<p>seriously, what is this ridiculous stuff with kids getting over a 5.0 on their (weighted) GPA's on a 4.0 scale? that doesn't even make logical sense. your'e effectively saying that you're more than 125% over the perfect level (4.0 / 4.0). what does that even mean? </p>
<p>back in the day, if you were awesome, you were a 4.0. you didn't need a school system to artificially inflate your GPA above the stratosphere to improve their admission rates to college. this all just seems like one big cynical exercise in adolescent narcissism where the school tires to teach kids that they're not just perfect; they're transcendental.</p>
<p>Weighted grades was an effort to keep kids from dumbing down their classes in order to raise their GPA. The schools wanted a valedictorian that earned the spot with challenging classes, and not one that filled their schedule with fluff classes.</p>
<p>Back in the “good ole days”, people did the right thing because it was the right thing to do. Then kids started to take classes to boost their class standing. That was not in their long-term interest, thus weighted grades.</p>
<p>Harvard isn’t fooled by all these tricks. (I was just at the Exploring College Options information session last evening, and the Harvard admission officer there said the committee looks at the actual courses taken much more closely than at the overall G.P.A., because G.P.A. varies so much from one high school to another.)</p>
<p>^ tokenadult is right. The schools know the scoop. They are much more plugged in through regional representatives than people may realize. They know that AP Calculus BC at Podunk Public High School is tough; they know that everyone at Snootypuss Academy gets automatic A’s in Honors English; they know that the guidance department at Our Lady of No Hope is, well, hopeless, and that they’ll likely need to follow up on things if need be. </p>
<p>What if you are from Snootypuss or Our Lady of No Hope though? My school has rampant grade inflation. Actually, I have the only 4.0 in my grade, but pretty much everyone get’s A’s in AP classes, and 1s on the AP Exams. I self-study and get 5’s on my exams, so will that make up for my grade inflation? It’s obviously not under my control how teachers give out grades, but if a regional rep says my school is rampant with grade inflation, will my AP scores help cancel that out?</p>
<p>More generally, all that you do outside the classroom makes your case that you are well prepared to bring something of value to the Harvard community. Yes, you can’t control the grading standards of your school, but you can do things that show you meet high standards that are consistent with standards applied to other students from other schools.</p>
<p>Does Harvard “need” to know the kinds of classes offered at schools because my school does not offer many APs so I don’t know if this could somehow be worked out to hurt me.</p>
<p>Yes, this is being slightly paranoid but a Brown student told me that elite schools see what classes you took vs. what your school offers. This is true at Harvard, right? Meaning that will Harvard take into account that I took hardest classes possible, do they know ‘on their own,’ or do I snd them in a sheet of offered clsses? Please answer this!!! :)</p>
<p>Generally they should get this info from your Guidance Counselor. The Guidance Counselor “should” be knowledgeable enough to point out whether you took the hardest classes or not.</p>
<p>However, it can’t hurt to tell them yourself. You never know how good the Guidance Counselor is at doing their job. Just be careful what you say. Don’t exagerate. Something like that will come back to bite you because they might check.</p>
<p>Oh, thanks OperaDad! That really helped me, and I’m not too sure how good my guidance counselor is. I’ve yet to meet him, but I will spend lots of time with him next year. I have been thinking that I may tell schools myself because I fear that something as small as a useless counselor could destroy my dream is not worth risking! ;)</p>
<p>Schools have some sort of profile that is sent to colleges explaining their course offerings. They can determine the rigor of your coursework from this. You are not punished because your school doesn’t offer APs, IBs, Honors, etc., but they expect you to take the most rigorous classes offered at your school and to do well.</p>
<p>Well in that case, I should stop having to worry. I’ll end up taking like 11 out of the possible 14 APs (I don’t/won’t take French, Art History, or Psych) at my school, and my schedule is/will be the hardest in my class over the next two years. As long as my school has sent Harvard something, then I’ll be okay in that regard. Now the only problem is trying to stand out in a pool of 25,000 kids who are simply amazing!!! ;)</p>
<p>OP: Back in the day cars didn’t have 3-point seat belts, head rests, anti-lock brakes, or air bags. Are the prices for cars inflated? I guess they are, but that doesn’t mean they are not safer.</p>
<p>that’s a stupid analogy. you’re saying kids nowadays are somehow inherently superior to kids perhaps a decade ago. even if that were true, GPA is a relatively measure which enables comparison of students to their peers. if everyone were smarter, that would just shift the distribution to the right. that’s why SAT’s are still out of 800 instead of kids getting a 1000 out of 800.</p>
<p>I think I disagree with this entire thread. The basis for the higher level GPA is actually a 6.0 scale. On this scale, all AP classes are graded on a higher level due to their advanced curriculum. On the 5.5 scale are the classes normally referred to as Pre-AP. These classes, because still higher than the regular level, are still worth more. So, since all students receive the same opportunity and level of fairness, it can be concluded that there’s nothing truly wrong with this scale, aside from the fact that it may be hurting the egos of some older generations.</p>
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