Is there a big difference to colleges in a 3.9 or 4.0 GPA? I’m a junior currently at a 4.000 (5 semesters). Just wondering since I am just at it and if I end up with a 3.99 this semester I won’t have 4.0 to list on college applications. Also, do colleges recalculate GPA omitting certain classes such as Religion or Phy Ed or do they just view it as the high school presents it.
You have your 1st semester of senior year grades too. Colleges look are core subjects. Classes like PE and Religion are normally required by schools to graduate. They don’t effect your unweighted core GPA.
Are you joking? No, there is not a big difference between a 4.0 and a 3.99. Don’t be ridiculous. And yes, most colleges calculate GPAs, removing “fluff” classes like gym and choir.
Sigh…
Furthermore, you said “if I end up…,” implying that you can still pull off a 4.0.
When I see a 4.0, I know that student handled everything thrown at him. When I see a 3.99, I know that, at some point, that student bumped up against something…
Thanks for all the comments, they are very helpful.
@JustOneDad That’s what I am afraid of. For my reach schools I believe it’s important because everyone has at least a 3.9 unweighted.
@MITer94 Yes, earlier in this quarter I was 3.9, just this week I pulled back up to a 4.0. One poor test threw it off. I hate being this close.
@Qwerty568 With some of these colleges getting over 30,000 applications do they really have time to recalculate everyone’s GPA?
@southernbelle16 I plan to apply ED so I most likely will receive decision before 1 semester grades senior year. I realize I will send senior grades but that most likely will be after a decision is made right?
ED I requires “first quarter/trimester” grades. They will still see what you have currently when you apply.
Be afraid. Be very afraid. At tippy top schools, a 4.0 is much more than one one-hundredth of a grade point better than 3.99
@JustOneDad Are you messing with OP’s mind?
@JustOneDad lol…hopefully my ACT and EC’s, etc. will get me into some of my reach schools.
Or, you could type your GPA as 3.\overline{9} (3.9 with a bar over the 9). But I probably wouldn’t recommend this option.
Many colleges do. I’m not sure how they do it, since grading schemes vary greatly by country, but in terms of computation time, it shouldn’t take long at all to compute 30,000 GPA’s.
@albert69 Not intentionally.
@2016collegebound Yes, they do. They have several months to do so. It really doesn’t take as long as you think it does.
@southernbelle16 I didn’t realize that, that’s good to know it doesn’t all rest on this semester. Although I’m usually the busiest first semester with a fall sport and other commitments, my GPA has always been higher 1st semester.
@2016CollegeBound well see, that’s a positive thing then! Don’t stress yourself out. If you end up with a 3.9 you just end with it. You can’t change it. What is your weighted GPA?
@southernbelle16 weighted is 4.6 all classes were honors or AP, with admittance to some of these schools at 15% or less just trying to improve the things I can control to improve my chances.
They’re going to take your unweighted core GPA, BUT they look at the classes you take and your workload. They will want a student taking honors and APs, who is shy of a point for an unweighted 4.0. They would prefer you compared to the student with an unweighted 4.0, taking regular basic classes. (In my opinion)
Unfortunately, even “perfect 4.0s” don’t always get accepted. You are doing great. Please do make sure you apply to a couple “dream” or reaches- but make sure you also apply to a couple targets and a couple safety schools. Too many posts on here where really great kids with excellent scores, ECs, etc. apply to all reaches and don’t get in. It is a tough world out there in College Acceptance land. You will probably get in some great schools, with lots of scholarship opportunities and Honors college invites that you never imagined. Make sure you know you can pay for where you are hoping to go, too.
@InfolsPower Yes, I already have my safety (academic and financial) and a great match school picked out. I’d be happy at either. My match school, although not a top 50 university, is ranked in the top 10 for the field I’m interested in. It would be nice though to be admitted to a highly selective school so I will apply to a lot of those knowing the odds.
You sound incredibly arrogant. It’s a .01 difference. Chill please.