So next year, I will be repeating my junior year at a private school. I made low A’s, and never failed a course. Assuming that I will proceed to do better in my repeated year, how would my GPA be calculated? Which grades would be used?
I’ve read that your past grades will be counted, then I read that they could be erased. Then I heard that the grades that you make when you repeat would only be counted if you failed the course. And THEN I heard that you send both scores to the University, and that it chooses which score will be counted in your high school GPA.
I’m rather confused right now, so any help whatsoever will be greatly appreciated!
Note: I will be attending my current public school for my senior year.
Ah…I wish to get into a specific prestigious university’s engineering program!
My SAT is high enough to be very competitive, however this year I made too many B’s in Calculus. At the end of the year, my overall Calculus grade shall be about 91. The rest of my classes’ grades are higher, but not by much (in the 93-94 range, with a couple 95s).
My overall GPA will not be competitive enough to stand out when I apply, even as a early decision applicant. We heard that repeating a year, and doing exceptionally well the repeat year, is actually viewed favorably by universities, as it shows improvement and the “desire to excel”, etc etc.
Another very important question: how would going to a private school for a year affect my ranking? I go to a large public school currently, where I am ranked #8. The private school I am considering does not rank due to its very small class numbers. However, when I return to my public school for my senior year, I will be ranked again and will have to submit that ranking to my dream college when I apply.
Will my grades at the private school be included? Will my old grades be included?
Thank you so much for taking the time to help. Repeating is a rather big decision X_X
@classical774 Are you saying that your #8 rank is bad? Do you go to a school in the US? Regardless, #8 at a large school is OUSTANDING. There is no reason to worry about your grades if that is the case. It would only complicate the issue. You are definitely in the top 10% of your class, so you are fine in the grades aspect. (Actually, more than fine). You do not need to be valedictorian to go to a great school.
@GrandBudapest Thank you for your input! I’m not entirely sure that I will repeat next year, but it’s definitely an option I’ve been considering. Yes, my dream school is in the US! (Psst…it’s Cornell!). Even valedictorians have been rejected, so I was rather worried. I might not end up repeating, but just in case, I wanted to know how my GPA and ranking would appear if I did.
@LBad96@Ibebikz …sorry if this entire thing seems ridiculous to you. /
It’s not to me. I know people who repeated their junior year at boarding school, just in order to make grades good enough for their dream schools (bonus: they all got in their first choice). Repeating a year at private school to have more competitive grades is not that uncommon.
@classical774 You don’t need to be #1 in your school to get into Cornell. Sure, valedictorians may have been rejected, but grades aren’t everything. I’m certain students who were NOT valedictorians got into Cornell or similar caliber schools where you attend.
Bottom line is your grades are EXTREMELY competitive since you are at the very top of your class. It’d be better for you to focus on extracurriculars.
It’s a waste of your time. You have good grades, get good test scores write good essays do good ec’s. It seeks like a complete waste of resources, but it’s your life and maybe I don’t know your full situation. As a whole though I can’t really picture any scenario where this makes sense.
And your parents are PAYING for you to go to private school for a year so you can repeat the year because you had a 91 in Calculus? And low As? Sorry, but I am going to be blunt and say this is a really dumb idea and if your parents think that this will ensure your entry to your dream school, they are very seriously misguided. I actually cannot believe you are thinking of doing this.
Let’s pretend I am adcoms. I am reading your app. I notice your good grades from 9th and 10th grade. Then I see a gap of no school for the year of 2015-2016. (Or I see a transcript of excellent grades in the low to mid 90s for 2015-2016, than I see the year repeated for 2016-2017). Then I immediately get big red flashing warning lights going off, because my immediate thought is either “A) This kid failed a year and had to repeat. What happened? I need to know more, but I am not seeing any supplementary info that explains why a kid with good grades previously, suddenly lost a year of high school with no explanation, or I think B) This kid has fine grades for 2015-2016, but repeated the year at a private school because he didn’t think those grades were good enough. And again, the big red flashing warning lights go off, becuse I think this kid is a grade drone and a little obsessive and we here at top US colleges do not like to admit obsessive grade drones. Therefore, I am not admitting this kid.”
Your grades are excellent and this idea is crazy. Do not do it. And I also hope you understand that there is no guarantee you will get into Cornell and you had better find some match schools you will be happy to attend. If you have spent any time on this forum, you should know that top colleges reject valedictorians and perfect 2400 and 36 scores ALL THE TIME. By the thousands. Every year. Repeating a year of school will guarantee you absolutley nothing except a wasted year of your life that you will never get back.
