I am planning on applying to a number of highly competitive universities (e.g. Princeton, Stanford, Notre Dame, etc. ) and I was wondering if having an A+ average (97-100 at my school) would make much of a difference in distinguishing my application to these types of Universities as opposed to normal straight A’s. Thoughts?
probably not. I’m guessing most schools would normalize an A+ average back to A (4.00) just to compare apples with apples.
The A+ isn’t likely to tip the scales over an A or even A- average. At any of those levels, the college knows the applicants can handle the work and they’ll be building their class based on talents, skills, and personal qualities demonstrated in the rest of the application.
Will it make a meaningful difference? Doubtful. You can’t make a blanket statement because in addition to grades, test scores, rigor, ECs, essays, and recs all play a part in the decision process.
No more advantage than an A.
Sometimes, I’m glad for holistic.