| I had around a 3.7-3.75 in my freshman and sophomore years, around a 3.35 my junior year, and a 3.68 first semester of my senior year. My cumulative GPA ended up being, if I recall correctly, a 3.62. I was taking all top-level classes freshman, sophomore, and junior year, except for Math, which I took at one level below the highest possible. I got consistent A's and A-'s in my humanities classes, a mix of A's and B's in Math, and B's and mostly B-'s in my science classes. Senior year I took top level History, French, and English, Accelerated Physics instead of the higher-leveled AP Physics, and AP Statistics instead of calculus. I was accepted regular decision to Barnard this year and will be attending in the fall.
Your GPA is really totally subjective. It depends on how leveling works at your school, and whether or not you weight and how that works (we do not), and where you're getting your worse grades. I got all A's in English, my strongest subject, and mostly A's in History, my second-strongest. My A-'s in History were first semester of APUSH, and the two semesters of Art History, which is considered the hardest humanities class in the school. I only received B's in Math and Science, which I have no interest in studying.
Furthermore, your GPA is only one piece of your application. It's very important, yes, but you also have standardized test scores, recommendations, essays, and ECs. If you are strong in those areas (which I was), you are going to have a good chance at getting into a lot of difficult schools. Especially given that you have an excuse for your junior year GPA, I would really not worry about it. Try to do well, other than that it's pretty much out of your hands. |