High School GPA
Weighted GPA
3.88
weighted scale (with AP/Honors boost)
Unweighted GPA
3.50
out of 4.0 (standard scale)
Total Credits
4
AP/IB Courses
1
Honors Courses
1
Unweighted Grade
B+
Weighted GPA Scale
Regular Courses
A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0
Honors Courses (+0.5)
A = 4.5, B = 3.5, C = 2.5
AP/IB Courses (+1.0)
A = 5.0, B = 4.0, C = 3.0
About Weighted GPA
Weighted GPA gives extra points for advanced courses. Honors courses typically add 0.5 points, while AP and IB courses add 1.0 point. Colleges consider both weighted and unweighted GPAs when evaluating applications.
About the High School GPA
The High School GPA tool calculates your secondary-school grade average, supporting the weighted scales that distinguish high school transcripts from college ones. You enter each class, its grade, and its course level (regular, honors, Advanced Placement, or International Baccalaureate), and the tool assigns the appropriate grade points before averaging them. This matters because high schools routinely award bonus points for rigorous coursework, allowing a weighted GPA to exceed the traditional 4.0 ceiling.
On a typical weighted scale, an A in a regular class is worth 4.0, an A in an honors class might be worth 4.5, and an A in an AP or IB class is often worth 5.0. The tool can present both your weighted GPA, which colleges use to reward course difficulty, and your unweighted GPA, which normalizes every class to a 4.0 maximum so admissions officers can compare students across schools with different weighting policies. Seeing both numbers side by side clarifies how your course rigor is being credited.
Students use this to monitor progress toward college admission targets, qualify for honor roll or National Honor Society, and decide whether taking an additional AP course is worth the workload given its GPA boost. It is especially useful before submitting applications, since the Common App and many colleges recalculate GPA using their own methods, and knowing your unweighted baseline helps you anticipate that. For college-level coursework, switch to the standard GPA Calculator instead.
A practical tip is to verify your school's exact weighting policy, because the bonus for honors versus AP varies widely between districts, and some schools weight only on a 0.5 boost while others add a full point. Also keep in mind that colleges frequently strip out non-academic electives like physical education when recalculating, so an unweighted academic-only figure can differ from the GPA printed on your report card. Use the GPA Converter if you need to translate a percentage or a 100-point scale into the 4.0 system.
Frequently asked questions
- Why can a high school GPA be higher than 4.0?
- Weighted scales add bonus points for honors, AP, and IB courses, so straight A's in those classes can lift a weighted GPA above the 4.0 maximum, often to 4.5 or 5.0.
- What is the difference between weighted and unweighted high school GPA?
- Unweighted GPA caps all courses at 4.0; weighted GPA gives extra points for advanced courses, rewarding harder schedules.
- Which GPA do colleges look at?
- Many colleges recalculate using their own formula, often converting to an unweighted academic GPA, but they still consider course rigor through the weighted figure and your transcript.
- Does taking AP classes raise my GPA?
- Yes, on a weighted scale, because AP grades earn extra points, but only if you perform well; a low AP grade can still pull your average down.
- Are electives like gym counted?
- It depends on the school and the college; some institutions exclude non-academic electives when recalculating GPA for admissions.