Decoding GPA: Insights for College Admissions with Jess Chermak

College and Career Clarity

In this episode, Lisa and Jess discuss:

• Looking at school profiles can help you and your student better understand how their school uses GPA.
• Understanding how colleges recalculate GPAs and how your student can use GPA calculators to better grasp their standing.
• Identifying the five core classes that most colleges use to generate the recalculated GPA used in admissions and what grades won’t matter on the transcript.
• Why grade inflation is a huge problem, including the inability of colleges to interpret a transcript accurately.

Key Takeaways:

• GPA is not standardized across high schools, so colleges recalculate it. They typically only use core academic classes from 9-11 grade.
• Weighted GPAs are not very meaningful since every school calculates them differently. Focus on unweighted core GPA. Grade inflation is also a major issue, making GPAs less reliable indicators of college readiness.
• Colleges and universities do not typically see senior-year grades because of the timing of application deadlines.
• While a weighted GPA or inflated grade might feel good to your teen or you, it does not help with college applications or add meaning to transcripts.

“A GPA is a grade point average. When you finish sophomore year with a 3.1, you're not actually going to be able to increase that GPA significantly by the end of junior year. That should not deter you from trying really hard to increase your GPA.” – Jess Chermak
About Jess Chermak: Jessica Chermak is an Independent Educational Consultant with over a decade of experience in academia and helping students navigate the college admissions process. She graduated from Chapman University with a BA in Psychology, and was awarded the SMART Scholarship to attend the University of Denver for an MA in Forensic Psychology. She is a Certified Educational Planner, a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Professional Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, and has served on the board of the College Consultants of Colorado.
Episode References:
Arizona State University GPA Calculator: registrar.asu.edu/grades-and-records/gpa-calculator
#042 Will grade inflation hurt your teen? flourishcoachingco.com/podcast/042-will-grade-inflation-hurt-your-teen/
#110 How to Know if College is Still Worth It flourishcoachingco.com/podcast/110-how-to-know-if-college-is-still-worth-it/
University of California Required Courses and Grades admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/freshman-requirements/subject-requirement-a-g.html
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Connect with Jess:
Website: virtualcollegecounselors.com/
Email: [e-mail]
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YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UC9IMV1yWMBhLBhJ68zwaNlA

Connect with Lisa:
Website: https://www.flourishcoachingco.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flourishcoachingco
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