The GPA is basically the average of grade points of a student. These grade points are calculated on the basis of marks from all the exams a person has given in the past.
These grade points of a student are useful for people when they show their resume to a job. GPA and weighted GPA is very important when it comes to taking up or getting any admission or a scholarship.
Key Takeaways
- GPA stands for Grade Point Average and is an average of all the grades a student has earned, while weighted GPA takes into account the difficulty level of the student’s classes.
- GPA is calculated on a scale of 0-4, while weighted GPA is calculated on a scale of 0-5.
- GPA measures a student’s academic performance without considering the difficulty level of the courses taken, whereas weighted GPA factors in the rigor of a student’s classes.
GPA vs Weighted GPA
GPA is basically the normal GPA which is useful when it comes to reflecting the average of all the courses that are taken by a student, and on the other hand, the weighted GPA is a specific average of a specific course of a student.
When a student enrols himself or herself on a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree, at that time, the number in GPA is crucial and plays an important role in a student’s life.
The full form of GPA is Grade Point Average. This is basically a number which indicates how high or low a student has performed altogether in all his courses taken till now.
The Weighted GPA is the weighted grade point average which holds the difficulties in all the classes which a student has taken till now in his or her life.
There is also an unweighted GPA which removes the average of all the grades a student has scored in his or her past. GPA is a scale that has a numbering from 0 to 4.0.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | GPA | Weighted GPA |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | This type of GPA the normal GPA which is the average grading of all courses combined of a student to date. | This type of GPA is the average grading of a specific course in particular of a student. |
| Grade scale | The scale numbering in this ranges from 0 to 4.0 | The scale numbering in this ranges from 0 to 5.0. |
| Function | This type of GPA is the normal average of grading that an individual gets, | There can be a rise in GPA numbering in this type of GPA when an individual takes up a difficult course. |
| Grade system | The A, B, C, D, and F grades refer to four points, three points, two points, one point, and zero points respectively. | The A, B, C, D, and E grades refer to Five points, four points, three points, two points, and zero points. |
| Characteristic | It is a general grade. | It is a specific grade. |
What is GPA?
When a student enrols himself or herself on a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree, at that time, the number in GPA is crucial and plays an important role in a student’s life.
The full form of GPA is Grade Point Average. This is basically a number which indicates how high or low a student has performed altogether in all his courses taken till now.
The scores of an individual’s GPA help to get him or her into his desired course in his or her desired college or university.
In school, when a teacher used to give a student grades based on their marks and performance, this is how GPA grading also takes place based on the performance of all the courses.
An individual’s GPA can keep fluctuating around the year, which means that it can go up and down and fluctuate based on a student’s performance.
A student’s GPA can also keep improving based on the growth and quality of performance in an individual regarding his career and courses.
What is Weighted GPA?
The Weighted GPA is the weighted grade point average which holds the difficulties in all the classes which a student has taken till now in his or her life.
There is also an unweighted GPA which removes the average of all the grades a student has scored in his or her past. GPA is a scale that has a numbering from 0 to 5.0.
The weighted GPA is basically the accurate grades of the courses and is not based on the actual difficulties of the course.
There are many universities all over the place where there are many who take admissions based on GPA and provide a GPA Level up to 4.5, which helps to improve the rate of his or her GPA numbering.
This, in short, means that when any student takes up a course that is difficult, his or her GPA will rise. This means that the greater the difficulty of a course that a person takes, the higher will be a rise in his or her weighted GPA number.
Main Differences Between GPA and Weighted GPA
- The GPA has a scale numbering that ranges from 0 to 4.0; on the other hand, the weighted GPA has a scale numbering that ranges from 0 to 5.0.
- The GPA is the normal GPA which is the average of grading of all courses combined of a student to date, and on the other hand, the weighted GPA is the GPA which is the average of grading of a specific course in particular of a student.
- The GPA is the normal average of grading that an individual gets, and on the other hand, in Weighted GPA, there can be obsessed a rise in GPA numbering when an individual takes up a difficult course.
- In a GPA grading system, The A, B, C, D, and F grades refer to four points, three points, two points, one point, and zero points, respectively, and on the other hand, in weighted GPA, there are A, B, C, D and E grades which refer to Five points, four points, three points, two points, and zero points.
- The Normal GPA is a student’s general grade; on the other hand, the weighted GPA is a grade for a specific course of a student.
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/41406287
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/019263659107553716
Last Updated : 21 June, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
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