G.P.A. sigh

[idlaunva]

<p>The biggest mistake of my life was getting admitted to my HS, which took me 4 years to realize that I completely hate, and got a 3.5 GPA. My school does not rank.</p>

<p>I would have easily made val/sal or at the very least top 10 out of 200 if I stayed at my public HS.</p>

<p>Ok, anyway, the point is, what is the lowest GPA of any Olin student? I am completely in love with Olin, but am not gonna spend crazy amounts of time to do my app and apply if I have absolutely no chance of getting in. Will they just look at my app and go eww 3.5-rejected.
Do I have any chance whatsoever? I can definitely pull my SATs up to a good percentile (around 2300+).</p>

[Tostie14]

<p>In general, most Olin students don't talk about grades or SAT scores. For instance, I don't really know what any of my friends had GPA- or SAT-wise back in high school, and honestly it doesn't matter. At Olin, competition between students is generally discouraged and one way that shows up is through the lack of discussion of grades. If everyone always had grades on their mind or was solely focused on being the top of their class, we likely wouldn't have team projects or some of the flexibility that we enjoy at Olin.</p>

<p>Feel free to shoot an email to Susan Johanson or Alison Bahme in the Olin Office of Admission with your concerns about your GPA. If you apply, your school will send in a profile with your transcript so that your grades have some context to be evaluated in. While yes, you may have gotten a 4.0 at your public high school, you are also evaluated on your course load, your SAT/ACT scores, and essays. The office completely evaluates each application before making a decision.</p>

<p>Hope this answered your question.</p>

<p>Kevin Tostado
Olin College '06</p>

[Kamikazewave]

<p>haha, i worry about my grades since despite what Olin says, they still look at my transcripts. So do graduate schools. But it's best to be laid back about it.</p>

<p>Don't worry about it. If you really love science, you'll get in. It'll show. Personally I think GPA is for square students. Test me on what I know, not on doing stupid homework assignments. And since Olin seems a cool place, they should let you in :D.</p>

<p>Also, I've wasted 4 years of my life in HS. Rated top 30 in the nation and yet it still sucks. Should have dropped out freshman year and gone straight to my local U.</p>

[idlaunva]

<p>thanks,
kamikazewave - thats exactly how i feel too...</p>

[miradu]

<p>I echo everything that Kevin says, but I'll be happy to provide my own number that should ease some of your fears.</p>

<p>I am a current Olin Sophomore, who went to an inner-city public high school. My unweighted (weighted means nothing, imho) GPA was 3.14, and my class rank wasn't even top 15% - out of a class of 500. </p>

<p>And yet, I'm at Olin, and a successful student as well. The beauty of Olin's admissions process is that through candidates weekends, we can look beyond just numbers - if your application is interesting and competitive in some respects, admissions officers can take a risk on inviting most anyone, even if one or two parts aren't perfect - because it's not yet a final decision. Most importantly, CW is great because it's a time to find out if YOU fit the school. </p>

<p>So don't be too worried. Yes, apply to other schools, but don't give up hope on Olin just yet. Good luck with your senior years, and spend some serious time on your essays/ec's/final semester of grades. Let yourself show
through on your application, and stay in touch with Olin Admissions. Good luck.</p>

<p>Michael Ducker
Olin College '09</p>

[ehiunno]

<p>i had the exact same question about my gpa (which is 4.02W 3.44U), thing is, im top 6% of my competetive high school with those grades and have taken a course load that my guidance counciler has deemed "rediculous."</p>

<p>I was (and i still kind of am) worried that the adcoms are gonna get sticker shock when they see my gpa and entirely miss that a research paper i helped write while interning at NASA langley was invited by inter-noise to thier annual congress on acoustics and noise reduction in hawaii (the tech on the project gets to present it, and i have a much more in depth knowlege of what we did, but nasa wont pay for me to go present it).</p>

<p>hopefully a couple of well written essays will let them see a person and not a pile of papers and numbers, and enough demonstrated interest will make them say "i guess we can fit one more person on the candidates list and just see what he does while he's here"</p>

<p>edit: i forgot to say thanks to miradu for providing his backstory</p>

[ShortLifeLived]

<p>
[quote]
Don't worry about it. If you really love science, you'll get in. It'll show.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I am a rising junior in High School and love Computer Science. I already took the AP Computer Science AB test, and now I'm not sure what to do with myself. How do you suggest I show my love for Computer Science? How can they see on an application someone's love for science anyway?</p>

[beck86nj]

<p>Worrying about how to show your love for CS sort of goes against the idea that if you really love CS it'll show. That said, if you really love CS you probably do things like learn languages on your own for fun, experiment with different linux distros, or work on personal coding projects, maybe even with the goal of putting them on sourceforge eventually. It doesn't have to be as official as internships and AP tests. Demonstrating that you care about something can be as simple as reading books and working on projects just for yourself.</p>

[elladorkess]

<p>I'm now an Olin freshman, and I remember being really concerned about my grades last year- I had a few Cs and some Bs. Don't worry- things will work out alright. There are lots of people that have great grades and what not, but what really matters if you're a good fit for Olin. Olin definitely has a holistic application process. So apply, and see what happens... do try not to worry, and work on your essays and grades. =D</p>

[John_Tyler]

<p>This is the most encouraging thread I've read in a long time. I'm a dad, and my son is your basic somtimes-bored reallysmartnerdkid. He's a National Merit Semifinalist, good SATs, all "5"s on his AP tests -- and he'll graduate with a GPA of about 3.1 or 3.2. "Dad, I heard it in class. Why do I have to write it down in a homework assignment? I already got it." His high school teachers have been unmoved by his assertion that he doesn't need to do homework.</p>

<p>He would LOVE to go to Olin. He builds robots (FIRST team 1294), designs wild electronic circuits (he built me a squirrel detector using a 555 timer and an op amp), and wants to design his own IC for his senior project. Instead of flipping burgers, his part-time job is as an assistant yacht designer. I know this sounds like bragging, but that's not how I mean it. He would thrive at Olin. I sure hope they agree that GPA is not a barrier.</p>

<ul>
<li>The Dad</li>
</ul>

[onlyamom]

<p>Dear "The Dad" -- I too hope that Olin admissions will see beyond the grades. Your son sounds like a good match for Olin IMHO. Just hope his passions show up in his application and that he can convey the message that he'll do the work required there. Good luck.</p>