I just reread your posts, and again, I am amazed. You read that repeating a year is viewed favorably? I am not an expert, but I am pretty sure if you read that repeating a year is viewed favorably, that probably does NOT mean for kids whose grades are 91, with a few 95s, and mid 90s. if you want to persist with this plan, please make it worthwhile by actually failing classes, not by getting 90s and above. Holy cow, @classical774 .
Colleges would judge this to be the sign of an obsessive student who would not be a good addition to their community. This would be similar to a student who takes the SAT 6 times even though each score is already above 2300.
@classical774 I have never heard of a single person retaking a year to get better grades when they already have straight As. And can you provide any proof that kids with straight As have got into top US colleges when they already had straight As and repeated the year? You actually know one of these mythical people? If you are an International kid maybe there is an unscrupulous company that tells you this so they can make money off unsuspecting dreamers.
And whatever mumbo jumbo you have heard about only kids with straight As getting into top colleges and Ivies is just that. FYI, our suburban high school had five kids get into Ivies, not a single one of was either valedictorian or salutatorian. In fact, Val got deferred Ed from her top choice Ivy. I am very certain there were a few Bs in their grades. The five kids who got in didn’t even take a ridiculous amount of APs. Brown kid had 7 or 8 APs, the most out of all of them I believe. GETTING INTO TOP COLLEGES IS NOT JUST ABOUT GRADES AND TEST SCORES. US colleges want well-rounded likable people. I wish you luck, but please consider everything we have all said to be a wake up call.
@classical774 I repeated 9th grade in a boarding school and it’s the best thing I ever did. My grades were not low but I I wasn’t particularly happy with my high school and I was a full year younger for my age. Repeating enabled me to take higher level classes and enter a more rigorous track. I know this doesn’t answer your question regarding GPA, but I want you to know that lots of other kids did this for all sorts of reasons and it wasn’t unusual.
In re: to your GPA, colleges will not be able to calculate 1 GPA from 2 different schools. They will look at your transcripts separately. One transcript will report whatever your GPA is at your public school at the end of this year. The other transcript will report your private school’s GPA. Most private schools don’t rank anymore so I doubt the 2 transcripts will be an issue.
In Re to SoapyMango: I transferred high schools after my freshman year, and I asked my counselor about it. He told me that some colleges would make it into one cumulative GPA, while others would look at them separately. He also said to not count on my freshman year grades to be factored in, because only a handful of the schools that I’m looking at will consider my freshman year grades, because of my transfer status.
@SoapyMango the OP wants to retake the year because he/she thinks an average of 91 in calc, some 93-94 grades and two 95s are not good enough to get him/her into the dream school. OP says nothing about wanting to be more challenged. OP also doesn’t say anything about being a year younger than others. Apples and oranges. Did you transfer back into your less challenging school after a year?
I am going to assume that OP doesnt live in the US because that is absolutely absurd. As almost everyone above me has said, this is a very bad idea and will backfire and have a negative aspect. US schools are about being well rounded. I know people who have gotten into Cornell and even more competetive Ivies like Princeton and all of them had 2-3 Bs. Colleges know that you are human.I doesn’t look favorable to waste time and money on grades that are already good. I am not one to tell you that you will be wasting an entire year of your life, but I can assure you there are a thousand better ways to spend that time and money. Unless there is some other reason that you are not mentioning, do not repeat a good year.
@Lindagaf No, I didn’t transfer back. I loved my experience, but my point was that just because folks on CC don’t know about it happening- doesn’t mean it’s not. There are plenty of students who do it. For instance, there is a thriving PG year experience happening at most boarding schools in the US and all those kids are basically repeating their senior years. I agree his grades are good so it might be unnecessary, but I also don’t think he can go wrong. I disagree with the above post; I don’t know a single non-athlete who has been admitted to Princeton with Bs on his/her transcript.
Yes, I have heard of the Pre college thing going on at elite prep schools, but what the OP is suggesting is completely different. The precollege experience is not strictly a repetition to try and boost A grades to higher A grades. It is a lot of athletes who didn’t do so great, and mostly seems to be kids who want to boost Bs to As to improve their chances.
Unless you go to Princeton, why would you have met a student that had a B in high school? (And I am quite sure there are a few shameful Bs somewhere amongst the student body.) I am also sure you never met a student who repeated a year of A grades to get higher A grades. And he can go wrong for all the reasons people have mentioned. I will say it again, US colleges do not like academic drones. If I am wrong about that, please someone correct me.
Some schools require transcripts from all high schools attended, others require the transcript from the school you are graduating from as a senior. How that high school incorporates grades from prior schools will determine what that transcript looks like.
While re-doing a year of high school is pretty common when transferring to rigorous boarding schools during high school,–to allow the student to adapt to increased demands-- transferring simply to remedy some A- course grades is not a good strategy, especially if the student does not stay and finish up at the boarding school-private school. What does the counselor say in their rec?
