I’m about to finish my junior year at a competitive New York public school. I have about a 3.7 gpa, I’m taking AP Calculus, IB English HL, IB History HL, IB French SL, IB Biology HL and IB Psychology SL. However, I have a lot of extracurricular activities. I’m Vice President of two clubs, field hockey captain and I volunteer at different centers. I am also a founder of my school’s Relay for Life and organized our first Relay for Life that raised almost $100k. For the past two summers, I’ve assisted in a science lab with research and helped publish a paper ( I am a co-author). I’m looking at schools like Duke and UVA. I know that my gpa is slightly lower than what is needed, but I was wondering how much of an edge my research paper and involvement with Relay for Life would give me? How impressive are these extracurriculars? Will colleges overlook my somewhat low GPA?
First, is your GPA weighted or unweighted? If it is unweighted, then 3.7 is a fairly decent GPA. 3.7 is low for both Duke and UVA, but you can explain that your GPA is unweighted in your applications if it is. Both Duke and UVA follow holistic admissions, which means that not only are test scores and GPA important but also EC’s, community service, etc. Your EC’s appear to be very strong, especially your involvement with Relay for Life. If you are a Virginia resident, then your chances of gaining admission to UVA are obviously increased. Good luck!