What is a Grade Point Average (GPA)?
Your Grade Point Average (GPA) is a number between 0.0 and 4.0 that reflects your high school academic performance. It takes the letters or percentages that typically represent your grades and converts them to numbers, then finds the average of those numbers to calculate your GPA.
Note: If you are a student and struggling with how to get better grades, you can get the best ideas from our experts.
Your GPA is a tally of your academic achievements that serves as the first point of comparison between you and other applicants.
You can speak with one of Crimson's Academic Advisors to get a more in-depth understanding of what your GPA means and how your grades stack up for top US universities. They can even assist you:
What is a High School Transcript?
Your high school transcript is a record of all the classes you took in high school (beginning in 9th grade), the final grades (weighted or unweighted), and the credits you earned for each one. Most transcripts also include standardised test scores from AP Exams, the SAT/ACT, or other exams, as well as your cumulative GPA and any academic honours you've received.
In essence, your official transcript provides a snapshot of your academic performance throughout high school, allowing admissions officers to assess your academic standing.
While your high school transcript shows how well you performed academically throughout high school, it can also highlight a number of other important characteristics:
Ambition: Choosing more difficult classes demonstrates academic tenacity and demonstrates that you are prepared to meet the demands of college-level courses.
Exploration: The elective courses you choose can help demonstrate your interest and commitment to a specific area of study, such as STEM or social sciences.
Advancement: Because your transcript contains all of your grades from the previous four years, significant improvement over time indicates that you've grown and become a better student.
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