I’m a sophomore, and I just don’t want to sacrifice any free time I have studying if I’m doing okay as is. So my question is just if a 93 weighted (91 uw) would be considered good, or even competitive, at any good schools. I go an nyc specialized high school, if that makes any difference.
If you intend to apply to highly selective colleges, your GPA should be in the top 10 percent of your high school class. If your school ranks students, you can ask your guidance counselor where you are in your class. If not, look at your school’s profile on your high school’s web site. That will give you a general idea of where you fall in your class. I am guessing that a 91 is outside of the top ten percent, and that if you are aiming for top schools you will need to pull up your GPA. Plus higher grades can lead to more merit aid, as well, so there are lots of reasons to spend more time on your studies. You still have plenty of time to pull up your GPA, so don’t stress about it, just work hard. Good luck!
@Anniqueg A 91% converts to a 3.7 gpa. As a sophomore, you have time to research schools and their requirements. You can use the college board “college search” tool and enter your stats, geographical areas you are interested in if you have limitations and intended major(s). This is a good starting point.
Then go to the college websites and look for their recommendations on high school curriculum. You don’t want to be a senior realizing that the schools you were interested in preferred certain courses be taken in high school and you hadn’t taken them.
Another thing you may want to do is have your parents run the NPC for some of the schools you are interested in to make sure that the EFC (estimated family contribution) is something your parents are comfortable with so you can get a sense of what schools are affordable. Keep in mind that you are a couple of years away from applying so the numbers will be a little off right now but it will tell you what your EFC
If you are interested in merit scholarships, take the PSAT next October. Find out if your school offers it to all students, it is limited to first come, first served (those that signed up first) or if they do not offer it. While it is considered a “practice test” for the SAT, take it seriously. Rest the night before, have a good breakfast, do the practice exam in the booklet they send so you are familiar with the format and do it under true testing conditions (8AM in a room the temperature that your school is usually at in October.) The PSAT for junior year is what is used by National Merit Scholarship to determine who is eligible. My son took the test and I was not really concerned because I knew the schools he was applying to (private and mostly highly selective) did not offer National Merit scholarships and our state flagship also does not participate in National Merit. However, having been named a semi-finalist, he received many college app waivers, including a very selective LAC, and he has received many “reserved” scholarships with significant dollar amounts if he applied to certain schools.
Last bit of advice is to create a college email account that is only used for this purpose. Use the email address when you take the PSAT, SAT and/ or ACT. Then use the email address for any communications you have with colleges throughout the college app process. The number of emails you will receive during the app process is crazy.
Good luck and please do remember to enjoy your high school years and not spend them focusing on what you think colleges want to on a resume. There has to be a balance.
How do you define “good school”? There are tons of great schools out there you could get into with that GPA. It depends on the school if it’s “competitive”. For some it will be, for some it won’t be.
Take Paveyourpath’s suggestion and start by doing a search on CollegeBoard.org. This is where you will track your PSAT scores and can start to research colleges that interest you!