I’m a freshman in high school, and I’ve been feeling quite anxious about my academic trajectory, particularly when it comes to my weighted GPA and how it might stack up against other applicants when applying to top-tier universities like UC Berkeley, UCLA, and others.
Here’s a bit of background: I’ve had quite a turbulent start to high school due to some unexpected family moves. Initially, I was set to attend one high school, but circumstances changed, and I had to transfer to a different school after just the first week of classes. Unfortunately, this new school, being in a different district, didn’t allow me to select my schedule for freshman year. Consequently, I was placed in basic classes instead of the honors and AP classes I had hoped to take.
Later on, I transferred yet again, this time to a school within the same district, halfway through the school year. By this point, I had missed the window to choose my schedule as well, as I arrived three weeks into the second semester and couldn’t obtain the required teacher signatures.
Now, my concern lies in how these circumstances might affect my weighted GPA compared to other students who have had more stability in their academic journeys. I’m worried that the lack of advanced classes and the multiple school transfers might put me at a disadvantage when it comes to college admissions, especially at highly competitive universities.
Has anyone else faced a similar situation or have any advice on how to address this concern? I’m feeling a bit lost and would greatly appreciate any insight or guidance.
For your information I plan to major in computer science and am in state (California)
I do think it might be easier for others to help you if you keep posting in the same thread, though. That way it’s easier to keep track of context and see what other advice has already been given
In my kids’ HS, and in many other HS out there, AP and honors classes are limited. My kids could not take honors or AP in 9th or 10th grade, except for one AP in 10th. That’s just how it works at our school. So kids at our HS have lower weighted GPA than at other schools. However, it’s a rigorous school, and the stronger kids at our school do very well in college admissions.
There’s also no super fast math path at our school. Lots of kids who post here on CC are taking BC Calc in 11th or even 10th grade… but at our HS, the MOST accelerated math path at our school has BC Calc in 12th grade, and plenty of kids are taking AB Calc in 12th grade because they did not start out in the accelerated class in 9th grade. This is normal at our school.
In my D26’s class, there is a kid who is the son of one of the top Math professors at UCB. This kid is extremely strong in math! But he is in our normal accelerated math path that ends in BC Calc in 12th grade, because our school simply does not accelerate more than that.
Take the most rigorous classes at your school that you can take, without going nuts and trying to accelerate your math path over the summer. Do as well as you can in those classes. Then, apply broadly and be sure to apply to some schools where you are very likely to be admitted. UCLA and UCB are reaches for everyone.
I am curious: Why did you transfer high schools twice? Was this due to a family move, or a dislike for your previous high school, or something else? If it is reasonably possible to stay in one school, it seems to me that there are disadvantages of transferring schools, although I can see that it might be required sometimes.
I continue to think that you should be very cautious about jumping ahead. There really are classes that you are not ready to take yet, but will be ready to take at some point in the future.
Also, I do not think that you need to worry about your weighted GPA, or how your GPA is calculated. University admissions will look at the actual grades that you got in each class.
Instead, take classes that you are ready to take, and make an effort to do well in the classes that you are taking. Keep in mind that AP classes really are more difficult than regular high school classes. You do not need to take any AP classes to do well in life.
Also, do not try to compare yourself with other students. Instead, do what is right for you. Take the classes that are right for you. This will work out.
Life is not a sprint, it is more like a marathon. It is appropriate to take a long term view. Take classes that you are read to take. Pay attention in class. Keep ahead in your work. Seek out help early if you need any help. Have faith that this will work out over time.
I transferred three times in total, I transferred from the first school to the second school due to a family move, these high schools are in different districts, the house that my family moved to was zoned for a high school that was “full” in order words it was overflowing of students and didn’t have enough space for me at the time, as a result I had to go to a different high school within the same district and had to wait till the school had space, they eventually had this and it was in the third week of my second semester.
I mean by my weighted gpa as low as uc’s wil look at my freshmen grades and will wonder why I took the easiest classes in freshmen while everyone else took harder ones, obviously this was due to the fact that I transferred multiple times, and am wondering would this be a good “excuse” to add on my uc application.
Freshman grades aren’t included in UC GPA calculations.
They are able to see your freshman classes and grades as part of holistic review, but I believe this is more to understand the context of your starting point in HS.
If you’re this worried now I can only imagine how the next 2 years will be for you!
You are totally overthinking here, it’s done and all you can do is look forward and take the most rigorous course load you can reasonably maintain from now onward.
I would not use moving as an ‘excuse’ on the UC app - but you could talk about moving so many times freshman year in a PIQ- just remember that lots of kids move or have a change in circumstances- what POSITIVE things happened for you because of it (not ‘I couldn’t take hard classes’) - how did that experience help you grow and develop strength & character?
But remember, you’ve got plenty of road ahead of you before you start thinking about your PIQ’s - who knows what will happen for you over the next 2 years -probably a lot more interesting things than moving schools! You can’t engineer your life into an acceptance - just be who you are and do your best - I think authenticity counts for a lot with holistic admission, so deep breaths, work hard, have fun and just be you!
