Harvard University Chances?

notjoe
Tue, 21 Apr 2015 01:57:02 +0000

For Harvard applicants, yes, your unweighted GPA is low. I think the average unweighted GPA of incoming freshman last year was about 3.92 or something like that. Usually, most folks view 3.8 as sort of an unofficial lower limit. About half of students coning in have roughly 4.0s unweighted.

However, I wouldn’t despair just yet. If your classes are tough, and your school has a reputation for tough grading, that may mitigate the GPA. My son went to a school with tough grading, and had about a 3.8, but still manage to get into Harvard. As well, your extracurriculars truly are impressive, if they accurately represent the work you’ve done.

You’re not a lock for admissions, but I wouldn’t bet against you. And, if you apply to a sufficient number of top schools, someone is going to let you in.