A core course must:
- Be an academic course in one or a combination of these areas: English, mathematics, natural/physical science, social science, foreign language, non-doctrinal religion or philosophy
- Be four-year college preparatory
- Be at or above your high school’s regular academic level (no remedial, special ed. or compensatory courses)
- Be completed not later than the high school graduation date of your class as determined by the first year of enrollment in high school
Not all classes you take to meet high school graduation requirements may be used as core courses. Courses completed through credit-by-exam will not be used
Check your high school’s list of approved core courses at the Eligibility Center website at or ask your high school counselor.
How your Core-Course Grade-Point Average is Calculated
The Eligibility Center will calculate the grade-point average of your core courses on a 4.000 scale. The best grades from your NCAA core courses will be used. Grades from additional core courses you took will be used only if they improve your grade-point average.
The Eligibility Center will assign the following values to each letter grade:
- A – 4 points
- B – 3 points
- C – 2 points
- D – 1 point
Note: The Eligibility Center does not use plus or minus grades when figuring out your core-course grade-point average. For example, grades of B+, B- and B will each be worth 3 quality points. A minimum GPA of 2.0 is needed in core courses to gain admission into an NCAA school.
Special High School Grades and Grade-Point Average
If your high school uses numeric grades (like 92 or 93), those grades will be changed to your high school’s letter grades (such as A or B). See your high school’s grading scale by pulling up your school’s list of approved core courses at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net.
If your high school normally “weights” honors or advanced courses, these weighted courses may improve your core-course grade-point average. Your high school must notify the Eligibility Center of such weighting. To see if your high school has a weighted scale that is being used for calculating your core course grade-point average, visit www.ncaaclearinghouse.net for an explanation of how these grade weights are handled.
