<p>Many people applying to top schools have an Unweighted GPA of "4.0." However, anything from a 95 to a 100 is considered a 4.0. . . . In your opinion, do the majority of people with 4.0's have a 95? Or is there a more than scarce amount with an UW GPA greater? (Such as 96 or 97, which should be considered a 4.1 and 4.2 respectively, but generally aren't.) </p>
<p>I will enter the college application phase in my high school career with a GPA greater than 95, perhaps a 96, 97, or even 98 (though the latter is doubtful). Many people stress the importance of grades over SAT's; will this GPA set me apart from the general application pool to elite colleges (assuming I take the toughest courses available to me)? Or is it quite common for an applicant to, say, HYPS for example (even though I don't particularly wish to attend HYPS), to have a 4.0 GPA which is a 96 or 97? </p>
<p>High GPA's seem very ambiguous to me, despite their importance over SAT's which are anything but. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that a 100 and a 95 UW are both considered "4.0."</p>
<p>Well, let me add to your confusion. At the schools in our area, students are awarded a grade of A for any overall score above a 90. An A- may appear on the report card, but for GPA purposes it is 4.0. The only thing that appears on the transcript is a grade of A. There is nothing that indicates whether the student had an overall score of 91 or 100. The admissions committee has to take the grade at face value since it has no other information. </p>
<p>Since grading policies vary so much between high schools, colleges have come up with their own way of evaluating transcripts, but they can only use the information that they have in front of them. While your transcript may indicate that your overall score was 97, it would not be fair to say that your score is better than someone whose transcript states that they had all As in every class and have a GPA of 4.0. There is no way of knowing what the score is for the other person. </p>
<p>Overall, it would probably be better if all grades were reported as a percentage score and forget the grades altogether, but I don't see that happening in the near future at a lot of schools in the US.</p>
<p>Our school is the same - 90-100 is worth a 4. The term report cards show the percentages, but the transcript just has an A. With weighted grades, I think one third of the class has a 4.0 or higher. How's that for grade inflation?</p>
<p>How much of the transcript will colleges see? I can't imagine that all they see is a letter for each applicant. Since they have their own way of evaluating applicants, does that mean they see your percentage grade for each class? </p>
<p>Also, I would still like to know what <em>most</em> people applying to elite schools actually have for an UW GPA who claim a 4.0 and to what degree a 96-98 would set one apart from the general applicant pool.</p>
<p>i would say most of the applicants that have a reasonable chance do have a gpa above the 96-97 mark, granted those are great, hyps isnt looking for great
nuff said</p>
<p>My community college doesn't account for the upper or lower bounds of an A grade, so there is only an A (which counts as a 4.0). That's really a double-edged sword, because last semester, I got, in my 5 classes: a 98, a 97, two 100%s, and a 91.</p>
<p>Godfather - A high school transcript will list each class that a student took, and the grade that the student earned each semester. So if a student takes 7 classes a year (or the equivalent) then the transcript will have 56 grades on it. The admissions office will see all of that. They will see what the school puts down for the GPA and the class rank if the school figures class rank. Your transcript will likely show your score each semester for each class that you took, along with your average score and your class rank if your school figures that. Ask your GC to see a copy of the transcript that will be sent to colleges. </p>
<p>Your scores are terrific, but they are not going to tip the balance at getting you into HYP. What they will do is get you over the threshold for consideration. Once they decide that you meet the basic standards they are looking for, the difference between a 96 and 98 is meaningless.</p>
<p>Also realize there are 10s of thousands of high schools out there. They all have different ways of figuring grades, doing transcripts, etc. Committee members try to look at students within the context of the school that they attend as well as comparing them to other applicants. Class rank is one way to do this but not all schools report class rank.</p>
<p>Many schools weight differently, after all, so GPA is not so significant. Raw grades matter the most as they are placed in the context of the school (so rank is very important, i.e. someone who's ranked 100th of a class of 1000 with a GPA of 3.7 is equally good, presumably, as a student at a comparable high school with a similar ranking but a much higher GPA)</p>
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Your scores are terrific, but they are not going to tip the balance at getting you into HYP. What they will do is get you over the threshold for consideration. Once they decide that you meet the basic standards they are looking for, the difference between a 96 and 98 is meaningless.
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<p>Darn, lol. I'm pretty sure I can tip the balance with essays and SAT's, but if the balances lies with EC's, I'm in trouble. I have like. . . not many. . . .</p>
<p>94-100 is an A at my school, and percents are not reported. Even if I wanted to know, I couldn't find out what my average is on a 100 pt. scale. Also, our school just sends final grades on its transcripts.</p>
<p>to completely negate the importance of your question i guess, whether somebody has a 95 or a 98 or a 100 or a 91 for that matter isn't important because they don't mean the same thing at different schools. </p>
<p>rank>GPA, so when comparing across schools the difference won't even matter.</p>
<p>I'm surprised to read that some schools have grading scales that are consistent among all classes, ie. 90-100 is an A across the board.</p>
<p>In my son's AP physics class a 65% is an A, and I think 80% is an A in AP chem. It isn't that they have grade inflation, they just make the tests super difficult to get the kids ready for the AP tests.</p>
<p>i see it like this. a 96 average and a 97 average corresponds to say a 2320 and a 2330. i don't think it matters. it won't 'set you apart,' and that's where your ECs, rec, awards, etc. come in. you also have to consider how it's easier to get a 100 at some schools and how it's harder for others. then there's rank to consider.</p>
<p>The entire 10th grade in my school is comprised of 65 kids, and will most likely decrease quite a bit by 12th grade. I know everybody in my grade, and I know that I'll be 1/~60 when Senior year comes around, but 1/60 may seem quite inferior to 1/300 or 2/600, which people are likely to have in a big school. I just hope my school sends all ~56 grades and not just an "A" or "4."</p>