How much GPA boost do you get by going to Harvard Westlake?

Applying to College
1

<p>How much GPA boost do you get by going to Harvard Westlake? when the colleges are comparing GPAs to lesser schools</p>

2

<p>What is a “GPA boost?” The whole point of GPA is to compare you to the other students in your class. And what is a “lesser school?”</p>

3

<p>well id say at one of the toughest schools in the country is much harder than a run of the mill public school. it wouldnt be fair to compare the difficulty at the schools. just like you couldnt compare a guy playing against horrible basketball players vs a guy playing vs great playeers</p>

4

<p>GPA is not primarily used to compare you with students from other high schools, precisely for the reason that you stated. It is used to compare you to students from your own school - to see how you stack up to your actual peers. Even if no one else from your school is applying to the college, the college will still be able to use your GPA and class rank to see how you stand in regard to the rest of your graduating class. That is why it it useless to have a 3.9 GPA if you are not ranked in the top 5-10 percent of your class.</p>

5

<p>yup. but going to a competitive school allows you to rank lower in your class, theoretically, and still gain admission than if you went to a poor school.</p>

<p>for example, at berkeley, 99% of students are in the top 10% of their graduating class, but this is because berkeley is largely fed by the california public school system (which, being from harvard westlake, i don’t have to tell you about) and thus being in the top 10% is much easier than at a school like yours.</p>

<p>Harvard, for example, which is much more selective than berkeley, only has 95% of students in the top 10% of their high school classes, because it is fed by much more competitive schools.</p>

<p>just make sure your test scores are good and you still rank in the top 25%, if you want to gain admission to the most competitive colleges</p>

6

<p>I don’t think adcoms view GPA as a meaningful stand alone statistic. Adcoms have been reviewing applications from Harvard Westlake students for over 100 years. They know that a 3.4 at HW might be a 4.1 at fill in the blank suburban high school. (my DD goes to a suburban high school).</p>