What is a GPA? Where can I find out my GPA? Why does GPA matter? What is a weighted vs. and unweighted GPA? Students will learn the importance of grade-point averages and how they can be evaluated using GPA. Finally, students will understand how a strong GPA can result in micro-scholarships from colleges on RaiseMe. (www.raise.me)

1. GPA: A crash course in understanding
grade-point average

2. What’s a GPA?
2
- Your GPA is your grade point average
- Your GPA is an average calculated from the
grades you’ve earned in school
- Scores vary anywhere from a 0.0 to a 4.0 or
5.0—the higher your grade, the higher the
score
- Where can I find out my GPA?
- Students typically receive their updated GPA
every semester (or quarter) alongside their
grades
- Students also receive a cumulative GPA: a
running average of all semester grades since
Freshman year
Earn micro-scholarships for:
1. Maintaining a high GPA
2. Getting good grades

3. Why is your GPA important?
3
- To get into the college of your dreams
- Colleges are notoriously competitive, with
varying admissions rates that correlate to the
qualities their ideal applicants possess
- The average GPAs of applicants typically fall
within a certain range
- Having a low GPA can be detrimental to your
chances of going to a school you want to
attend

4. How do you calculate your GPA?
4
- Your GPA’s scale depends on your school
- High schools typically have a 4.0 scale (unweighted)
or a 5.0 scale (weighted)
- The formula for calculating GPA is
(grades*credits) / (total credits) = GPA
- Credit Hours
- In college, every one of your classes will be worth a
predetermined amount of credits based on the
difficulty of the course
- In high school, classes that last a full year are worth
1 credit while classes that last a semester are
worth a ½ credit
- The number of credits you need to graduate
depends on your state; generally schools require
somewhere between 19 - 24 credits

5. Weighted GPA VS. Unweighted GPA
5
- Weighted GPA
- Uses a 5.0 scale and takes into account how
difficult your classes are
- Used for calculating the grade points for
Honors/AP classes
- Not used by every school—ask your
counselor if your school uses weighted GPA
- Unweighted GPA
- Uses a 4.0 scale and does not take into
account how difficult your classes are
- Even though your unweighted GPA doesn’t
take difficulty into account, colleges still
prefer to see students take rigorous
courses

6. Let’s Practice!
6
- Try and calculate the cumulative unweighted
GPAs from the following students’ report cards
- The formula for calculating GPA is (grades*credits) /
(total credits) = GPA
Dwayne’s Report Card Aubrey’s Report Card

7. Solution
7
Dwayne’s Report Card Aubrey’s Report Card
Dwayne’s cumulative GPA for Freshman year is
3.57
● Dwayne’s first semester GPA is 3.28
● Dwayne’s second semester GPA is 3.85
Aubrey’s cumulative GPA for Freshman year is
2.56
● Aubrey’s first semester GPA is 2.62
● Aubrey’s second semester GPA is 2.5
4.0
4.0
4.0
4.0
3.7
3.7
3.7
3.0
3.0
2.7
2.0
3.3
3.0
3.0
3.0
4.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
1.7
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
= 4
= 4
= 1
= 1.85
= 2
= 1.85
= 1.5
= 1.85
= 1.35
= 2
6 credits
= 2
= 1.7
= 1.5
= 1.65
= 2
= 1.5
= 1
= 1
= 1.5
= 1.5
6 credits

8. 8
Create a RaiseMe Account
1. Navigate to www.raise.me
2. Select “I’m a Student”
3. If applicable, sign up with your school email
address
4. Input your high school name and basic
information about yourself
5. On your Portfolio, scroll down to “Courses”
to input your Fall grades!
6. Follow colleges or universities to find out
how much you’ve earned!
After entering in your Core
Courses, RaiseMe will automatically
calculate your unweighted GPA!

9. 9
Micro-Scholarships
1. Log in to your RaiseMe account
2. Add your fall semester grades to
your portfolio to earn $$
3. Students on RaiseMe need to
enter at least 15 credits of core
classes

10. 10
RaiseMe for iPhone or iPad
1. Navigate to the App Store
2. Search for RaiseMe - College Scholarships
3. Download the app - it’s free!
4. Login with the email address and password of
your existing account

11. 11
RaiseMe for iPhone or iPad
Adding your coursework
1. Select the “+” button at the bottom of your
profile
2. Input your Fall semester coursework!
3. Select the blue arrow on the right to adjust
any details about the course

12. 12
RaiseMe for iPhone or iPad
Refer a friend
When you select “More” at the bottom of your
profile you have a number of options to
peruse. Select “Refer a friend” and they’ll
receive a text with a download link. If your
friends sign up you’ll get a $100 micro-
scholarship!

13. 13
RaiseMe for iPhone or iPad
Notifications
Be sure to turn on push notifications to be
notified when:
1. It’s time to input new coursework
2. A college earning deadline is approaching
3. Fields on your portfolio are missing
4. Your earnings amount update

14. 14
Reflection
● Using RaiseMe, search for a few colleges that you’re interested in.
Click on the “About University” tab and look under the admissions
category. Is your GPA currently good enough for you to be
accepted to that college?
● If your GPA is where it needs to be, what can you do to make sure
that you maintain or increase your GPA?
● If your GPA is NOT where it needs to be, what actions can you
take to start improving your GPA?