So I did a bit of research and I came across several websites saying that students with less than 4.0 GPA have no chance of admission to ivy league schools. I’m an international student from Afghanistan with the following GPA for each high school year:
9th grade:80 out of 100
10th grade:89 out of 100
11th grade:93 out of 100
12th grade:99 out of 100
Total average:90 out of 100
I looked at average GPA of ivy league admitted students for each college and it was 3.9-4.0 unweighted. I converted my GPA to 4.0 scale cause I couldn’t find any statistic for 100 scale and it was 3.6. I want to apply to 5 ivy schools that are need blind for international students.
Additional info: My school system is more advanced than other schools in Afghanistan. Typically, students who are top 3 in other schools get admitted after 3 entering examination. I had the 1st position in other school but dropped down to below 20 when I got admitted in my current school both because of new advanced system and overestimating myself because I was the top student in my previous school. Furthermore, as far as I know no one else is applying to US colleges this year from my class so I don’t think it will be problem if many students rank above me.
But my GPA is really scaring me. Do I really have no chance of admission to harvard, yale, princeton, mit and amherst?
All of those websites are wrong, and I say this from first-hand experience.
Don’t try to convert your GPA. Unless a college wants you to convert, and few do, just use the 100 point scale.
Additionally, be aware that grading is often stricter at non-US schools, and every AO knows this. Whether or not you get admitted to your choices is another question. Grades are important, but they are just one part of the application. But each of those schools is extremely hard to get into for international students. Good luck.
I converted my GPA because the average admission GPA was for 4.0 scale for all the universities and I needed to see where my GPA stands compared to other students GPA that get admitted and to be honest I was really concerned about this until your post. Are you sure?
I am a junior at an Ivy League university, and I did not have a 4.0 GPA in HS, so yes, I’m sure. 
Hey, did you find time to check the other post yet? It’d be really helpful to get an answer from an Ivy student
Sorry, I don’t do chances as I find them to be mostly a parlor game. For top schools, nobody outside of an admissions office can chance with any degree of accuracy. All you can do is put together the best application packet that you can. Good luck.
As @skieurope said, don’t try to convert your scores- context matters. In one of the countries that we have lived in, an 80/100 was considered an exceptional mark; students with averages in the 70s got prizes.
A better metric is where you fall in your cohort- your school and region. Harvard, Yale, etc are looking for the top few people in a group, whether US or international. Would your teachers say that you are one of the top students - in both an academic and a personal sense- that they have ever taught?
@collegemom3717 Well…85 is considered a high GPA and most schools give admiration certificate to those who get such GPA but there are plenty of people who get way higher in my school but they aren’t applying to US colleges this year so I’m not that worried about my own classmates. What I’m worried about is other schools, they have easier school syllabus than mine and they can easily get GPA’s in the neighborhood of 95-99. As I said in additional info students who are in top 3 in other schools get admitted after 3 examinations and I was #1 in my previous school. When I was admitted 7000 people gave the exams and around 2% were admitted. A student with 75+ GPA in my school can compete with a student with 90+ GPA in other schools. I know SAT scores can distinguish the difference between such students but is there any way that me or my recommendation writers can inform colleges about this without weakening my application?
No, it will come across as whining.
Yes, in the sense that they can write that the grading standards are very challenging (if that is in fact the case) or as @collegemom3717 says, that you are one of the best students they have ever taught. But they should not compare the grading to that of other schools.
You should assume that the AO’s are quite familiar with grading standards in your country, if not at your particular school. Really, don’t worry about it, because there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
@skieurope Yeah…I thought it would be more of a whining than anything else, just wanted to make sure. But what about getting accepted in 2% of 7000 exam takers? or the advanced system of the school? I think that’s an achievement that should be mentioned don’t you think?
And yes I am regarded as one of the best students here. Typically, everyone is because the school admits only the best(as I said I had the first OP in my previous school before I was admitted here). I’m sorry if these things sound like I’m bragging but I really want to know where I stand compared to other students.
Again, anything along those lines should be handled via the recommendations. I’m all for tooting one’s own horn, but there is a fine line between stating one’s accomplishments and bragging about them, in my opinion.
Ok that would make sense. I guess I’ll just leave that for recommendation writers. Thank you for your information.
It is common in the US for students to give their recommendation writers some notes about themselves as an aide memoire. It reminds the writer of how they know the student (what classes you have taken with them, for example), any individual moments which might stand out (a paper, a class performance, ‘only student who…’ etc ), some factual stuff (eg,the ‘top 2%’ stuff), and what you are focusing your application on. It can include examples of leadership, or overcoming a particular challenge, or a having a particular facility for X academic ability, etc. IF the writer already has direct knowledge/experience of that with you. It should be short (less than a page of bullet points), and carefully edited to help them remember what stands out about you.
@collegemom3717 I fixed your post so that it was not mostly in italics. 
aaarrggghhhhh…forgetting to close brackets (or include attachments on email) will be the death of me!
thanks, @skieurope