Calculate GPA with honors and AP weighting.
A weighted GPA adds a bonus for advanced coursework — conventionally 0.5 for honors and 1.0 for AP or IB — on top of the unweighted grade point. Both figures are calculated here from the same underlying grades so the effect of weighting is visible as a single number. The gain is diluted across your whole schedule: four advanced courses out of seven adds three bonus points spread over seven courses, or about 0.43. Reporting both matters because they answer different questions. Universities frequently recalculate GPAs on their own scale, so a weighted figure above 4.0 must always be stated with the scale it came from.
Unweighted GPA
Unweighted = total grade points / total courses
Weighted GPA
Weighted = (total grade points + 0.5 x honors courses + 1.0 x AP courses) / total courses
An illustrative calculation only. GPA weighting schemes are set by individual schools and districts and vary widely, and universities frequently recalculate GPAs on their own scale. Confirm your school's actual weighting policy and reporting conventions with your counsellor or registrar.
Whatever the application asks for, stated with the scale. If it asks for weighted, give the weighted figure and say it is on a weighted scale — a 4.3 with no scale stated is meaningless. Many universities recalculate from your transcript regardless of what you report.
Because they are set by individual schools and districts with no national standard. Some add 1.0 for both honors and AP, some 0.5 and 1.0, some weight only AP. That variation is exactly why admissions offices recalculate rather than compare reported weighted GPAs directly.