Class Rank, Weighted and Unweighted GPA, and the "Education Race"

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It’s time to declare a moratorium on class ranking.

One of my most popular post is on the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA, and the phenomenon of class rank.  I get scads of comment on that post, and on other similar ones.

Today I received one from a distraught parents whose daughter was being “demoted” from the rank of #1 in her class because of a change in policy at the girl’s school.  I responded at length, and I decided to reprint it as a post in hopes of helping to calm other parents who obsess about class rank.

Here’s the question:

I may be a bit late to find your site, but my daughter (a senior) finds herself frustrated by a recent “mishap” in due diligence at her school. Historically, the school used unweighted grading, yet uses class rank (which also determines valedictorian). Evidently, the school decided to assign a 4.3 to A+. My daughter has several on her transcript and they are all in either core subjects or language (which is an elective at this school), all As and one A- in an AP course (of which she has several). We were sent her transcript with GPA (4.15) and rank (1). “Several parents”, seeing these values printed in the school handbook, and seeing their children’s rank drop complained to administration who then decided to “reverse” their newly published policy. If there has been a re-calculation (and she was told by her guidance counselor there has been), we have not been notified. I am furious at this convoluted “process” and lack of communication and have an appointment to speak with the principal. College apps are due, and I want the school to send her transcript/GPA/Class rank that we have in hand that was valid on Sept 2 (but apparently not now!). Is it worth it to ask them to send both? Is it worth it to ask them to calculate a weighted GPA as well (I wouldn’t even know the values! and would think that they do even if they don’t use weighted).

Also, is there a correlation between an unweighted grading system and use of class rank? In other words, could it be suggested that a school that uses unweighted grading ought to NOT rank?

Thanks in advance.


Here is my response:



GPA Explained–With Some Simple Advice

good grades text written on a black board

One of my most popular posts is dedicated to explaining the difference between an unweighted and weighted GPA. It generated a lot of discussion (and continues to do so).

I thought I would take the opportunity to provide more clarity about how a GPA is used in the college admissions process.

But an initial word of caution is in order: the generalizations below must be treated as such. Many individual readers are looking for hard and fast rules about how their grades will be treated by admissions officers. The fact is, every case is different: different colleges, different students, different years…the number of variables is enormous. So use these general rules as your guides, not as gospel.

Your transcript is your number one most important document in the admissions process. This is the proverbial “permanent record,” at least as far as colleges are concerned. The courses you have taken and the grades you have earned tell a college most of what they need to know about you as a student. More than your test scores, more than your extracurriculars, more than your community service, and more than your teacher recommendations, your transcript documents your past and is a pretty good predictor of your academic future.

The rigor of the courses you take is as important as the grades you earn. If you hope to gain entry to the most competitive colleges in the country, you have to take the hardest courses offered and do well in them. So every student should take the most difficult courses they can handle—and get the best grades possible. See this post for more information on academic rigor vs. grades.

Your academic core courses count more than your non-academic electives. The GPA recorded on your transcript takes includes your performance in gym, choir, keyboarding, health, and the like. These courses may be required for graduation, but they are not usually part of the requirements for admission. College is not a vacation resort: it is an academic experience. So you will be judged on your academic performance in the core courses: math, science, English, social studies, and foreign language. See this post for more on calculating your core GPA.

If you take honors, Advanced Placement (AP), or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, you may be given “extra credit” in your GPA to compensate for the rigor of these courses. Schools do this primarily to reward high performing students with a higher class rank (which is explained in this post). But an A is an A is an A.  If you get a B in an honors course, it is never the equivalent of an A in some other course. Don’t rationalize and try to convince yourself otherwise.

Colleges do look at grade trends, so if your transcript has some blotches on it, you always have an opportunity to make improvements. Bad grade in 9th grade life science? Do better in 10th grade chemistry. Colleges like to see students who pull themselves together and begin performing to potential. You will not be able to erase the stains, but you can make the overall picture more attractive.

So what’s the bottom line? Simple rules

  1. Take the hardest courses you can.
  2. Get good grades.
  3. Don’t rationalize poor performance.
  4. It’s never too late to get your academic act together.

Mark Montgomery
College Counselor

How to Calculate Your GPA–Letter Grades and Percentages

alumni interview questions for college admission

What does your GPA mean? What is your real GPA? What is your core GPA? How will your GPA be used in the college admissions process. This article helps you understand how your GPA may translate into percentages.

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