Calculate your high school GPA with support for weighted and unweighted calculations
Based on 4 credits
3.95
Based on your historical GPA trend and current performance
4.00
Maximum possible improvement to reach a 4.0 GPA
Unweighted GPA is calculated on a scale of 0.0 to 4.0 and does not take course difficulty into account. Weighted GPA gives bonus points for honors, AP, IB, and dual enrollment courses, typically on a scale of 0.0 to 5.0.
Most colleges consider both weighted and unweighted GPAs in their admissions process. They often recalculate GPAs based on their own formulas, focusing on core academic courses. It's important to maintain strong grades in challenging courses rather than taking easier classes for a higher GPA.
Your high school GPA is one of the most important factors in college admissions decisions. Here's how colleges typically use GPA in their evaluation process:
Your GPA provides colleges with a standardized measure of your academic performance over time. It demonstrates your ability to consistently meet academic expectations and succeed in a structured learning environment.
Colleges look beyond just the GPA number to evaluate the difficulty of your coursework. A slightly lower GPA in challenging courses (AP, IB, Honors) may be viewed more favorably than a perfect GPA in standard courses.
Many colleges recalculate GPAs according to their own formulas, often focusing only on core academic subjects (English, math, science, social studies, foreign language) and may weight advanced courses differently.
Some colleges and scholarship programs establish minimum GPA thresholds for consideration. These can range from 2.0 for less selective schools to 3.5+ for highly competitive institutions.
| College Type | Minimum GPA | Competitive GPA | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highly Selective Private | 3.7+ | 3.9+ (weighted 4.2+) | Harvard, Stanford, MIT |
| Elite Public Universities | 3.5+ | 3.8+ (weighted 4.0+) | UC Berkeley, UMich, UVA |
| Selective Private | 3.3+ | 3.6+ (weighted 3.8+) | Boston University, NYU |
| Public State Universities | 3.0+ | 3.4+ (weighted 3.6+) | Penn State, Ohio State |
| Less Selective Colleges | 2.5+ | 3.0+ | Many regional universities |
| Community Colleges | 2.0+ | N/A (often open admission) | Local community colleges |
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