GPA & Academic Guides

Understanding Academic Grading Systems

Your Grade Point Average (GPA) is a standardized metric designed to evaluate academic performance across high schools, undergraduate universities, and professional graduate programs. However, because institutions implement different grading scales—ranging from standard unweighted 4.0 scales to 4.33, 4.5, and 5.0 weighted scales—understanding the underlying mathematics is essential.

High School vs. University GPA Rules

In high school, weighted GPAs compensate for course difficulty. Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses award a 1.0 point boost (turning an 'A' into a 5.0), while Honors courses award a 0.5 point boost. In college, however, grades are rarely weighted by difficulty; instead, they are weighted by credit hours (Carnegie Units).

Graduate Admissions Recalculations

Specialized graduate applications recalculate your GPA using custom rules:

• LSAC (Law School): Recalculates all undergraduate transcripts onto a 4.33 scale, counting A+ grades as 4.33 and averaging all retaken courses without grade forgiveness.
• AMCAS (Medical School): Converts all grades to a 4.0 scale and splits your GPA into BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math) vs. All Other (AO) courses.