Calculating your real grade point average (GPA) is something every student should do as part of the college admissions process. Not every college admissions office does it the way we explain below. But, this is a good starting point to see how colleges adjust reported GPA in order to compare students’ grades during the college application review process.
What is a real GPA?
Calculating your real GPA can be tough. Everyone knows the importance of a high school student’s grade point average or GPA. It’s the little number that labels us. It signifies whether we are a geek or slackers, or somewhere in between. The GPA is usually either a point of great pride or great shame. Those students who are proud of their GPA practically have it tattooed on their foreheads, while others skulk about in fear that someone might discover their secret.
In college admission, it serves as a critical litmus test: how does this student perform in the classroom, and will he or she succeed at this college?
No matter how you cut it, the GPA is a source of anxiety and tension for just about every high schooler.
But let’s step back for a minute. Your GPA is not a measure of your worth as a human being. It is not even a measure of your intelligence. Rather, it is the gauge of a young person’s ability to play the game of school. Some tremendously intelligent students completely blow off school (I have several clients of this variety), while some students with ‘grit’ are able, through sheer doggedness and determination, to achieve relatively high GPAs (there are fewer of these, I find).
How Do I Calculate My Real GPA for College?
Calculating one’s GPA is a fairly straightforward process. Except for the fact that many high schools report “weighted” and “unweighted” grade point averages. In a previous post, I detail the differences between a weighted and unweighted GPA. Basically, a weighted GPA takes into account the difficulty of the courses a student is taking, and those who take harder courses such as honors and AP are rewarded with extra “brownie points” in their GPA. Usually, colleges strip these brownie points from an applicant’s GPA in order to fairly compare one student against another.
So, your Real GPA is your GPA in your core classes.
What is your core GPA?
Therefore, to calculate a student’s core GPA, we have to remove the fluff and have to calculate the GPA based solely on the five academic solids that constitute a high school student’s performance:
- Math
- English or Language Arts
- Social Studies/History
- Science
- Foreign Language
Non-core classes won’t count toward your real GPA
But merely stripping away the brownie points is not enough to uncover your real GPA, because in today’s comprehensive high schools, we give grades for just about every class a student takes, including:
- Physical education and sports training
- Fine arts and performing groups (including theater and all sorts of music)
- Health classes, including sexual education
- Student aide or school helper
These courses help pad a high school student’s schedule. But they do not constitute the academic core of high school. Grades in these courses do provide a measure of success. But these grades are not counted as a measure of a student’s academic abilities. The only grades that really count are those in your core GPA.
How do you calculate your core GPA?
Now with that out of the way, let’s look at the nuts and bolts of the GPA calculation for students who have letter grades. For each grade in an academic course, assign the following number values to each grade. Then simply divide the sum of these numbers by the number of courses (a simple average). This will be how we calculate your “Real” GPA.
A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B = 3.0
B- = 2.7
C+ = 2.3
C = 2.0
C- = 1.7
D+ = 1.3
D = 1.0
F = 0
So, to give an example, let’s say that Stan the Student has a B- in Math, a B+ in English, a C+ in social studies, an A in Spanish, and a B in science, we add the following values: 2.7 + 3.3 + 2.3 + 4.0 + 3.0, for a total of 15.3. Divide by 5 courses, and the GPA is 3.06.
That’s how you calculate your real GPA!
Your Core GPA is Your Real GPA
The core GPA is your “real” GPA: this is the measure of your academic performance in high school. (Again, it’s not a measure of self-worth.) Unless students come to me with a transcript with nothing but grades of A, most students are disappointed to see their 3.5 cumulative, weighted GPA fall to 3.0 or lower. Those gym classes and band classes are not only fun, but they artificially prop up one’s GPA.
And colleges know it. So those with relatively selective admissions processes will strip the fluff right out of the GPA in order to get down to brass tacks: how well does this particular student perform in academic work?
So, while I hate to be the bearer of bad news, I encourage students from middle school onward to be aware of their “real” GPA as they go through school and to not be blinded by the number on their year-end transcript. They need to be aware that some courses, whether required (health, gym) or not (jazz band, sports conditioning) may artificially inflate their cumulative GPA.
The lesson: don’t let yourself be deluded by the numbers on the page. College admissions officers, who must compare one student against another in deciding whom to admit, will strip your GPA of all non-academic fluff. Don’t wait until the fall of your senior year to come to the realization that your GPA may be artificially inflated.
Does your student need help with the college admissions process?
The team at Great College Advice has years of experience working with thousands of students as they navigate the college admissions process. We can help you prepare, select, and apply to colleges to give you the best chance of being accepted to your top choices. Of course we can help with demonstrating interest, but we will also help you with every other aspect of this process. Want to learn more? Please contact us and we’ll set up a no-cost, no-obligation meeting so we can learn more about you and discuss how we can help make the college admissions process more successful and less stressful.
Since 2007, the expert team of college admissions consultants at Great College Advice has provided comprehensive guidance to thousands of students from across the United States and over 45 countries across the world. Great College Advice has offices in Colorado, New Jersey, Chicago, North Carolina and Massachusetts.
In addition to our one-on-one counseling, Great College Advice extends its support through one of the most active and resource-rich Facebook Groups for college-bound students and their families: College Admissions Experts. With nearly 100,000 members—students, parents, and experienced counselors—this vibrant forum offers peer support and expert advice like no other.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in July 2023 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
