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Weighted GPA

A grade point average that gives extra points for harder courses such as honors, AP or IB, on a scale each school or district sets.

What It Means

A weighted GPA is a grade point average that adds extra points for grades in more demanding courses, usually honors, Advanced PlacementAP classA high school course in the College Board's Advanced Placement program that ends in an AP Exam, where a high enough score can earn college credit or placement. See more (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) classes. An unweighted GPA gives every class the same value, with an A worth 4.0, so the top unweighted GPA is 4.0 while a weighted one can go higher. There's no national scale: each school or district decides which classes carry extra weight and how much.

Try It: Work Out a Weighted and Unweighted GPA

Example scale only: A is 4 points, and this example adds 0.5 for honors and 1 for AP or IB. Your school sets its own.

Unweighted GPA3.50
Weighted GPA (example scale)4.00

Colleges may recalculate a GPA on their own scale, per College Board's BigFuture.

How Parents Say It

  • "Her weighted GPA is a 4.3 but unweighted it's a 3.8."
  • "Does our school weight honors classes?"
  • "Colleges are going to recalculate it anyway."

The Breakdown

Formula

Unweighted GPA = total grade points ÷ number of classes. Weighted GPA = (total grade points + extra points for weighted classes) ÷ number of classes.

Worked example, on an example scale. This scale gives an A 4 points and a B 3, and adds 1 point for an AP or IB class. Your school's scale may differ.

ClassGradePointsExtra for levelWeighted points
AP BiologyA415
AP U.S. HistoryB314
EnglishA404
SpanishB303
Total1416

Unweighted GPA: 14 ÷ 4 = 3.50. Weighted GPA: 16 ÷ 4 = 4.00.

What the result means. Both numbers describe the same grades. The weighted one also reflects that two of the classes were AP.

Benchmark. No national benchmark exists, because scales differ. Studies indexed by the Department of Education show schools using different weights: one gave an A in an AP or honors class 5 points instead of 4, and another added 1 for honors and 2 for AP.

Good to Know

Ask your child's school counselor for the school's weighting scale in writing, including which courses count as honors and whether dual enrollment classesDual enrollmentA high school student taking a college course for college credit, through a college or a program the high school runs with one. See more carry weight. College Board's BigFuture notes that colleges may recalculate a GPA, removing or applying their own weights so applicants from different schools can be compared, so a weighted GPA on your transcript may not be the number a college uses. If a scholarshipScholarshipsMoney for school that a student doesn't repay, usually awarded for grades, skills or abilities by a college, employer, community group or state. See more lists a GPA cutoff, check whether it means weighted or unweighted.

FAQ

What's the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?

An unweighted GPA counts every class the same, with an A worth 4.0. A weighted GPA adds extra points for harder classes like honors, AP or IB, so it can go above 4.0.

How much extra does an AP class add to a GPA?

It depends on your school. In the examples NCES and researchers describe, one school gave an A in an AP or honors class 5 points instead of 4, another added 2 for AP, and some schools don't weight at all.

Do colleges look at weighted or unweighted GPA?

Both can appear on a transcript, and College Board's BigFuture says colleges may recalculate GPAs on their own scale to compare students from different schools. Ask each college how it reviews grades.

Do It in Buhata

Calendar, Reminders

Put the course registration deadline on the Buhata Calendar with a Reminder to ask the counselor which classes carry extra weight before your child picks next year's schedule.

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Related Terms and Categories

  • AP class

    A high school course in the College Board's Advanced Placement program that ends in an AP Exam, where a high enough score can earn college credit or placement.

  • Dual enrollment

    A high school student taking a college course for college credit, through a college or a program the high school runs with one.

  • Report card

    (1) The school's periodic report of a student's grades to parents; (2) the yearly public report on school and district results that ESSA requires states and districts to publish.

  • Scholarships

    Money for school that a student doesn't repay, usually awarded for grades, skills or abilities by a college, employer, community group or state.

School and education for parents

Sources

College Board BigFuture, "How to Calculate Your GPA on a 4.0 Scale"; College Board BigFuture, "Does GPA need to be weighted or unweighted?"; National Center for Education Statistics, "Grade Point Average" (NCES 2004-455, chapter 3); NASSP Bulletin, "Comparing Weighted and Unweighted Grade Point Averages in Predicting College Success of Diverse and Low-Income College Students" (2014, in ERIC)

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