Grades
Selection
Admission
Is a 4.0 GPA Good?
Yes, a 4.0 GPA is good. It is a straight-A average, and it sits well above the national average for high school students, which is about 3.1 according to the federal High School Transcript Study. A 4.0 keeps every tier of college in play; what separates outcomes at this level is rigor, essays, and the list itself.
Here is the number that matters more than anyone's opinion. We verified the Common Data Set filings of 393 U.S. colleges. At 365 of them, the average enrolled freshman arrived with a 4.0 or lower. At these schools a 4.0 student is not scraping in. They are the typical admit.
By Oliver, Solyo. Every figure verified against the college's own Common Data Set. Last checked 2026-10-28.
- A 4.0 GPA is a straight-A average, roughly 93 to 100 percent
- Above the national high school average of about 3.1
- The typical admit at 365 of the 393 colleges we verified
- In range at 376 colleges where freshmen average 4.1 or below
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First: is your 4.0 weighted or unweighted?
The same number means two different things. An unweighted 4.0 treats every class the same on the standard 4.0 GPA scale. This is the stronger version of the number, and it is the one this page assumes.
A weighted 4.0 includes bonus points for honors, AP, or IB classes, usually on a 4.5 or 5.0 scale, and typically converts to a lower unweighted figure. If your 4.0 is weighted, read the next rung down as well and compare each college's numbers against your unweighted GPA. Colleges know the difference: most recalculate applicants' GPAs their own way, often using only core academic classes. Not sure which number you have? Our GPA calculator computes both from your actual grades, and the weighted GPA calculator shows what AP, honors and IB bonus points add on a 5.0 scale.
What colleges can you get into with a 4.0 GPA?
Most pages answer this question with a hand-picked list and no evidence. The tables below are built differently. Every figure comes from the college's own Common Data Set (CDS), the standardized disclosure each school files about its most recent entering class: the average high school GPA of enrolled first-years and the admit rate, with the reporting year listed per school because colleges publish on different schedules. We verified every number against the document the college itself published, and the bands are the same four Solyo uses everywhere: Safety, Target, Reach, Unlikely.
One honest caveat: an average describes the enrolled students who submitted a GPA. It is not a cutoff, and schools weigh course rigor, grade trend, essays, and testing alongside the number.
Every number is the college's own Common Data Set, verified by Solyo. Last checked 2026-10-28. How we read these numbers
Safety colleges for a 4.0 GPA
8 collegesYour GPA sits above their typical admit
Schools where a 4.0 sits clearly above the entering class average and the admit rate is high. A safety is a school you would genuinely attend, not a throwaway.
| College | Avg freshman GPA | Admit rate | Avg merit award | CDS year | College profile | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Butler UniversityGPA3.84Admit82% | 3.84 | 82% | $28,187 | 2025-26 | ||
University of ArkansasGPA3.83Admit74% | 3.83 | 74% | $4,374 | 2025-26 | ||
| 3.83 | 73% | $7,583 | 2024-25 | |||
University of Alabama at BirminghamGPA3.82Admit94% | 3.82 | 94% | $13,683 | 2025-26 | ||
Missouri University of Science and TechnologyGPA3.82Admit79% | 3.82 | 79% | $17,510 | 2025-26 | ||
Miami University-OxfordGPA3.82Admit75% | 3.82 | 75% | $11,275 | 2024-25 | ||
New College of FloridaGPA3.82Admit74% | 3.82 | 74% | $9,518 | 2023-24 | ||
Appalachian State UniversityGPA3.80Admit94% | 3.80 | 94% | $2,419 | 2025-26 |
Merit: the average non-need-based award to first-years the college reported in its Common Data Set (section H2A), newest cycle on file.
Target colleges for a 4.0 GPA
10 collegesIn line with the students they enroll
At these colleges the average enrolled freshman has a GPA within about a tenth of a point of 4.0. These are, in the most literal sense, colleges that accept a 4.0 GPA: their own enrollment filings prove it.
| College | Avg freshman GPA | Admit rate | Avg merit award | CDS year | College profile | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Florida International UniversityGPA4.00Admit61% | 4.00 | 61% | $2,149 | 2025-26 | ||
Winthrop UniversityGPA3.99Admit83% | 3.99 | 83% | $4,292 | 2025-26 | ||
University of San DiegoGPA4.02Admit54% | 4.02 | 54% | $23,164 | 2025-26 | ||
University of DelawareGPA3.98Admit69% | 3.98 | 69% | $9,785 | 2024-25 | ||
College of CharlestonGPA3.96Admit73% | 3.96 | 73% | $6,448 | 2025-26 | ||
University of Massachusetts-AmherstGPA4.05Admit60% | 4.05 | 60% | $7,757 | 2025-26 | ||
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh CampusGPA4.06Admit60% | 4.06 | 60% | $7,899 | 2025-26 | ||
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityGPA4.06Admit55% | 4.06 | 55% | $31,033 | 2025-26 | ||
Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteGPA3.93Admit67% | 3.93 | 67% | $36,385 | 2025-26 | ||
Creighton UniversityGPA3.92Admit92% | 3.92 | 92% | $25,264 | 2025-26 |
Merit: the average non-need-based award to first-years the college reported in its Common Data Set (section H2A), newest cycle on file.
