I am currently pretty confused about how my GPA will look to top tier universities. I have a 4.0 unweighted GPA (highest possible) and 4.35 weighted UC GPA (which I am still proud of) but I go to a top ranked public school where a small handful of students have weighted GPAs that are as high as 4.7. All of these students are in STEM however while I am more involved in the arts. The reason my weighted GPA isn’t higher is because I committed myself to my high school’s unweighted jazz band program which takes up 2 of my 8 classes a year. I would have near a 4.7 if I didn’t do jazz band. I am a very serious musician and have won awards at the national level and work professionally as a jazz pianist.
So my question is, will top tier universities immediately turn me down after seeing students with much higher GPAs from my school or will my unweighted GPA and strong ECs help me in? My counselor, who I am not in love with, said that my GPA will hurt me big time with schools like Stanford and Harvard.
Thanks so much.
P.S. I have high test scores, other ECs, and volunteer work. You can find them on my other threads.
Are you sure that you are comparing weighted GPAs with the same method?
Due to the 8-semester cap on honors +1 points, UC-weighted-capped GPAs are typically 0.3-0.4 higher than unweighted 10th-11th a-g subject GPAs, so a 4.7 weighted GPA would be an uncapped version.
In terms of non-UC schools, will your counselor indicate that you chose the “most demanding” course selections on the counselor report?
Harvard and Stanford are so unlikely for any student that I don’t think that you should run your life around a guess regarding what they might want in a student. To me, it sounds like your academics are excellent, and that your involvement in Jazz is a very valuable activity which was a GREAT use of your time and talent. As far as we can guess “awards at the national level and work professionally as a jazz pianist” might or might not be exactly what gets you accepted to Stanford or Harvard, or you might or might not happen to apply at the same time that the Stanford marching band needs more students who happen to play the same instrument that you do.
In a mailing that Stanford sent to alumni a few years back they said that 80% of applicants have strong enough academics to go to Stanford, and that among this 80% selection is largely based on diversity. You and I really can’t guess what will or won’t get you in. However, having an EC where you truly excel looks to me like it probably helps your chances.
I think that if you want to go to Stanford or Harvard then apply and see what happens. Whether you had a weighted 4.2 or a weighted 4.7 I would still say that you definitely need to seriously consider other universities where you have a stronger chance of getting in, and you will need safeties and solid matches.
“My counselor, who I am not in love with, said that my GPA will hurt me big time with schools like Stanford and Harvard.”
I don’t think that I like your counselor either, even though I have never met him or her. This certainly seems completely contrary to the information that Stanford sent to alumni.
@ucbalumnus thanks for the response. I’m a little confused how the UC uncapped GPA is calculated but there are students I know how take 7/8 AP courses their sophomore year and 8/8 AP courses their junior and senior years while I took 3/8 APs my sophomore year, 4 my junior year, and 5 my senior year. For the counselor report, I’m not sure if I’ll meet the Most Demanding Criteria which worries me.
@DadTwoGirls thanks so much for the response. I am applying to several match and safety schools such as UCSD, University of Michigan, Lawrence University, etc. and I don’t expect to get into a top University (I hope I do though). I’m just curious if I even have a shot at a HYPS sort of school.
For weighted-capped, add up to 8 +1 points for honors courses (as listed in the link above). For weighted-uncapped, add +1 points for all honors courses.
Ask your counselor about whether s/he will mark your schedule as “most demanding” for the purpose of non-UC/CSU schools (UC/CSU does not use counselor reports).
Hi,
I think you will have a lot of choices. Our daughter with somewhat similar stats ended up with about 10 choices, although the Stanfords of the process are tough for anyone. She chose Lawrence, after visiting. I think it gradually rose on her list. She absolutely loves it. Sounds like you are into the arts, so it might be a good fit.
@swimsoc2013 thanks for the response. I am applying for the Lawrence dual degree program and already had a great interview! Do you happen to know how generous they are with merit aid? Is a half or full tuition scholarship possible for someone like me?