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How Colleges Recalculate Applicants’ GPAs for College Admissions

3 min read

A person holding a document marked with a graduation cap icon while using a calculator beside stacks of coins

There are over 23,500 high schools (opens in a new tab) in the United States, each with its own grading system. While most high schools issue letter grades, some schools use a grading scale based on a point system (for example, out of 100 points). Many schools calculate a weighted grade point average (GPA), while just as many schools don’t. Some schools weight all honors and AP classes, while other schools weight only AP classes.

In addition, many students take courses at multiple schools and colleges during high school, adding another layer of information about coursework and grades that students submit when they apply for college.

With the seemingly infinite ways high schools calculate GPAs, many colleges recalculate the GPA in the application review process to provide a standardized way to compare the academic achievement of students from different high schools. In other words, the GPA reported on your high school transcript is not necessarily what colleges use when reviewing your application.

The University of California (opens in a new tab) and the California State University (opens in a new tab) require applicants to self-report their grades and courses in the online application. In the application review process, these large public universities recalculate applicants’ GPAs by giving one honors point per semester to grades received in honors and AP courses and one honors point to grades received in college courses (for example, A=5 points and B=4 points).

Most colleges using the Common App require applicants to submit their academic transcripts from all schools they attended. Several Common App colleges also require applicants to complete the Courses and Grades section (opens in a new tab) of the application or a separate Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR/SSAR) (opens in a new tab) shortly after submitting the college application. Colleges input the courses and grades into a system to recalculate applicants’ GPAs–oftentimes giving additional weight to honors, AP, and college courses–before application files are delivered to admission officers for review.

In addition, you can explore your intellectual interests and boost your GPA for college applications by taking honors and AP classes at Elite Open School, a WASC-accredited private school offering UC-approved courses (opens in a new tab).

Elite Prep offers a wide range of UC-approved for credit honors and AP courses through Elite Open School.

Contact your local Elite Prep office to speak with one of our counselors to explore which course will best fit your needs!

Contact Elite Prep to discuss how we can help you succeed on the road to college!

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