Will my mediocre GPA kill my chances at T20 schools?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

I’m currently a junior in California and I have some concerns about my low GPA from freshman year and how it might affect my college admissions process.

I had a cumulative GPA of 3.5 at the end of 9th grade, but have been receiving 4.0’s from the beginning of sophomore year to now. I’ve taken 7 AP’s and 1 IB so far and plan to graduate with a total of 11 AP’s and 2 IB’s.

My rank is 49/386 (school ranks unweighted gpa) and I have an academic gpa of 3.83. Does this kill my chances at applying for Ivies?

2

Generally speaking HS class rank below top 10% and UW academic GPA below 3.9 makes an applicant’s chance very bleak at the most selective schools.

Keep in mind that there are plenty of great schools outside the relative handful that have admit rates in (or close to) single digits.

3

Some colleges will recalculate your GPA and that includes eliminating 9th grade coursework. They will all take into account rigor of your classes. Nice job in doing well during a pandemic!

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Are there any colleges you know of that eliminate 9th-grade coursework other than the UC and CSU systems?

5

@pocaripeach It also determines on what major you wish to study.

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I’m hoping to major in something along the lines of biotechnology/engineering, which I presume would make my GPA even harder to be accepted considering it’s a STEM major?

7

Here is the not so simple answer:

“Unfortunately, there is no one answer to these questions because every higher education institution does things differently, but in many cases, colleges will employ their own weighting systems to your grades.”

https://insights.collegeconfidential.com/do-colleges-weight-gpa

8

If you’re interested in biotechnology/engineering, there are plenty of non-Ivy schools that would be a better or equally appealing option.

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9

Berkeley and UCLA are both T20 colleges, they are in-state, and they do not consider freshman grades for GPA.

So you are still easily in the running for these.

An academic UW GPA of 3.83 is on the low sides for many of the colleges with the lowest acceptance rates, but it still puts you in the running.

HOWEVER.

There are a 2,000 non-profit 4-year colleges in the USA, of which at least 200 will provide you with a world-class education. Your obsession with 1% of your choices, for the mere fact that they happen to be popular, is not helping you now, and will likely not help you in the future.

College is no more than the next stage of your life. “Admission to a T-20 College” is not a very good life goal or objective. In fact, it is a meagre and mean objective for a teen. You should be thinking of what you want to do and who you want to be in life, and select colleges which will help you with that.

High school and college are both stages in your journey, and you are treating a midway point as though it was your destination.

I promise you, 100%, that your life goals will be achieved whether you end up attending a “T-20” or a “T-50”, or a “T-150”. All that obsessing over “T-20” will do is add additional levels of stress, anxiety, disappointment, disillusionment, and bitterness to you life.

Let me suggest that you replace “OMG, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I HOPE TO BE ACCEPTED TO A T-20!!” with “I really hope to find a college which fits me academically and socially, where I will succeed and thrive, and which will help me do well in life after graduation”.

You have done well in high school, and should be proud of what you have achieved, so do not cheapen your achievements by treating them as no more than a price you paid in order to be accepted to a certain set of popular colleges.

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I just wanted to add my two cents really quick. I don’t think your chances are bad. Schools like to see an upward trend in grades. I think strong EC’s and essays can solidify your application. I’m not sure if you want to stay in state, but there’s top schools everywhere that are within reach for you! Admissions is not an exact science.

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11

I do not think that Stanford cares about freshman year grades. Universities in Canada do not consider freshman year grades, although I suppose that on a worldwide basis Toronto and McGill are not quite “top 20” (Toronto is close in some ratings).

The Ivy League universities (and Stanford) are going to be reaches regardless. You have VERY good in-state public universities in California. As others have mentioned, for engineering you would probably be better off at UCB, UCLA, or Stanford compared to the Ivy League schools, although bioengineering is sort of special and different universities might be best in this area.

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12

your GPA is not that bad and also there are a lot of T20’s like Stanford that don’t take into consideration first year grades, however all T20’s are hard to get into so I wouldn’t give up hope, but ECs and grades have to be strong and luck does have to be on your side in general for these places. Hope definitely isn’t over, but nothing is guaranteed. :smile:

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I will just pile on with the especially for engineering you should look beyond the ivies. I would recommend doing some research into good engineering/biotechnology programs. I think you will be surprised.

My H is in biotech with a degree from a T150+ engineering school and it’s never mattered. Like you, he got stronger academically over time. During college he talked his way into an internship with a well-respected biotech company which led to a permanent job offer. After a few years there, next potential employers only cared about his work experience not where he went to school.

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14

agreed

15

Thank you, this advice was very helpful :blush: