i hate school

Hey Roger,
Do you know if UCs look at teachers and other students who have had that teacher before?

Roger: Hmm, I’ve never considered that. I’m not even sure if the name of your instructor shows up on your transcript?

Do you know how the UC system looks at International Baccalaureate courses? are they considered "honor"?

Roger: I think IB Higher Level courses are counted as honors courses.

When UCLA shows the fully weighted GPA on their website are there non A-G courses on there or are there only A-G for the fully weighted not UC GPA?

link: http://www.admission.ucla.edu/Prospect/Adm_fr/Frosh_Prof18.htm

Roger: I have no idea, but I’d guess it’s only A-G.

kk

thank you for this, you have saved me a lot of trouble and stress haha

Roger: Glad to help!

Also my unweighted GPA is 4.0.

Hi Roger,

My weighted capped UC GPA is 4.33 and my SAT is 1380 (96th National Percentile). Which UC schools I can target?

Thank you.

Roger: I don’t actually know anything about UC admissions, other than having applied once myself. Sorry!

Hey Roger, Do I count each semester separately and then average out my GPA over 4 semesters or do I put my grades in all at once and then calculate my GPA?

Roger: I think you may have repeated yourself? I replied to your question below.

Hi Roger,

Do i caculate my gpa by putting all my courses from the last 4 semesters at once, or do I calculate semster by semester.
i.e
3 A
2 B
5 Honors levels

or

6 A
1 4B
6 Honors levels

Roger: It depends on whether you want to calculate your overall GPA or your semester GPA.

Hi Roger,

I have courses that are in the A-G category, but are 5.0 credits instead of 10 like my other classes. How do I calculate those?

Roger: I don’t think the UC GPA cares about credit values assigned by your high school.

Hey Roger,
For 10th grade I went to a one term based school where all my grades are worth 10 units. Now I go to a semester based school where each grade is worth 5 points but I would have 2 grades for each course. How would my GPA be calculated?
Thank you!

Roger: I suppose you could just count each of your 1-term grades twice, right?

Hi,
My son took AP seminar and AP world history towards the Capstone in 10th grade our of state.
He was planning to continue with Capstone but we ended up moving to CA right at the beginning of junior year. The school he started at didn’t have any AP courses at at. He started at another new school senior year and was only able to get into one AP class (Capstone not offered), but again it’s his senior year. I know he will list his “in process” classes but he will only have 4 honors credits for 10th 11th. Can you explain how admissions will view his lack of honors? Or even more specifically having them for 10th but not 11th. I realize that not everyone takes AP but obviously most kids take a lot, often more that can even be counted as honors.

Roger: I don’t actually know much about the admissions process. I think the fact that there were no AP courses available to take is supposedly taken into consideration, because admissions knows which school(s) you attended. On the other hand, I think many UC applicants have AP courses available to them. So, I’m not convinced that admissions just accepts course unavailability as an excuse.

So if I took 2 semesters of a non a-g course, my junior year, it doesnt count for my UC GPA? Could someone calculate my gpa:

15 A’s
6 B’s
1 C
8 honors courses
and 2 more A’s but it is non a-g.

Roger: Yep, the UC GPA only counts “a-g” courses.

Do you know how pass/fail grades come into play? Are they just not considered in the Weighted GPA?

Roger: I think pass/fail grades are not counted in the UC GPA.

Hi Roger,

My son took 8 weighted courses in high school , 4 transferable CC courses. All "A" My question :Weighted GPA will be capped in UC? Only 4 weighted courses will be calculated? What about private colleges?

Roger: The “weighted and capped” GPA used by UC schools counts a maximum of 8 semesters of honors points (so, 4 year-long courses). I don’t know anything about other schools.

ROGERYUNGASFGHY

Hi,

Just to clarify, the community college courses were extra, not needed to fulfill any A-G requirement. Thanks

Roger: Got it. Thanks for clarifying!

Is there a cap on community college points? I have under 8 semesters of Honors/AP high school classes but an additional 6 community college classes, so I am trying to understand how to figure out my gpa. Thanks

Roger: There’s no cap that I’m aware of.

Help! I have had 3 people try to calculate the following GPA (we are in Colorado). All have come up with different calculations. What is this GPA? And since this is out of state for CA schools, is there anything missing that is required A-G?

