High School Grades
What is "GPA"?
Your GPA is your grade point average. Your GPA is the overall numeric average of all the grades in classes that you've taken in high school. The GPA can be used for entrance into college. Usually, though, if you are involved in athletics or extracurricular activities, the organisers will look at your grade point average (GPA) and you'll have to have a minimum. We usually say a minimum of a 2. or C average to be involved in athletic events. They may look at your grade point average (GPA), again, for entrance into college. They may look at your grade point average (GPA) for scholarships and extracurricular activities.
How do I calculate my GPA?
In order to calculate your grade point average, (GPA) you assign a numeric value to each grade that you received in every class. For an "A", you'd assign 4 points, for a "B", you'd assign 3 points, for a "C", 2 points, for a "D", 1 point, and for an "F", no points. After you've given a numeric value to all the courses that you've taken, you're just going to total them up and divide by the total number of courses you've taken. That's your grade point average (GPA)
Is it true that senior grades don't count for college?
When it comes to your senior grades, even if you have already applied, colleges still want to make sure that you are achieving at your best, so don't ever believe that grades for your high school classes, any of them, don't count. Especially when it comes to AP classes or any foreign language classes, you want to do your best because often, your last high school classes can be very similar to some of the classes that you are going to take during your first year in college.
What is a high school "transcript"?
Your high school transcript is your record of all the classes you have taken in high school. Your high school transcript allows anybody to clearly see what classes you've taken, what value or unit value was given for the course as well as your grade. Your high school transcript is something that is going to be requested throughout college as well as your whole career. You want to make sure that your high school transcript is accurate and up to date. You don't want to have things on your high school transcript that are incorrect.
How can I get a copy of my transcript?
The best place always is to go to your high school or your district office. There's two types of high school transcripts; there's official and unofficial. If you're applying to a college or a scholorship you always want to make sure that you're able to give an official. This means it's sealed. It's in an envelope and sometimes your school may stamp it on the back and will actually say this is an official or unofficial transcript. It's important if this is something that you're applying for to make sure that you ask specifically, "Should it be an official or unofficial trascript"? Now if you're out of town and you're not able to get to your high school, many schools will allow you to email them or request your high school transcript in writing. Again, you want to find out what is the specific mandates of your particular high school.
How often should I check my transcript?
The high school transcript is extremely important. Students should check their transcripts frequently. Now, this doesn't mean that you have to get an official transcript, but you should be able to request an official transcript from your high school at any point in time. This may be after school, during school, or at your own convenience. You have to ask specifically when your high school allows you to receive a transcript. It's important that you check your transcript, especially after a semester break, when you have turned in credits that you may have taken outside of campus. It's very important that you keep track of your high school transcript as well as sitting down with your counsellor to make sure that you're in line; you're taking the courses that are going to get you to your particular vocation or college of your choice. Don't wait until it's time to apply to your colleges to check your transcript. You always want to be in touch with what's on your transcript. You want to make sure it's up to date and it has all your information: your correct address, your correct student ID number. Everything that should be on your transcript should be up to date, and it is your responsibility to make sure that it's correct
What is a "class ranking"?
Class ranking is where you are with your grade point average as compared to your whole class's level. Whether you're a senior, junior, if you're a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior. So your class ranking is just specifically where you fall in your grade point average in that specific cohort or group.
What is a "valedictorian"?
With regards to high school grades, everyone in your graduating class is ranked according to their grade point average. The valedictorian of your graduating class is the person who has the highest total cumulative grade point average. The valedictorian is usually the person with the second highest overall grade point average. The valedictorian does not necessarily have to have a 4, it's usually the person with the highest overall grade point average.
