Weighted GPA
A GPA that gives extra points for honors, AP, and IB courses, typically allowing the maximum to exceed 4.0 (often 4.5 or 5.0 scale).
A weighted GPA is a high school grade point average that adds extra points for advanced courses. The most common system gives an additional 1.0 point for AP, IB, and honors courses, allowing an A in an AP class to count as 5.0 instead of 4.0. Some schools use a 0.5 bonus for honors and 1.0 for AP/IB; many use a 6.0 scale for IB diploma students.
Schools weight courses to reward academic rigor. Two students with identical unweighted GPAs may have different weighted GPAs depending on how many advanced courses they took. Class rank is often based on weighted GPA at schools that report rank.
For parents, the important nuance is that colleges almost universally recalculate GPA from the transcript using their own formula. The weighted GPA on a child's report card is a school-internal number; the GPA the college actually evaluates may differ. Always check both numbers and understand the school's specific weighting policy.
Related terms
View all terms- Unweighted GPAA GPA on a 4.0 scale where every A counts as 4.0 regardless of course difficulty. The simplest, most comparable GPA measure.
- UC GPAThe University of California's recalculated GPA, capped at 4.4 weighted with limited honor-points credit. Used by all UC campuses and CSUs.
- Recalculated GPAThe GPA a college calculates internally from the transcript using its own formula. Often differs from the GPA on a student report card.