Starting in the 2026-27 school year, GA will change how weighted grade point averages (GPAs) are calculated for incoming Upper School (US) students and begin presenting both weighted and unweighted GPAs on student transcripts.
A GPA is a quantitative measure of academic success and rigor, allowing colleges to quickly look at and evaluate students’ grades and coursework in the context of their high school. Colleges utilize GPAs differently: some look primarily at weighted GPAs, others prefer unweighted, and many recalculate GPAs using their own scale. GA’s new policies aim to make it easier for colleges to assess students’ academic performance.
An unweighted GPA is calculated without any grade boosts for honors or Advanced Placement (AP) classes, while a weighted GPA gives additional value to grades earned in harder courses to represent the difficulty of a student’s course load.
Previously, GA added a 1.0 grade boost for honors or AP courses when calculating weighted GPA. Beginning with the Class of 2030, however, higher-level courses will receive only a 0.5 boost instead.
“[The College Counseling and US] did a lot of research both locally and nationally, and found that very few schools weight their rigor by a full grade point,” Head of College Counseling Ms. Jodi Robinson said. “There was thoughtful discussion: is an AP class actually a full point more difficult than a college prep class or an accelerated class here at GA? And the faculty believe, yes, [AP and honors courses] are more rigorous, but perhaps not to the extent of a full point difference.”
By calculating GPAs in ways that more accurately reflect course difficulty, GA hopes not only to provide colleges with more accurate information, but also to encourage students to choose classes based on their interests and abilities rather than for a potential GPA boost.
“[Faculty and advisors] really want students to pick courses and rigor according to what is appropriate, and how their teachers and families advise them, versus just saying, ‘I need this for my GPA,’” Ms. Robinson said.
GA will also begin reporting both weighted and unweighted GPAs on student transcripts, as opposed to just the weighted GPA. This new policy was implemented to increase transparency with both colleges and students.
“In the past 10 years, we have used a weighted GPA only on the transcript. Now and moving forward, [the registrar] will calculate and add an unweighted GPA,” Ms. Robinson said. “Providing both the weighted and the unweighted [GPA] may be helpful to students and colleges alike, with additional rigor represented in the weighted GPA.”
The way unweighted GPA is calculated focuses on a student’s academic performance independent of course rigor. Providing both weighted and unweighted GPAs on transcripts makes it easier for colleges to evaluate students from multiple angles.
“The sheer difference between honors versus accelerated or regular classes is removed in [unweighted GPAs], and it’s good to have the weighted GPA for that,” Gwen Trainer ‘27 said. “But I feel like it’s better to be able to see [the unweighted GPA] than not see it. As much as you might not be happy with the number, I think it’s still useful.”
Together, these changes reflect GA’s broader effort to help colleges better assess students’ academic grades and workload, while emphasizing the importance of balance and choosing courses that feel right for students.
“I think the philosophy of GA has always been to help students navigate their individual academic journey, such that they stretch and challenge themselves, but don’t think that they have to take a course for the GPA bump,” Ms. Robinson said. “We hope to lessen some of the focus on getting the highest GPA and continue to focus on being more involved in the learning.”