it and suffer a huge unweighted GPA drop. Hard classes are not excuses for you to get low grades. Balance is key. Or not, if you believe you can take all the college-level courses. Play to your strengths.
- Slowly increase the workload by taking more hard classes each semester or year. I took all regular classes during freshman and sophomore year and then went full IB junior year. Needless to say, the transition was brutal.
- Sometimes, picking a class you are not good at and make a major effort to ace it will score a good impression on colleges. When I barely had just gotten my English together, I took IB Spanish right away (wasn't really my choice because I was in the IB Programme but hey, it worked out, barely).
- Colleges want the "underdogs" too. Say you didn't really care about school in your freshman year because well, freshman and sophomore year and your grades flopped to the Challenger Deep. But, you aren't a quitter and decided to make a major comeback, taking all the hardcore classes in your junior and senior year. Despite the bad grades in your first two years, no colleges would ignore your determination!
- For overachievers, well, we'll call it "static" trend. You probably want to maintain your 4.8 GPA for the rest of your high school career. Taking all easy classes in your senior year is a big red flag your colleges.
- Everybody wants a good GPA but sometimes, life doesn't really give us the best conditions to achieve that. College admission officers, despite rumors, are humans too. They understand that special circumstances can negatively affect your GPA.
- Here is the list of possible special circumstances that can serve as explanations for your less-than-ideal academic performance:
- Serious medical issues. No, you semi-fractured your left pinky is not an excuse.
- Financial struggle. Example: your parent(s) lost their jobs.
- Moving away to a different school, city or, hopefully not, a new country.
- Natural disasters
- Most college apps will have an additional information section that will give you a chance to explain your hardships. Put something that really hindered your ability to do best at school. The last thing you want to do, however, is to blame your teachers.
Each of us has multiple responsibilities in life and the more we are efficient with school work, the more we have time for other things such as extracurricular activities, standardized tests prep and personal essays. Here are some tips that you can do to improve your academic performance at school:
- Sleep is extremely important for everyone and especially for high schoolers. Having said that, I procrastinated at times in high school and consequently had to pull a few all-nighters. Still, please prioritize your sleep. Most of the time, people lack sleep in high school not because they have too much work, but rather, too much fun. That party, that video game, and also your girlfriend/boyfriend can wait. Additionally:
- Phones, laptops, and TVs can make it hard for you to fall asleep so you might want to refrain from using them at least 30 minutes before bed.
- Cooler bedroom usually offers a better sleep.
- White noises like the ones that a running fan make also help you to fall asleep better too.
- A good rule of thumb is 8 hours a day but some of us need less/more than that and it's totally okay. But it is extremely uncommon to see someone being well-rested with 3-4 hours of sleep a day so unless you are naturally gifted, don't try to be.
- If you somehow had to stay up late and lose a good chunk of sleep, make that up by napping the next day if you can.
- Sleep more on the weekend if you have to.
- Stay away from caffeinated drinks 6-8 hours before your bedtime.
- Utilize the block schedule and do homework right away on the day that you're assigned. This will give you much needed time to do your work when an unexpected event comes up.
- Pay attention in class and avoid using one's class time for finishing another's homework.
- Don't be afraid to ask your teachers to go over materials that you feel shaky on. This also potentially helps you to stand out from your classmates and gets your teachers' attention. This would be discussed further when we go over letters of recommendation.
- Power naps are your best friends. Mini naps that last anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes can let your body recover quickly and enhance your focusing ability. Make sure you use an alarm or have someone wake you up. My 30-minute afternoon naps usually end up with me waking up at 3 A.M.
- Use calendar and to-do lists to organize your work beforehand. This will hold you accountable and save you the stress of everything-suddenly-is -due-tomorrow kind of feeling.
- Take a walk or stand up every 45 minutes to give your eyes, brain, back, and fingers a break.
- Do whatever you need to release stress. To me it was going to the gym, other suggestions include:
- Listen to your favorite music
- Talk to your friends and family members
- Meditate
- Take a long shower
- Adult-coloring books
- ...etc