Do high school grades really matter? Some may quibble on this point, but college admissions officers certainly care about them. While a perfect 4.0 GPA doesn’t guarantee you a place in a top college, it certainly makes your application process smoother than having to overcome low grades.
But how do you get a 4.0 GPA? How do you keep it? What if you’re already a sophomore or junior, is it too late to try and improve your grades? We’ll answer all of these questions in this article, and explore how you can ensure your grades are what colleges are looking for.
What it Takes to Get a 4.0 GPA
We want to take a moment to explain what a 4.0 really is, since different schools use different GPA scales, 4 point, 5 point, 12 point, or even 100 point are all common across the US. Colleges, however, convert all GPAs of incoming students to a 4.0 scale.
This is done based on the letter grades you receive in a particular class, using the following conversion scale:
| Grade | C | C+ | B- | B | B+ | A- | A/A+ |
| Points | 2 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 3 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4 |
| Score | 73-76 | 77-79 | 80-82 | 83-86 | 87-89 | 90-92 | 93-100 |
The grades for each class are then added together and averaged out. To earn a perfect 4.0 then, all you have to do is earn an A or an A+ in every class you ever take in high school. Sounds easy enough, right?
We’re well aware how difficult this can be, especially depending on your particular school, or if you are taking exceptionally difficult courses. In the next section, we’ll cover how you can and should approach your coursework for your best chance to earn a 4.0 GPA. But first, a note on weighting.
What About Weighted GPAs?
Many high schools use weighted GPAs. These assign extra points, which is to say more weight, to honors or AP classes. There are several reasons for them doing this. The first is to recognize that these classes are harder than the standard classes in the school, and so a grade of A in an honors class means more than an A in a regular class.
Another is to ensure awards like valedictorian go to students who take primarily honors coursework, and to incentivize the smartest students to take harder classes. This then leads into a question we often hear, and which we will cover later; whether it is better to get a higher grade in an easier class, or a lower grade in a harder class.
Tips and Tricks to Keep Your GPA Up
The first and most important step is to begin as soon as you get to high school. The classes you take in your freshman year tend to be the easiest, but this is also the time when many students stumble during the transition to high school. Keeping your grades up during this transition puts you on a path to succeed going forward.
Next, schedule your classes strategically, if possible. You want to take as many hard classes as you are able to succeed in without overwhelming yourself. WHere this line is is different for every student, but you can get a sense of it as you go through high school. Take one advanced class in freshman year, to get a sense of what it asks for. How does the workload compare to a non-advanced class? How much more homework are you expected to do?
Some schools also limit how many AP classes you can take, and when you can take them. These policies differ by school of course, but you should figure out your own school’s policies, and plan your courses accordingly. Don’t be afraid to take a non-AP course in there as well; the UC system’s A-G requirements mandate an arts credit, and there’s nothing wrong with slipping an acting class in among AP Calc and Physics, as a bit of a break during the day.
You should also learn and build study habits early. We have a guide to studying, and recommend trying out different strategies in your freshman year, to see which work best for you. In the same way, building time management strategies now will pay dividends later, when there are many more demands upon your time. All habits take time to build, and starting these early means you have the skills you will need when the demands of your classes increase.
Finally, learn to see the big picture in your classes. A single missed homework assignment isn’t the end of the world, nor is doing less than perfect on a test. Good grades are important, but 93-100 gives you a bit of wiggle room for error. Not much perhaps, but enough that you don’t need to panic over every mistake. Learn from your errors yes, but do not obsess over them, for this leads to far too much pressure on you too early.
How to Improve Your GPA
Of course, not every student is able to buckle down and begin working seriously as soon as high school begins. Some take time to get into the swing of things, or are not as mature when they enter freshman year. Later, these students decide to buckle down, and focus on improving a GPA that doesn’t meet the standards they know they can hit. The only question is how to do this exactly.
The first, and most important step, is to determine what exactly went wrong the first time around. In order to correct a mistake, you must realize and then analyze what the mistake was, else you are left changing things at random with no system to recognize what works and what doesn’t.
Some mistakes are easy enough to spot. For example, not studying at all for tests and then receiving lower grades than you would prefer is a clear correlation. Other times it requires more self reflection. Maybe you need to go to bed slightly earlier so you’re awake enough to process the information in first period. Maybe the study methods you have currently aren’t best suited for you. Maybe you need to cut back on some extracurriculars to ensure you have time to get to all of your homework.
Gradual changes and improvements tend to stick better than sudden drastic changes. Build up good habits one at a time, and see how each makes its own small contribution to your situation. Changing everything at once can feel tempting, but often leaves you overwhelmed and prone to backsliding. It’s an old cliche, but often true, that slow and steady wins the race.
Finally, you can always ask your teachers for assistance. Many high school teachers run study sessions after school, or are willing to work with students to help them grasp elusive concepts. Teachers have their own lives and schedules, and you should be cognizant of that, but if they offer these resources, take advantage of them.
We will note that if you say you are going to attend one of these, especially if you arrange it specifically with a teacher, make sure you attend. Doing otherwise is disrespectful to your teacher’s time and effort, and wastes your own effort as well.
Do Colleges Even Care About 4.0 GPAs Anyway?
Kind of. Your academic prowess is about half of what colleges consider when making admissions decisions; this is then split again between your scores on standardized tests and your high school record. A high GPA alone does not guarantee you a spot in a top college, but a less than stellar GPA can be a significant problem.
This is because college is a lot of work, academically speaking, and so admissions officers want to ensure that the students who enroll are equipped to handle it. Admitting a student who can’t isn’t good for anybody; neither the student nor the college benefits. This is why they focus so much on your academics; the belief is that past performance in an area is the best predictor of future results.
This is why a lower grade in a harder class can be more advantageous than a higher grade in an easier one (so long as the grade isn’t too low). A B+ in an AP class is going to show that you were willing to challenge yourself with the more advanced material, and able to understand it well. If you aren’t confident in your ability to earn at least a B in a class however, you should reconsider taking it at that level.
Final Thoughts
A 4.0 GPA is a wonderful feather in your cap, and many students who get into top colleges have perfect (or nearly so) GPA. While it is not the GPA itself that will get you into a top-ranked college, it is required for your application to get the consideration it deserves, and to have you treated seriously as a candidate.
We hope this article has given you actionable advice on how to get your GPA into the range you want it, and how to keep it there. Of course, mastering the art of studying or figuring out which time management strategies work best for you can be difficult. Our academic coaching service is here to help. Just like a football coach gives players the right tools to succeed in a game, our academic coaches give you what you need to master academic challenges. Schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can assist you in getting the grades you know you’re capable of.
