Calculating GPA

Soquel High School: Your high school transcript lists four GPAs: Weighted GPA, ACA 9-12 GPA, ACA 10-12 GPA, and Unweighted GPA. (Basically, our new “weighted” GPA is the same as total GPA…it’s a cumulative GPA from all four years.) The ACA GPAs are the same as our previous academic GPA, although ACA 10-12 is only 10th through 12th grades.

The Total GPA includes all final grades beginning in the ninth grade and is used for athletics, extra-curricular activities and class rank. The Academic GPA includes final semester grades after the ninth grade and excludes PE. Colleges and universities often use the academic GPA. To calculate a GPA, convert the letter grade for each course to the appropriate number (A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0), add the numbers and divide the total sum by the number of courses. A brief example for one semester follows:

Biology: B = 3, Geometry: B = 3, Spanish 2: C = 2, Global Issues: A = 4, English: A = 4, Ceramics: B = 3:  Total = 19

GPA = 19 divided by 6 (the number of classes) = 3.166 or 3.17. The official 'class rank' is based on the rank order of the Class Total GPAs, with 4.0 GPA listed first. A 3.17 GPA might be 75th in a class of 300 students. The high school GPA is unweighted which means bonus points are not added for honors or advanced placement classes. (See information on weighted GPAs below.) Students with an unweighted 4.0 grade point average (straight As) all 8 semesters of high school will be selected as valedictorians. Students who earn all As with the exception of a single B will be salutatorians. Students who have the highest overall weighted GPA will be awarded the Superintendent's Award. This award is in addition to a valedictorian or salutatorian award.

University of California/California State University: In calculating the weighted GPA for admissions, only the grades earned in 'a-g' approved courses taken in the 10th and 11th grades are used. See the UC/CSU Subject Requirements for details. Bonus points are given for honors (HN) and advanced placement (AP) classes taken in the 10th and 11th grades as well as transferable community college course work in which a grade of C or better is earned. A maximum of 8 semester honors and AP courses may be granted these extra points. Bonus points are not issued for intensive classes.

Private and Out-of-State Campuses: The specific college catalog or application will describe GPA calculations. Most college forms specifically ask if the GPA and/or class rank is unweighted or weighted.