Are you looking for an easy way to understand just how your final class grades become GPA decimals? If so, then you've come to the right article. In just two simple charts, I'll show you how this conversion works for both a weighted and unweighted GPA.
Why Are Grades Converted to a 4.0 Scale?
Typically the grades you get in high school are either letters or percents, but on your transcript that number will be converted into a GPA.
The GPA is a quick, helpful way for a college admissions officers to get a sense of your skills, intelligence, and willingness to challenge yourself. And looking at one number beats having to go through each person’s transcript grade by grade, for thousands and thousands of applicants!
Colleges typically use a 4.0 GPA scale so that all GPAs are standardized. Rather than trying to compare a bunch of letter grades, percentages, or different GPA scoring scales, colleges convert all those scores to the 4.0 scale. That makes it easy to accurately compare the grades of students from all over the country and world.
For example, say one student went to a school that uses letter grades on transcripts, another went to a school that uses percentages, and a third uses the 4.0 scale. Comparing, say an A- average to a 93% average to a 3.5 GPA is much more difficult than converting the grades and percentages to the 4.0 scale and having three numbers that are easily comparable.
Going through grades one by one: probably like sorting these noodles in order of height and width.
The Unweighted GPA Conversion Chart
Most high schools will convert all your final grades into a scale ranging from 0.0 to 4.0. This unweighted GPA scale treats your grades the same, no matter whether they come from Standard, Honors, or AP/IB classes. Here’s how unweighted grades convert:
|
Letter Grade
|
Percentile
|
Standard GPA
|
|
A+
|
97-100
|
4.0
|
|
A
|
93-96
|
4.0
|
|
A-
|
90-92
|
3.7
|
|
B+
|
87-89
|
3.3
|
|
B
|
83-86
|
3.0
|
|
B-
|
80-82
|
2.7
|
|
C+
|
77-79
|
2.3
|
|
C
|
73-76
|
2.0
|
|
C-
|
70-72
|
1.7
|
|
D+
|
67-69
|
1.3
|
|
D
|
65-66
|
1.0
|
|
F
|
Below 65
|
0.0
|
But my AP apples were way harder than your Honors oranges!
The Weighted GPA Conversion Chart
Many schools also calculate a weighted GPA, ending up with a scale that ranges from 0.0 to 5.0. The weighted GPA tries to account for the fact that different level classes have different degrees of difficulty. The way this scale differentiates between harder and easier classes is by adding .5 to Honors and adding 1 to AP grades. This would mean a B in an AP class is equal to an A in a regular-level class for your GPA. Here’s how weighted grades convert:
|
Letter Grade
|
Percentile
|
Honors GPA
|
AP/IB GPA
|
|
A+
|
97-100
|
4.5
|
5.0
|
|
A
|
93-96
|
4.5
|
5.0
|
|
A-
|
90-92
|
4.2
|
4.7
|
|
B+
|
87-89
|
3.8
|
4.3
|
|
B
|
83-86
|
3.5
|
4.0
|
|
B-
|
80-82
|
3.2
|
3.7
|
|
C+
|
77-79
|
2.8
|
3.3
|
|
C
|
73-76
|
2.5
|
3.0
|
|
C-
|
70-72
|
2.2
|
2.7
|
|
D+
|
67-69
|
1.8
|
2.3
|
|
D
|
65-66
|
1.5
|
2.0
|
|
F
|
Below 65
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
We're just happy weighted GPA doesn't require actual weights.
What’s Next?
Ready to use these numbers to calculate your GPA? Check out how to calculate your unweighted GPA and your weighted GPA.
If you’re curious whether colleges look at your weighted or unweighted high school GPA, then check out our guide on weight vs. unweighted GPAs.
Worried about what your converted GPA means? We explore what’s a good GPA, what’s a bad GPA, and what colleges think.
Ready to work, work, work to get that GPA up? We've got four strategies for raising your GPA fast, and how to keep your GPA high over your whole high school career.
Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:
Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article!
Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.
Holly R.
leah kane
My son's school uses percent's and his GPA is 96 percent unweighted 104.9 weighted percent . Will they take those percent and change them to 4, 4.5,5 ect or will each school do it differently. What about Rice university? What will they do?
Anna Wulick
Hi Leah,
Colleges convert grades into GPA so that they can easily compare applicants with each other. So yes, your son's percentile grades will be converted into GPA format. Some colleges look at weighted GPAs in order to see how rigorous the student's course load was, but others look at unweighted GPAs. To find our Rice University's exact policy, your best bet is to call their admissions office and ask them directly. To see where your son falls in terms of the GPA of students they accept, you can check out our page on Rice here: http://www.prepscholar.com/sat/s/colleges/Rice-University-admission-requirements.
Hope that helps!
Anna
Amer
What about an IB diploma student?
Anna Wulick
Hi Amer,
Colleges that you apply to will be very familiar with the IB program and will have no problem interpreting your transcript or converting your IB grades into whatever scale they usually use to evaluate your application.
If you are asking for your own peace of mind, the rough scale goes something like this:
7 --> 4.5
6 --> 4
5 --> 3.5
4 --> 3
3 --> 2
2 --> 1
1 --> 0
I hope that helps!
Anna
Adhisha Chandra
How should I submit my transcript? Should it be in GPA format or it can be in IB scores?
Anna Wulick
Hi Adhisha,
Your transcript should be submitted by your school, and not by you. However they usually do it is fine.
Cheers,
Anna
Mitra
Hi Anna,
I do not think a 7 is a 4.5, I think IB is given the same weight as an AP course. If you base weightage on college credits given, on average, IB HL scores get credits even if the score is a 5/7, Since for an IB diploma, there are three HLs and three SLs ( I am assuming only standard levels here, not subsidiary levels), it stands to reason that the weightage should be at least +one for the SLs, if not +1.5 for the HLs. If you take the letter grades, it makes sense - 7 is A+,or A*, 6 is A, 5 is B, 4 is C and 3 is D, then its easier to convert. This also ties in with your weighted GPA chart.
In this article, http://www.theprospect.net/how-do-the-ap-and-ib-programs-differ-54165 there is some more information if you are interested. The IBO has been educating univs about standard level, and we will probably see weightage being given to standard level courses by many more unis in the future.
Anna Wulick
Hi Mitra,
Thanks so much for the info!
Cheers,
Anna
Kyra Hartman
If my cumulative weighted score is 85.74, what would my GPA be?
Anna Wulick
Hi Kyra,
That's not really how the conversions work. Rather than creating a cumulative score, you need to first convert each of your grades into a GPA-scale score, and then average those numbers to get your GPA.
I hope that helps!
Anna