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What is a GPA?

The grade you earn (GPA) can be defined as the total of all your grades in your high school years subtracted by your overall amount of credits. The majority of secondary schools (and colleges) provide grades on an 4.0 scale. The highest grade, which is an A is equal to the equivalent of 4.0.

Why is a Good GPA Important?

We get data from schools each year and, based on that data, we can determine two aspects that weigh the most heavily when it comes to college admissions:

  1. Your GPA at high school
  2. Your high school’s Rigor syllabus

What is a Good GPA?

The answer depends on the place you’d like to attend college. Look up the GPA ranges of students accepted to the colleges you have you’ve put on your list, and check out how your marks are compared to. Utilize the school search to find schools that appeal to you, or pick up the book The Best 384 Schools that will help locate the perfect school.

Colleges will also look at the quality that you have put into your high school program. Did you complete Honors and Advanced courses when they were offered? Did you participate within your secondary school’s IB program? Apart from a high score in the classes you took colleges would like to know that you’re taking on new challenges academically.

GPA Scale

Because GPA is so significant and important, here’s a chart to show how you can transform your letter grades into a 4.0 scale.

Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA

Unweighted GPA is the sum of of your marks according to the 4.0 scale. It is higher than.

Some high schools have the weighted GPA scale, which awards greater marks (greater “weight”) to scores in courses that are accelerated, such as Honors Biology or AP French. Therefore, while a grade of B could be a 3.0 however, a B grade in an AP course would be closer to the equivalent of a 3.3 in a scale with a weighted.

Great Grades Can Equal Financial Aid

Your GPA can aid you in getting into college the college of your choice, but in these tight financial times, good grades could be converted in dollars or cents. As Kal Chaney explains in our guidebook paying for college, “Every tenth of a point a student raises her high school GPA can save her thousands of dollars in student loans she won’t have to pay back later.”

At schools where students receive aid based solely the financial needs applicants with excellent academic performance are given preferred packaging. (Their awards packages contain more grants and a lesser percentage of loan.) Some schools offer full scholarships to students with high GPAs. There are many colleges (more than ever in the recent times) that offer huge merit-based grants, no matter the necessity. These grants aren’t only for 4.0 students! We have heard of numerous institutions that grant merit-based awards to students who score B grades.

Get Your Grades Up–and Keep Them That Way!

Senioritis is real and colleges will be watching your grades, even after you’ve been accepted. Don’t be fooled into thinking you’re going to allow your grades to sink after that acceptance letter arrives on your inbox! In addition, if you’re in the process of being waitlisted to attend your dream college maintaining your GPA can increase the chances of being able to get off the waitlist.