Gpa? Help?

Applying to College
1

<p>How important is my GPA and class rank.</p>

<p>Let me explain my situation.</p>

<p>Class Ranking: 257 out of 924
Cumulative GPA: 3.4
Academic Core GPA: 3.6842
Weighted Cumul. GPA: 4.22</p>

<p>Those are my grades coming into senior year.</p>

<p>Let me address something. I got a 2290 on my SAT.</p>

<p>Does that hurt me when applpying to schools.
I mean my E.C include so many things such as nationally ranked DECA, DECA CEO, RHO Kappa VP, and many other things of that caliber.</p>

<p>But does it hurt be that much</p>

<p>Im thinking NYU, Cornell, UCBerkeley, Stanford(reach).</p>

<p>Its not a chance me thread, its a does it hurt me that much thread</p>

2

<p>Your SAT score is more impressive than your GPA/rank, so I doubt it could hurt.</p>

3

<p>i know but my rank it 27%, you know?</p>

4

<p>The common data set is your friend. Look it up for each school and you will see how important GPA and rank is to each of your target schools. I am not familiar with them specifically so I won’t guess. I do know that S2’s top two have similar entrance stats when you look at face value, however when you look at the common data set you see that one views legacy very highly along with GPA, rank follows with scores. The other doesn’t even look at your rank and doesn’t require LOR’s, nor do they care much about EC’s. Take a closer look and you’ll see where your stronger application is going to be.</p>

5

<p>Are you instate for Berkeley? Your ranking makes attendance doubtful.</p>

<p>What is your UC GPA? (is your core GPA your UC GPA?)</p>

<p>Can you afford these schools?</p>

6

<p>I am from Florida. Berkeley does not look at class rank. and no i can not. Its going to be out of aid, scholarships, and loans.</p>

7

<p>I’m not familar with NYU but Cornell UCB and Stanford are extremely high reaches for you (i.e. snowball’s chance). Superior academic performance is the first hurdle. While you’re obviously a very talented scholar, your GPA won’t impress these tippy top colleges. However, I’m also very confident that you’ll have a very successful collegiate career. Good luck to you</p>

8

<p>I think you gotta improve your GPA. Your SAT is excellent.</p>

9

<p>I am from Florida. Berkeley does not look at class rank. and no i can not. Its going to be out of aid, scholarships, and loans.</p>

<p>Then forget about Berkeley…they don’t help OOS students. You’d be expected to pay full freight…about $50k per year (obviously way too high for loans).</p>

<p>And NYU gives lousy aid.</p>

<p>For your stats, look at schools that meet need and/or give scholarships…like Vandy.</p>

10

<p>curiosity… do 14 AP’s make a difference?</p>

11

<p>because that is my number by the time i graduate next year</p>

12

<p>This is a question for an adcom at your target school. From what I understand there is a fine line. When students take APs, esp. this many, if the GPA isn’t held up the question is raised ‘Could you handle the work?’. You are also being judged on class rigor based on your fellow students. If this is the normal number of AP classes (or high range) than it is obvious you were trying to stay competitive in that area. If the most aggressive students took closer to to 9-10 AP’s you may not have done yourself any favors by taking 14 AP. While it sounds impressive some were not in your best subjects, the result was lowering your GPA. I don’t know you, haven’t seen your transcript, or know what is the norm for your school so I’m just going off of generalizations.</p>

<p>At every college we toured someone asked ‘Is it better to get an A in a mainstream class or a B in an AP.’. We heard again an again ‘It is better to get an A in an AP.’ followed by a slight laugh and ‘Follow your strengths and take your AP classes there. Don’t stack them up in areas where you know you traditionally are not strong at the risk of your GPA. A C in a AP is not what you want. You should have taken the regular ed class and gotten a B. It shows sound judgement.’.</p>

<p>Others may have heard something different. This is why you should talk directly to the schools YOU are interested in. Post back with what you find. It may help others when they are making similar decisions. Don’t misunderstand me. You have not done poorly at all. You appear to have an excellent academic record. I was trying to answer your question regarding the number of AP classes being of value.</p>

13

<p>A 3.4 or even a 3.68 doesn’t look too impressive for all the schools you have listed. Yeah, it’ll hurt a bit.</p>

14

<p>well, as far as my school, its extremely competitive.</p>

<p>My x grilfriend has a 5.2 and isnt even top 5%.</p>

<p>As far as the grades go, iin my essays im making clear that I believe in individuals who are wholesum, and liek i said my EC are extensive.</p>

<p>So ill explain how there is a balance and consequently have a lower GPA but far much more experince than the average student.</p>

15

<p>It’s fine to have a few reaches on your list, but what are your matches and financial safety schools? </p>

<p>And, since money is an issue, your matches need to be reasonable affordable thru likely aid/scholarships. </p>

<p>Your financial safeties need to be schools that you KNOW will be affordable thru assured merit scholarships, assured aid, small loans, and/or cash. A school is not a safety if you’re not sure how COA will be covered or if it will require loans larger than fed student loans…</p>

<p>So what are you matches and financial safeties?</p>

16

<p>Some people say that a low GPA/high SAT correlation makes an applicant look like a slacker genius, which can be either negative or positive. Depends on which part sticks out to adcomms, the slacker or the genius.</p>

17

<p>your best bet is to inquire how last year’s seniors with comparable GPA’s and scores did. It looks unlikely to me that you would be competitive at UC Berkeley, Cornell or Stanford. In fact, you might have some trouble getting in to UF without a better GPA, I think.</p>