Grade 10 Term 1
*Pre-IB BIO 1 WT B
*Pre-IB SPANISH 2 WT A
*Pre-IB LA 10 WT B
POTTERY 1 A
PRECALCULUS B

Grade 10 Term 2
*Pre-IB BIO 1 WT B
*Pre-IB SPANISH 2 WT B
*Pre-IB LA 10 WT C
CATERING 1 A
PRECALCULUS C
WORLD HISTORY C

Grade 11 Term 1
*AP ENG LANG COMP WT B
*Pre-IB SPAN 3 WT C
*IB CHEM 1 WT C
WORLD HISTORY A
COLL ALG/COLL TRIG B
AUTO SHOP SERV A
TECH MATH A

Grade 11 Term 2
*AP ENG LANG COMP WT A
*IB CHEM 1 WT C
SPANISH 3 A
US HISTORY A
COLL ALG/COLL TRIG B
AUTO COLL 1 A
TECH WRITING A

Roger: I suppose the discrepancies are probably about which courses do and don’t count toward the GPA. It sounds like all of your electives do, but you’d have to look them up to be sure. Also, I don’t remember the A-G requirements, but at a glance, I don’t see anything missing. Typical high school coursework usually fulfills the requirements with no problem.

Hey Roger do you have any tips on how to get better grades I am trying to get a good GPA

Roger: If your grade is split into categories, it’s usually most effective to focus on whichever category you have the lowest average in.

Hello Roger,

My unweighted GPA is a 3.5, and my weighted GPA is a 4.05. My weighted and capped GPA is a 3.86, and my SAT score is a 1490. What would you say my chances of getting into San Diego or Irvine are?

Roger: I have no idea, but you sound like a pretty good candidate to me.

Hi roger,
Does A- count as an A.
Thanks
John

Roger: It does in this context (see the 2nd point in the rules).

Do UC schools consider your weighted GPA or weighted and capped GPA for freshman admission? Or do they take into account both?

Roger: I think admissions are based on your entire transcript, not your GPA.

Hi Roger,
So I took a fine arts course in my freshman year and then nothing after that. Would I include that course in my GPA calculation because it was my only "F" category class, or do I not include it because it was taken in my freshman year?

Roger: If you took it during your freshman year, it doesn’t count toward your UC GPA, even if it does satisfy one of your A-G requirements.

My fully weighted gpa is a 4.54 and unweighted is 3.92. My SAT score is only 1380. How are my chances for UCLA?

Roger: I’m not sure. I don’t know anything about UCLA. But good luck!

Never mind. I got it!

Hi Roger. Do I put in all my grades first and then count up how many of them were honors? Don't I have to designate which grades were honors?

Roger: That’s right. It doesn’t matter which ones were honors courses, as long as you score a C or better in them.

Hi Roger. Just to clarify, does a course taken over two semesters count as two separate grades. For example, I take the same honors class for two consecutive semesters and receive an A both times, so this would count as TWO honors grades right?

Roger: Yep, exactly.

Hi Roger, is this calculator only for the a-g courses?

Also, I have a class that is a research class where we pretty much just do a research project to submit it at our state science fair, and at our school it is considered a science elective with lab. Would this be an extra course for UCs? Because I can't figure out where it would fit in a category for science.

Thanks!

Roger: Good question! Yes, only A-G courses should count toward the GPA (I went ahead and added this to the calculator), and that definitely sounds like an A-G course. You can get a more definite answer using hs-articulation.ucop.edu/agcourselist.

Hi Roger. Thanks for the tool! I have 3.83 Unweighted and 4.5 Weighted&Cap GPA, a 1490 SAT and a bunch of international level extracurriculars. Would that make me somewhat competitive for UCLA and UC Berkerly?

Roger: I have no idea, but good luck!

Hi Roger. I have a weighted gpa of 3.90 and unweighted of 3.36. But, I have my extracurriculars and sat (1500) to back me up. Is it possible to get into boston university?

Roger: I don’t know anything about Boston University, but good luck!

Hi, I am going to be a senior next year and I planned on taking 4 AP classes and 2 regular (non-weighted) classes. Last year, I had a weighted gpa of 4.760, I’m ahead by 20 units, and I’ve kept straight A’s throughout my high school career. However, I'm concerned that by taking non-honors and non-AP courses this in turn actually lowers my weighted GPA. Is this true?
So, would it benefit me next year if I dropped my two regular classes and just kept my four AP classes?
Does it look better to have four AP classes with a higher weighted GPA in comparison to four AP classes and two regular classes with a lower weighted GPA? I don’t need the extra units and I'd like your opinion on which would look better to UC’s/Cal states. Thank you for your help and any information you can provide.

Roger: Yep, it’s true. Nope, dropping classes won’t benefit you. Check out my answers to similar questions below.

Hi Roger,

Doesn't it seem weird my weighted/capped gpa goes down if i add more A's? i went from 12 As, 2 Bs and 8 honors to 18 As, 2 Bs, and 8 honors. Since it goes down even though I maintain straight As, will UC Berkeley view this negatively?

Roger: Check out my response to “brandy” below.

Good morning, Roger!
Calculating my daughters CSU GPA and find it so counterintuitive that they cap the weighted GPA...it actually punishes the child who took more A-G classes and got more A's...right? or am I confused? The more A's I add in and divide by, the lower her capped GPA gets due to the 8 staying constant in the equation. There must be an ideal number of courses to max out the index if your child is a straight A student. Please tell me if I'm totally wrong, or on to something...thanks!

