<p>My high school is one of Illinois' best, and it is very rigorous and full of smart students. My 3.65 GPA is stressing me out, even though I've heard a million times about "holistic admissions." My Calc BC and Physics C classes junior year (4's on AP) were especially hard, with a C+ first semester in the former. In the latter, my teacher sometimes uses problems from MIT! </p>
<p>In context of a 35 ACT, 7 Honors classes, 3 AP classes (4 more senior year), and 1 split Honors/AP class, how much will this hurt? Could my GPA be comparable to a 3.85 elsewhere?</p>
<p>Schools: Notre Dame (legacy), Wash U, Duke, Northwestern, Penn, and Cornell.</p>
<p>In fact, the ND admissions officer that visited my school said "students from ___ adjust very well to ND." Then again, I don't know these students' statistics...</p>
<p>I also have great leadership roles, one that involves ~225 hours a year, and over 500 hours of service, among other things.</p>
<p>@ejcclc Our school no longer ranks because parents were complaining that highly qualified students were getting what appeared to be weak class rankings, and the valedictorian race was stressful for many. </p>
<p>Generally, even if a school doesn’t rank, they will place you within a quartile or decile. This is what my daughter’s school does. On the school profile provided to colleges, they list GPA ranges and the number of students in each. Kids can therefore extrapolate roughly where they fall. Colleges will see this information and while not knowing exact rank, will know roughly where you fall. Do you know where you would be in this context?</p>
<p>@ejcclc OK, I just checked, and for the most recent profile available:</p>
<p>unweighted 75th: 3.64</p>
<p>weighted 75th: 3.69</p>
<p>That means my UW rank would be around top 25%, BUT my weighted (which I think is what the school goes by) is 4.45, which I assume would put me in the top 10% at least, if not top 5% or higher. I guess those stats are skewed quite a bit by students with many A’s and not an AP to be found.</p>
<p>I would think then that the rigor of your course load will somewhat offset the weakness in your GPA. I think I posted in one of your other threads,but I can’t remember. Did you end up applying EA? If so I would think at worst you would be deferred. Being a legacy will be a big help.</p>
<p>@ejcclc Yes, I did. But I think I’m still below average for the Ivies, Duke, and NU. I’ll just have to put my faith in the holistic process and a favorable opinion on the other aspects of my app. </p>
<p>Yeah, other than ND they are all pretty high reaches. ND I think is reachable. If, from that list, you only get into ND, well there are lots of people who would love to be in that position. I’m assuming, though, that you did apply to some safeties. you did, didn’t you?</p>
<p>Yes, I just didn’t bother putting them here, since my stats are not exactly a problem in respect. Indiana and Miami of Ohio. I’m also applying to UVA, which is still a low reach/high match. </p>
