The Impacts of School-Provided GPA and Advanced Course Limits on Admissions Decisions

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advanced courses in junior and senior year is the maximum set at one school so students can engage with extracurricular activities, hobbies, and other pursuits.

This report investigates how schools that provide unweighted GPA and/or limit the number of advanced courses may impact students’ chances of admission to select higher education institutions. A brief overview of admissions processes at profiled institutions is provided to suggest how GPA and advanced course limits influence admissions decisions. In addition, see how school officials should communicate policy changes to admissions offices to avoid disadvantaging students.

Admissions processes

At comprehensive and class rank-based institutions, admissions officers assess academic performance in the context of the applicant’s school. All seven profiled institutions assess applicants’ academic achievement based on the rigor of the courses they complete and their grades in those courses . Our research identified admissions processes at profiled institutions fell into three categories: comprehensive, class-rank-based, and standardized.

School-provided GPA

GPA and advanced course limits influence admissions decisions in part of a larger context. Providing unweighted GPAs doesn’t disadvantage applicants to institutions that recalculate GPAs. But providing unweighted GPA may disadvantage applicants to institutions that prioritize GPA as an indicator of student success. When this occurs on a repeat basis, admissions officers can develop a system to rank applicants based on how previous students from the school perform.

College-level coursework

All admissions officers we surveyed note that they evaluate course rigor on a school-by-school basis, not across all schools. When it comes to recommendations for student courseload, it can vary from school to school, as you could expect it to vary between specific students.

IB courseload

Encourage students who take IB courses to pursue the full IB diploma

Earn college credit

To maximize college credit, encourage students to pursue AP coursework

Course rigor

Encourage students to take rigorous courses offered at their high school when possible

Communicating policy changes

Clearly indicate changes to grading and course policies in the school profile. Provide as much information as possible about course offerings, grading scales, and policies to admissions offices to ensure that admissions officers can make informed admissions decisions. Be sure to include what makes AP, IB, and dual-enrollment courses more advanced than honors and standard courses.