<p>This is a very na</p>
<p>Both, actually…</p>
<p>My school is 0-4 (4.0 being the highest possible despite honors), but I know some that are 0-5, 0-12, and some on the 100 point scale. Then there are the ones on a 0-4 scale that have weighting so you can end up with a 5.0…</p>
<p>Wow! No wonder I am confused. Thanks. …</p>
<p>In my experience it’s typically a 0-4… However; that is far from the only scale…
At my current High School it is a 12 point scale (0-12) where a 10.6 is equivalent to a 3.9 on a 4 point scale. It’s all very complicated, confusing, and frustrating!</p>
<p>As you’ve learned, there is no set system. The most common system is:</p>
<p>A=4
B=3
C=2
D=1</p>
<p>It is also common for some classes to be weighted because of their difficulty. The weighting varies greatly, but a very common one is:</p>
<p>A=5
B=4
C=3
D=2</p>
<p>This is why a top student in a school with a number of AP courses can easily have a 4.7 or so on a 4 point scale!!</p>
<p>Even this relatively common and simple scale can still be misleading, though. For instance, the most common means of determining letter grades by percentage correct is this:</p>
<p>A = 90% and above
B = 80% to 80%
C = 70% to 79%
D = 60% to 69%</p>
<p>Contrast this with the high school I attended where:</p>
<p>A = 95% and above
B = 88% to 94%
C = 81% to 87%
D= 75% to 80%</p>
<p>In addition, pluses and minuses were affected the grades at my high school so that:</p>
<p>A+ = 4
A = 4
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B = 3
B- = 2.7
C+ = 2.3
C = 2
C- = 1.7
D+ = 1.3
D = 1
D- = .7</p>
<p>Since there were no weighted classes in my high school, the only way to get a 4.0 average was to get a 97% or better in every class, every semester, from the 8th through the 12th grades. To the best of my knowledge, no one ever achieved that.</p>
<p>There are many other confusing aspects you probably don’t want to know ;-).</p>
<p>Thank you, Tarhunt and ALL. I guess what confuses me the most is how then can colleges tell the difference, when there are so many different ways of GPA presentations, particularly if the applicant’s school does not provide class rank. Am I missing something?</p>
<p>Even schools that do not provide class rank frequently provide a schedule that shows how the student compares to others in their class in terms of GPA and test scores. Schools will also identify top 10% or top 5% if it appears to help the student. A lot of colleges will also recalulate a GPA using their own critieria, dropping courses they do not value and weighting using their own criteria. Between grades, SAT I/ACT. SAT II and AP’s, and some help from the HS to interpret the grades colleges have a lot of data to work with.</p>
<p>Bravo! Curious14. Now it is very clear. Many Thanks!</p>