High schools typically weight the grade point average in order to reinforce and reward the choice of honors, Advanced Placement, or International Baccalaureate courses. Weighting of grades allows high schools to rank students who take college preparatory courses ahead of those who choose not to.

Colleges and universities are increasingly diversifying their criteria for admissions. More admissions officials are now focusing on the actual grades earned by students in the courses they take versus the use of weighted, cumulative grade point average and class rank.

There is little to no consistency between high schools in their weighting systems, making comparisons of reported GPAs difficult based on the numeric average alone.

Any cumulative grade point average indicated as "weighted" is recalculated using the high school's grading scale. All cumulative GPAs reported in numeric averages are converted to letter grades using the school's grading scale. Grade point averages are recalculated based on an unweighted 4.0 scale.

All grades earned for high school credit are considered.

There are many benefits related to taking rigorous courses in high school, but a few of the most important would be the following:

• Creates a higher probability of successfully graduating from college
• Improves performance on ACT and SAT tests
• Allows for the possibility of testing out of college courses (CLEP, AP, and IB)

Unweighted cumulative grade point averages are considered, along with SAT and ACT scores, for evaluation of admission to the University as well as in the awarding of academic scholarships and need-based grants. Please visit the finanical aid website for information on specific GPA policies and deadlines.