<p>“…his/her high school preparation is not as good as that of most of the other students at the Ivy League school, who had higher GPAs? How much of an impediment would that poorer preparation be?”</p>
<p>Without more info, we can’t assume the HS prep is poorer just because of a 3.6 GPA! A few conditions for having a 3.3 - 3.6 GPA that would not automatically indicate “poor preparation” - which have been noted on this thread and other similar threads:</p>
<p>Low grades Freshman Year. If a student had mostly B’s in their 1st year of HS, and mostly A’s sophomore and junior year of HS – they could be a 3.3 - 3.6 student. If they have taken a rigorous course load within their HS – they would not be a poorly prepared student.</p>
<p>Lopsided learner: A student with some A’s, but mostly B’s in Humanities, but all A/A+ in math science (or visa versa). As long as there are no glaring issues…like a bunch of D’s and C’s, especially in Junior year…or poor grades in very low-level classes…this student should have more than adequate preparation for an ivy or top level college.</p>