AP courses, also known as Advanced Placement courses, have a range of benefits. These college-level classes prepare students for the rigors of higher education, as well as a chance to earn college credits. Participating in AP courses looks good on college applications since college admissions officers will see that you are willing to challenge yourself and take on more difficult classwork. But do AP courses boost your GPA?
It might not be immediately obvious how these classes affect your grade point average. That’s why we’ll talk more about AP courses and how they affect your GPA below.
How Do AP Courses Boost Your GPA?
Unlike your typical high school course, AP classes can boost your GPA, because they are graded on a different scale. (Across the country, most high schools have a GPA on a 4.0 scale, but some use 1-100 or even a 5 point scale. For clarity, this article references the 4.0 scale unless otherwise specified.)
In regular classes at most high schools, students earn a letter grade worth numerical value from 1 to 4. A 4 represents an A, a 3 represents a B, a 2 represents a C, and a 1 represents a D. Each grade you get from a class is added together as a number and then averaged to create your unweighted GPA.
| Unweighted GPA Example | |
|---|---|
| A | 4.0 |
| B | 3.0 |
| C | 2.0 |
| D | 1.0 |
If you have 21 classes in 9th-11th grade and get all A’s, your unweighted GPA would be 4.0.
If you have 21 classes in 9th-11 grade and you get 18 A’s and 3 B’s, your unweighted GPA would be 3.86. So you can clearly see how much each B impacts your unweighted GPA.
If you have 21 classes in 9th-11th grade and get 11 A’s and 10 B’s, your unweighted GPA would be 3.52.
Because Advanced Placement classes are typically graded on a weighted scale, students can receive a higher GPA. At some schools, an A in an AP course may be worth 4.33, 4.5 or even 5 points on the 4 point scale. (At some schools on a 1-100 scale, they add 3-5 percentage points to the final letter grade as their weight.) While how big the boost is varies depending on your high school, they all provide a boost over unweighted courses. Your AP classes with this weight will be added together, along with your other courses, then averaged to create a weighted GPA that is usually higher than an unweighted GPA.
Below the chart shows a weighted GPA of .5
| Weighted GPA Example | |
|---|---|
| A | 4.5 |
| B | 3.5 |
| C | 2.5 |
| D | 1.5 |
If you took 5 AP courses and got all A’s plus 16 regular classes you got A’s in, your weighted GPA would be 4.12, compared to an unweighted GPA of 4.0 in your AP courses.
If you took 5 AP courses and got all B’s plus 16 regular classes that you got A’s in, your weighted GPA would be 3.88, compared to an unweighted GPA of 3.76 in your AP courses.
You can see in this example that it’s important to consider not only the rigor of the AP courses but also what grade you are likely to obtain. While many colleges want to see you challenge yourself, there are many highly selective colleges also expect to see A’s, so choosing to take an AP that you get a B in may not be the right decision for you.
How Much Can AP Courses Boost Your GPA?
If you do well in your AP courses, it’s possible that you will have a much higher GPA that goes well over 4.0. Due to their weighted scale, AP courses offer students the chance to really boost their GPA. Additionally, AP classes can also help students maintain their 4.0 or higher GPA, even if they don’t get an A.
In rare cases, if you take all AP classes and have particularly good grades, you could end up with a 5.0 GPA during certain years of your high school career.
Do Colleges Look At Weighted GPA or Unweighted GPA More?
When you take Advanced Placement classes, your GPA will be categorized in two ways. You will have a weighted GPA, that can potentially go up to 5.0, and an unweighted GPA, that only goes up to 4.0. Students often wonder which GPA is looked at by college admissions officers.
Admissions officers will look at both your weighted and unweighted GPA when you apply to schools. An unweighted GPA, along with your College Board or ACT test scores, serves as a standard of comparison for academic performance since most students list it.
However, your weighted GPA could have a big impact as well, because your weighted GPA indicates how hard your course load is. Especially if you are applying to more prestigious schools, your weighted GPA will factor more into Admissions Officers’ decisions, because more selective schools like to see students challenging themselves with more difficult classes.
In addition, certain programs will also require a higher GPA and strong academic abilities. A weighted GPA will be considered more heavily in these situations, since this type of GPA gives a fuller picture of your academic ability and your potential in a college setting. We recommend listing your weighted and unweighted GPA on your college application.
Do the AP Exams Have Any Impact on Your GPA?
Most students who take an AP course also take the AP exam at the end of the course. Students can use AP exams to earn college credits at many colleges. But, will the AP exams have any impact on your GPA? In a word, no. Most AP scores are released in July, long after your final grades are issued, so the only factor impacting your GPA is your final grade in your AP class.
Though you might not be able to bring up your GPA with an AP exam, you can still earn college credit if you do well. So, we definitely recommend taking your AP exam. It can’t hurt, and can only help! If you are looking for support, we offer tutoring to help you prepare for AP exams, as well as helping you keep your course grade high.
Many competitive colleges will consider your AP scores in your application, as a representation of your abilities, so while it doesn’t impact your GPA, it can still matter for college admissions!
Conclusion
Do AP courses boost your GPA? Yes—especially if your school uses a weighted scale—but the real value goes beyond the numbers. By challenging yourself with rigorous coursework, you’re setting yourself up for success in college and showing admissions officers that you’re ready for the next step.
Want help choosing the right AP courses or planning your academic path? Reach out today for a free consultation with one of our expert advisors. HelloCollege can help! Reach out today for your FREE consultation with a college planning expert.
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