Florida Schools Change their GPA Calculations for Admissions
Think you know your GPA? Guess again! Colleges rarely use the GPA that you see on your transcript; rather, they recalculate it using criteria that are essential to their specific admissions decision-making process. Since your academic record is the #1 factor in college admissions, it's important for you to evaluate it in the same way colleges do – and to be certain that you're also “calculating” which colleges are the right ones for you!
Here’s the big change: in the past, when recalculating GPA, all of the state universities in Florida eliminated virtually all electives and focused solely on the core curricula – English, Math, Social Studies, Science, and Foreign Languages (and any AP, IB, AICE, or Dual Enrollment classes). Each grade was given a numerical value (A=4, B=3, etc); Honors, AP, IB, AICE, and Dual Enrollment classes were given additional weight (typically not the same weight as given by the high school). As a result, the vast majority of students ended up with a lower recalculated GPA than that shown on their transcript. Effective this year, there will be three different methods used by Florida’s state universities to recalculate a student’s GPA.
Here they are:
|
This Methodology… |
District GPA – It’s the weighted GPA on your transcript |
Recalculated Core GPA, as described above |
Recalculated Core + Approved Academic Electives, like journalism |
|
…is used by these schools |
FAU |
UF |
FAMU |
What does this mean? Using the District GPA gives college admissions officers much more time to scrutinize the classes students take, looking at course selection, rigor of curriculum, and grade trends. So if you think that a grade of C in an AP class will be balanced by an A in computer basics, think again.
The repercussions of this change in GPA calculation cannot be adequately, or succinctly, appreciated in a blog; thankfully, we will cover all of this and more in our webinar on Monday, September 16th at 6:30 pm. The webinar will be broadcast online and presented live in our Boca Raton office. If you would like to attend in person, contact Leslie at (561) 241-1610 or Leslie@ScoreAtTheTop.com; space is extremely limited, so act fast! Alternatively, you can register online for our webinar
