<p>I'm a rising senior and I will be applying to all the Ivies except Harvard and Yale. The only thing on my application that is lacking would be my GPA. It is 3.67 UW and 4.4 W. I've taken the most difficult coursework possible, hardest in my grade, and hardest in years (11 APs total). I attend a decent public high school in New England. I'm still in the top 5%. I've focused on the newspaper, math team, and tennis throughout hs (leadership positions in all), but my main hook is being an internationally recognized pianist. By just looking at this, is there any chance of getting into an Ivy? Is it worth applying?</p>
<p>Maybe Cornell? </p>
<p>^And apply ED.</p>
<p>it depends, what are your test scores?</p>
<p>I was planning on applying early to either Princeton or Columbia. Is this not worth it?
Forgot to mention: applying for music composition/theory. </p>
<p>2330 SAT 800 on M and W, 730 CR. might retake it. Didn’t take SAT II yet. Sorry I completely forgot to mention this!</p>
<p>Your SAT will greatly help you. If Princeton/Columbia is your dream, go for it.</p>
<p>@pianogeek don’t bother retaking SATs, it is good enough. If you apply ED to Cornell, I think you have a pretty good shot of getting in. For Columbia ED, if you really want to go to Columbia or Princeton, you should try this, and I still think you have a decent shot. Princeton EA, on the other hand, I would say is much less likely, because applying EA is non binding and thus doesn’t really help your odds much of getting in. Good luck!</p>
<p>Honestly dang! Go for it apply to all even Havard and Yale because you never know what happens plus you are one of the top of your grade so why wouldn’t they accept you? I think your GPA is good but if you can send your weighed GPA that you do that. 
and GOOD LUCK!</p>
<p>@leelee7, college admissions offices have been doing this for a long time, and they know what they want – the UNWEIGHTED GPA. Wouldn’t make a lick of difference to give the weighted. And regarding “going for it”, the OP is right to worry about GPA, you would probably be better off trying ED at Columbia than Harvard or Yale,where their chances are pretty much zero OP, if you MUST apply ED to an Ivy (a whole different discussion of why you would care, Ivy league is a sports conference, and it is ridiculous to inflate all schools in that conference above several other excellent schools around the country), your best chance of admission is probably at Cornell or Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Thank you all, but don’t you think my UW gpa is too low? I have quite a number of Bs. No Cs. I am very concerned and although I really appreciate your comments, are you being realistic and truthful?</p>
<p>@intparent however, there are come colleges that will accept weighted as long as you check it off on your application and it would make a difference by giving unweighted because if one took AP / Honors Courses which are a lot harder than college prep it should be noted no only in the transcript but GPA either way it doesn’t matter because @painogeek you have a chance even though some are reaches you still have a chance</p>
<p>@intparent my school does not include unweighted gpa on the transcript. I calculated it myself. I am applying to these Ivies because I actually enjoyed them when I visited, not simply because of their name. Is Columbia ED not worth trying at all?</p>
<p>I guess my question is, will I be able to stand out and compete among applicants with higher GPAs given the other stronger parts of my application?</p>
<p>No, not with that low GPA. In my time on CC, only one guy got into ED Columbia with 3.3uw GPA, he took a gap year before applying. Even if your rank is higher, check out Columbia CDS. One URM with 3.61 UW GPA.</p>
<p>@DrGoogle he doesn’t have a 3.3 uw GPA though, he has a 3.67</p>
<p>OP has 3.67 but the other guy’s GPA was a few years back, things have changed drastically. Here is last year statistics. Check it for yourselves.</p>
<p><a href=“***Official Columbia University Class of 2018 ED Results ONLY*** - Columbia University - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/columbia-university/1586931-official-columbia-university-class-of-2018-ed-results-only.html</a></p>
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<p>There are tons of students with strong applications across the board to the colleges the OP is talking about, and many have no glaring weaknesses in their applications. No one out here can say what your chances are for sure, of course. But Columbia admitted 6.94% of their applicants. Approximately 7 of every 100 applicants were accepted. @leelee7, these are not “some colleges”. They WILL calculate the OP’s unweighted GPA whether it appears on the transcript of not.</p>
<p>Go ahead and up the application in. But spend a lot more time working on figuring out your match and safety school situation, as the odds are very high that you will end up at one of those schools.</p>
<p>I’ve seen the thread. But only so many admits to Columbia actually post their stats on here.
Will I be competing with other engineering/business/etc majors who may have higher GPAs? If my major is music, do they look at me in context of other fellow music majors?</p>
<p>The OP has stated that she is in the top 5% of the class at a top public New England high school. Think of the likes of Boston Latin, Wellesley High, Newton North. If a 3.67 is in the top 5%, then there’s some serious grade deflation in this school which the admissions committee will instantly see. Combined with a 2330 SAT and being an accomplished pianist, I see no reason why she will not get in to some Ivies.</p>
<p>Having said that, all Ivies other than HY is a bad strategy. Life in Hanover is different than life in Morningside Heights. Brown’s Open Curriculum has a different appeal than Columbia’s Core Curriculum. Your college list should be built upon what appeals to you, not anyone else.</p>
<p>Columbia’s music program is fantastic. You have opportunities with the Columbia-Juilliard Exchange. I’m not sure why you ruled out Yale (also off my list, but that’s a different story), but their program is well-regarded. There are also many options outside of the Ivy League. Williams, Wesleyan, and Tufts come to mind.</p>
<p>Regardless, you have many options. Good luck!!</p>