Roger: Yep, you’re right. It’s just an unavoidable quirk in the way the capped GPA is defined. The ideal number of courses is 8 semesters, which is far less than any student actually takes. I think the purpose of the cap is not to punish students that take more classes, but to reduce variation between students at the upper limits. Admissions are supposedly based on a student’s entire transcript, and the GPA only represents a statistical summary of that. Does that make sense?

Are community college classes taken by high school students automatically receive the honors point, or are these classes included in the ‘maximum’ number of honors points a student can be awarded for a year?

For example,

if a 11th grade student took 4 year long a-g honors classes in a semester system school, which would ‘cap’ them out, and the student also took 2 community college classes, would the student get honors points for the cc classes, or not because the student has ‘capped’ out?

Thank you for your help!

Roger: I think community college courses are included in the cap, because I haven’t seen any guidance to the contrary.

Hey Roger,

How would the UCs (specifically UCB or UCLA) view a D both semesters in AP calc BC? I received a 4 on the AP exam associated with that class, if that counts as any consolation. Those are the only Ds on my transcript.

Roger: I’m not sure, but I’ve never heard of anybody getting into UC Berkeley or UCLA that had a D on their high school transcript.

If you take a course at community college senior year (but end the class before application) does that count?

Roger: I suppose so.

Hey Roger,
do UC and Cal state schools always weight your gpa when considering for eligibility?

Roger: My understanding is that admissions evaluates your transcript holistically and that the GPA is only used as a statistic.

is a 3.71 weighted capped gpa way to low to get into any UC as a chicano studies major...student also took three chicanos studies classes that are uc tranferable at a community college( 9 semester units with gpa of an 4 ) Or don't waste my money they wont even read my appplication?

Roger: A 3.71 sounds pretty good to me.

Hi Roger,
I know you said it may work a little differently for community college/university courses...since community colleges usually run on quarter systems how would that work towards honors points?...each semester is 1 point; I would assume a quarter is 0.5, but UC's official website makes it seem as if ANY community college class regardless of the time period (quarter, trimester, semester) is worth 1 point. "One college course = one grade = one honors point." http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/gpa-requirement/index.html ,,,,,,,,,so yaaa im just a little confused about what "course" exactly is,, for example students at a community college don't take biology for 4 quarters then count it as 1 "course" .... they take 1 quarter and boom, done... ;-;

Roger: Yep, I think that website’s interpretation is correct. The distinction between quarters and semesters only matters for high school courses. If you take community college courses while you’re in high school, you should count those as 1 course per grade.

Hi, So I read on the UC Page that a Community college class that’s transferable equates to a 1 year worth of the course in A through G so, does it mean it counts as two semesters since all my other test long courses are split into 2 semesters

Roger: So, I think the rules for community college courses might be different depending on whether you’re trying to calculate your high school UC GPA (this calculator) or whether you’re trying to get transfer credit (to satisfy course requirements or to contribute to your total number of units). In the former case, I think the course counts for as many quarters/semesters as the number of letter grades you received for the course, although I haven’t found very clear guidance around this case.

Hi Roger, I was looking to apply to Cal and would like to know if the major matters for acceptance in L
&s

Roger: When I applied, L&S applicants weren’t even allowed to pick a major on the application. Everyone just declared their major after starting school.

are courses weighted differently when calculating the UC GPA?

like if i took a course that's 0.5 credits and another that's 5 credits and received As in both are they weighted differently.

Roger: This calculator is for UC applicants, not current students. I think all courses are weighted equally.

Hi Roger,

Does JROTC count towards GPA? Do I have to
take it out when I calculate GPA?

Thanks

Roger: I have no idea. Sorry.

does the csu system use the same gpa?

Roger: I think so.

I have a weighted GPA of 4.13 and 1530 on SAT? What are my chance of get admitted to comp sciences in any UC like UCSB, UC Irvine or UCLA

Roger: Pretty good, I think.

Hi Roger,
Does a community college course count as an honors class? Mine's Statistics, and I'll be taking the AP exam for that next spring.

Roger: Transferrable community college courses count as honors courses. Check out the FAQ below the calculator!

For a high school on the trimester schedule do they get 8 opportunities for an extra AP point or is it 12? These students take 5 classes per trimester x 6 trimesters total including both 10th and 11th grade (30 classes total). If there are 12 opportunities for an extra point then the maximum weighted UC GPA is 4.40. I’ve seen references to the maximum weighted UC GPA being 4.30. Just wanted to check because our AP classes are 3 trimesters long compared to other classes being 2 trimesters long.

Roger: I think the 8 semester cap is equivalent to a 12 trimester cap for schools that use trimesters.

My daughter took 2 years of theatre. Do both years count in the UC GPA, or only one?

Roger: I think both years count.