It only matters in the context of the high school. It’s not the 5.0, it’s where a 5.0 falls in the graduating class.

Anonymous wrote:And if the advanced courses are serious ones like AP Calc BC and beyond, and AP Phys C, AP Spanish Lit, etc... does it confer a distinct college admissions advantage?

Weighted GPA only matters in the context of your HS. You can't compare weighted GPA's between districts, because every district is different. For example in MCPS PE is a graduation requirement, and there is no weighted option. That combined with the fact that the highest weight in in any single course is +1 , means that no one has a 5.0. On the other hand, I have relatives in Texas whose kids take classes that the school weights at + 2, or +3, so a 5.0 would mean that kid didn't have a lot of rigor.

If your weighted GPA is at the top of the range for your particular school, and your kid took the highest level of rigor then that will serve them well.

Anonymous wrote:In MCPS this is only possible if you figure out a way to fulfill the PE requirement with a weighted class- not sure if there’s a DE class for this? Some people do wait until senior year to take gym since most colleges are looking at your end of junior year GPA. Seems pretty ridiculous though.

+1 PE and health are required and unweighted so impossible to get a 5.0. But yes, as PP said, if they wait til senior year to do it, maybe their junior year GPA could be a 5.0.

This link should work:

https://abcnews.go.com/living/story/high-school-valedictorian-807-gpa-overcomes-challenges-including/?id=98941511

Entirely depends on the school. For example, a 5.0 won’t happen in FCPS, and an 8.07 won’t happen in MCPS:

https://abcnews.go.com/living/story/high-school-valedictorian-807-gpa-overcomes-challenges-including/

Any college or university worth attending will standardize applicant grades to create equivalency across schools.

OP, to answer your question more directly - no, a weighted 5.00 GPA will not confer a distinct advantage of its own during the admissions process.

In MCPS this is only possible if you figure out a way to fulfill the PE requirement with a weighted class- not sure if there’s a DE class for this? Some people do wait until senior year to take gym since most colleges are looking at your end of junior year GPA. Seems pretty ridiculous though.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I don't know. I'm looking at the report right now and it says 5.0 wgpa. 4.0 gpa. This is MCPS.

Could be near the very top, could be around top10%. Doubt it is below the top 10% from prior mcps years
Even the very top GPA is no guarantee, but top gpa in top classes is a good place to be and increases the chances at T15s of course

There’s a district in a 6.0 scale, so why not?

Depends on the high school's weighting system. Most students cannot have a 5.0 weighted GPA if only APs/DE courses are weighted because there will be several unweighted courses on the transcript. Some high schools weight honors as well, though there typically are required high school courses (such as PE) that are not available at an honors level.

There are virginia schools that use a scale that gives 5.3 for A+ in AP classes, 5.0 for A, etc.
4.5 is for A in honors, 4.8 for A+

9/10th can be almost all honors, some AP.
11/12 is all honors/AP for about 1/3 of the entire school. The average grade is an A- or A in classes, some classes give half the kids A+. It adds up fast.
There are three schools in our region of VA that do this. 4.2 weighted is Below the Median at least one of these. Many have over 5.0.

The scales and weights are all over the place now.

OP here. I don't know. I'm looking at the report right now and it says 5.0 wgpa. 4.0 gpa. This is MCPS.

Can't be 5.0; you have to take Freshman/Sophomore classes that are not AP or DE.

And if the advanced courses are serious ones like AP Calc BC and beyond, and AP Phys C, AP Spanish Lit, etc... does it confer a distinct college admissions advantage?