Which is better? Most rigorous or higher GPA?

[ucbalumnus]

In your step 2, if the answer is yes, then your school is probably a prep school with connections to the college. In that case, the college counselors at your high school should be able to tell you which reachy colleges you are a good match for in their eyes (and which they are probably steering you toward as they are allocating students to colleges).

Regarding CDS GPA information, not all colleges give it, and colleges do not report it consistently (weighted versus unweighted, from high school or recalculated, etc.).

[thibault]

Almost all universities provide C10 - Class rank in their CDS info sheets.

Use that as a (rough) proxy for GPA.

If your high school is extremely competitive & well-known to the adcom folks, then they (and your counselor) will know whether your rank, adjusted for your highly competitive school, renders you a competitive applicant.

[Data10]

@thibault

At the most selective private colleges, for unhooked applicants from schools not well-known to the admissions committee the GPA and rigor debate is for all intents and purposes moot. The unhooked/unknown HS applicant’s chances of getting admitted to an Ivy+, even with a ‘1’ academic rating, are next to zero.

It depends how 1 academic is defined. In the Harvard lawsuit sample, non-ALDC applicants with a 1 academic had a 66% admit rate – the clear majority were admitted. The regression analysis found that a 1 academic rating was associated with a greater admission advantage than all types of analyzed hooks except for recruited athlete. However, 1 academic ratings were very rare and involved more than just having high stats.

[babySimba1]

I am trying to understand how taking more AP/College classes can hurt the GPA. I am planning to take AP classes in the summer and when I calculated the possible GPA ( hoping to make A) the GPA went from 5.09 to 5.07 . Can some one explain?

[thibault]

If A is the highest grade possible in your/your school’s scheme, then you’ve made a mistake in your calculations somewhere.

Your overall GPA can go down ONLY if the grade you enter for the future AP course is LOWER than the average grade you’ve received up to that point.

In any case, the difference is trivial, and you’re far better off focusing on substance ie what you’re actually learning.

Suggestion: stop obsessing about trivial differences in GPA and start exploring the ideas you’re encountering. That’s much more important for your intellectual development - and for your admissions chances as well, as it’s the substance that matters for your application essays.