Reach colleges for a 4.0 GPA
8 collegesAbove your number, or selective enough that grades alone do not decide it
Above your number, or selective enough that grades alone do not decide the outcome. A 4.0 can absolutely get in here, but rigor, essays, and story have to carry weight.
| College | Avg freshman GPA | Admit rate | Avg merit award | CDS year | College profile | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of Minnesota-CrookstonGPA3.14Admit48% | 3.14 | 48% | $4,102 | 2021-22 | ||
Rollins CollegeGPA3.46Admit48% | 3.46 | 48% | $24,849 | 2024-25 | ||
Bennington CollegeGPA3.53Admit45% | 3.53 | 45% | $45,451 | 2024-25 | ||
Southwestern UniversityGPA3.53Admit43% | 3.53 | 43% | $29,955 | 2024-25 | ||
Lafayette CollegeGPA3.56Admit31% | 3.56 | 31% | $23,965 | 2025-26 | ||
Bucknell UniversityGPA3.58Admit32% | 3.58 | 32% | $20,060 | 2025-26 | ||
Occidental CollegeGPA3.64Admit45% | 3.64 | 45% | $17,481 | 2025-26 | ||
University of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireGPA3.64Admit39% | 3.64 | 39% | $2,686 | 2025-26 |
Merit: the average non-need-based award to first-years the college reported in its Common Data Set (section H2A), newest cycle on file.
Unlikely colleges for a 4.0 GPA
6 collegesWell above your number, or selective enough that nobody is likely
The product calls this band Unlikely and so do we. Class averages well above 4.0, or admit rates so low that nobody is likely. Apply to one only if you accept those odds going in.
| College | Avg freshman GPA | Admit rate | Avg merit award | CDS year | College profile | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tulane University of LouisianaGPA3.67Admit14% | 3.67 | 14% | $19,636 | 2025-26 | ||
Emory UniversityGPA3.80Admit10% | 3.80 | 10% | $24,314 | 2025-26 | ||
New York UniversityGPA3.81Admit9% | 3.81 | 9% | $38,420 | 2025-26 | ||
University of Southern CaliforniaGPA3.85Admit11% | 3.85 | 11% | $21,399 | 2025-26 | ||
Davidson CollegeGPA3.85Admit13% | 3.85 | 13% | $35,495 | 2025-26 | ||
Boston UniversityGPA3.86Admit13% | 3.86 | 13% | $42,227 | 2025-26 |
Merit: the average non-need-based award to first-years the college reported in its Common Data Set (section H2A), newest cycle on file.
These tables are a sample from our verified dataset, not a ranking. To see how your full profile lines up at any school, run the college chances calculator; it uses the same verified CDS data behind these tables.
How to build a college list around a 4.0
A balanced list for a 4.0 student usually looks like this: two safeties you would genuinely attend, four or five targets where the entering class averages within a tenth of your GPA, and two or three reaches chosen for fit rather than prestige alone.
Three things move a 4.0 application more than most students expect. Rigor: colleges consistently rank the rigor of your secondary school record among the most important academic factors in their own Common Data Set filings, so a 4.0 earned in honors and AP classes reads stronger than a higher number earned in the easiest schedule available. Trend: admissions readers see the transcript by semester, and an upward line tells a better story than a flat one. Core GPA: many colleges recalculate using only English, math, science, social studies, and language, so if electives are pulling your average down, your recalculated number may already be higher than 4.0.
Within any single school, treat direct-admit programs such as nursing, engineering, computer science, and business as one band harder than the college overall.
Protecting a 4.0 GPA
Is a 4.0 GPA good enough for scholarships?
Yes, a 4.0 GPA earns scholarship money, and this is the part most students underestimate. The biggest money is not national essay contests; it is the colleges themselves. Many public universities publish automatic merit grids, and a 4.0 clears thresholds at a meaningful share of them, especially at the schools in your safety and target tables. Several discount tuition significantly for out-of-state students near your number.
Search real awards with verified deadlines and odds in our scholarship directory, and check each college's own merit page before you assume anything: grids change yearly.
Start with the scholarship directory, where every award carries a verified deadline and published odds.
4.0 GPA: quick answers
Is a 4.0 GPA good for college admissions?
Yes. It is above the national average of about 3.1, and at 365 of the 393 colleges whose Common Data Set filings we verified, the average enrolled freshman had a 4.0 or lower. It becomes a reach only at the most selective schools.
What letter grade is a 4.0 GPA?
A 4.0 is a straight-A average, or roughly 93 to 100 percent on a typical grading scale.
Is a 4.0 GPA good for a junior?
Yes. At a 4.0 the transcript question is settled; spend junior year on rigor and on the parts of the application no GPA can carry.
Is a 4.0 weighted GPA good?
A weighted 4.0 usually converts to about a 3.6 to 3.8 unweighted, so compare your unweighted number against college averages. Check each school's Common Data Set figure rather than assuming the weighted number carries.
Do colleges recalculate my GPA?
Many do. They commonly strip electives, reweight honors and AP courses their own way, or compute a core-subject GPA, which is why two applicants with identical transcripts can hold different GPAs at different colleges.
Is a 4.0 GPA good enough for the Ivy League?
It clears the academic bar: most Ivy-tier entering classes average near your exact number. It does not make anyone likely. At sub-15% admit rates the GPA stops being the differentiator, which is why our tables still band those schools as Unlikely for every applicant.
The bottom line
A 4.0 GPA is excellent: an A-range average above nearly every entering class in the country. At this level the GPA stops being the question, so spend your energy where the decisions actually get made: rigor, essays, and a list that is not all Unlikely-band schools. The number is done; the strategy is not.
Keep the 4.0 working while you handle everything else
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Every college GPA and admit rate on this page comes from that school's own Common Data Set filing: the average high school GPA of enrolled first-year students who submitted one, and the admit rate from the same disclosure. We verified 393 schools' figures against the documents the colleges themselves published, and each table lists the reporting year per school. National average GPA context comes from the federal High School Transcript Study published by NCES. More on reading these numbers: our methodology. Last verified 2026-10-28.