<p>i've heard that some schools, namely Stanford, use a student's gpa initially as a point to see if your application will be seriously considered (well, obviously it'll be looked at but you know what i mean, I think?) and then don't look at it so much after that point. Does anyone know what Cornell admissions regards most importantly? And yes, i know that they look at everything but my question is: is the gpa as important as, say, standardized test scores?</p>
<p>GPA (and class rank if available) is more important than anything else in your application folder. Standardized tests are probably next for highly selective schools.</p>
<p>yes, GPA is way more important than standardized test scores.</p>
<p>edit: maybe not WAY more important, but colleges definitely don't consider test scores more important than GPA. some colleges, they're on even ground; most take GPA more seriously, though.</p>
<p>scores and class rank put gpa into perspective so you can have a 4.0 and then a 23 act and 50/100 rank and have no shot whatsoever.</p>
<p>gpa is more important i think~~~but if you took challenging classes,that's okay if your UW GPA is lower,(but not that low,like 3.3....)</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, how does a 3.77 appeal to the committee? (with a very rigorous schedule, of course)</p>
<p>GPA is the most useless indicator ever. Harvard admission committee considers the GPA the most useless piece of information in the application. Most accepted students have a healthy mix of A's and B's. 4.0 GPA usually won't cut it in a lot of places unless your test scores also reflect your academic strength.</p>
<p>"GPA is the most useless indicator ever" seems a bit pretentious. although i realize that i began this thread, one thing i do know that GPA is an indication of one's efforts in their academics. additionally, this is a Cornell post so what harvard considers doesn't really concern me, nor do i believe that harvard considers a student's gpa as by any means "a useless piece of information". anyways, thanks for the posts everyone.</p>
<p>tokenadult posted some amazing threads on College Admission forum, you should definitely check out what admission officers at Harvard, MIT, Tufts, and even Cornell, say, in their own words about GPA. Remember, GPA is a number. It doesn't show your course rigor. I can absolutely understand what the Harvard admission officer meant.</p>
<p>The best way to recognize and reward a student's authentic diligence is to look at the whole transcript rather than that single number. I give tremendous amount of credit to Cornell for doing exactly so.</p>
<p>
[quote]
One of the Harvard admission officers says, when asked about weighted versus unweighted grade averages, "When I see a grade average like 6.85, the first question I ask myself is, 'What does this really mean?' I look at the rest of the applicant's file and especially at the applicant's activities to find out if the applicant is the real deal."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
"The G.P.A. has become the most meaningless number in college admissions." Don't hunt for a high G.P.A. at the expense of avoiding intellectual challenge in your course selection and extracurricular involvements--that won't fool anyone.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Some really picky people will say stuff like "oh the admission officers didn't say that GPA is useless". Oh stop it, that's what he/she meant.</p>
<p>oh yeah i understand entirely that they look at the whole thing i'm just saying that gpa isn't entirely disregarded. for instance, i got(have) a 4.0 and a 32 act, and i realize that a 32 is about in the middle of their range so the 4.0 w/ a rigorous schedule should help also... right? haha i hope.</p>
<p>-- i got(have) a 4.0 and a 32 act, and i realize that a 32 is about in the middle of their range so the 4.0 w/ a rigorous schedule should help also... right? haha i hope. --</p>
<p>Even if your EC's include video games and watching TV, you'll get in with those credentials. </p>
<p>I want a high ACT score :'(</p>
<p>actually, I'm sure even 4.0's with 32's get rejected.</p>
<p>4.0 with 35~36, top 5%, and a rigorous schedule, then you're pretty much in, for engineering at least.</p>
<p>Basically, your transcript is very important, not so much your GPA, because you really can't compare kids from different schools with different course loads who both had 3.8s and say they did equally as well in high school.</p>
<p>Going back to Cornell's Common Data Set <a href="http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000395.pdf:%5B/url%5D">http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000395.pdf:</a></p>
<p>The "very important" factors for admission (in no particular order) are: rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, standardized test scores, application essay, recommendation, extracurricular activities, and talent/ability. </p>
<p>The only "important" factor is class rank. </p>
<p>"Considered" are an interview (probably referring to the required interviews, since many applicants do not get an interview), character/personal qualities, first generation, alum relation, geographical residence, state residency, racial/ethnic status, volunteer work, and work experience. </p>
<p>"Not considered: religious affiliation and level of applicant's interest (so no matter how many times you visited, it doesn't count)</p>
<p>I doubt that if you have 4.0s and perfect test scores that that guarantees anything witht the capricious whims of college admins. Moreover, that is kind of a naive thing to say-no offense- considering the fact that many of those such applicants are rejected. They claim to look at you as a package, not just your test scores and gpa, they want someone unique that can bring something to the university- or so they say, i don't think anyone really knows.</p>
<p>What if your school doesn't rank? is that going to be held against me?</p>
<p>no it wont be held against you because its not your fault your school doesnt rank...the colleges look at every applicant in their own context.</p>
<p>My work experience and community service make up the bulk of my extracurriculars... why is that considered less important than "EC's"? Work and volunteering are definitely EC's...</p>
<p>is gpa more important than rigor?</p>