Weighted GPA Calculator
Taking AP, honors, or IB classes? Your weighted GPA should reflect that extra difficulty. This calculator adds the right point boosts automatically so you see both weighted and unweighted side by side.
How Weighted GPA Works
Regular GPA treats all classes the same. Weighted GPA doesn't — and that's the whole point. AP courses get a 1.0 boost. Honors get 0.5 (at most schools). So a B in AP Chemistry (3.0 + 1.0 = 4.0) looks the same as an A in regular Chemistry. Just mark each course as regular, honors, or AP here and you'll get both your weighted and unweighted GPA.
Why It Matters for College Applications
3.8 with 8 AP classes and 3.8 with zero AP classes? Admissions officers know those aren't the same thing. Course rigor matters. A lot. Your weighted GPA shows you pushed yourself. Some students walk out of high school with a 4.3 or 4.5 — that only happens when you load up on advanced courses and still pull strong grades.
Frequently Asked Questions
Basically, harder classes get bonus points. A in a regular class? 4.0. A in AP? 5.0. A in honors? Usually 4.5. It's the school's way of giving you credit for taking on tougher courses.
Unweighted maxes out at 4.0 no matter what. Weighted can go higher — AP courses add 1.0 (so an A = 5.0) and honors usually add 0.5 (A = 4.5). Colleges look at both numbers, so it's worth knowing where you stand on each.
Here's the thing — most colleges recalculate your GPA with their own formula anyway. But they absolutely look at course rigor. Taking 8 AP classes matters even if your GPA number ends up similar to someone who took zero.