Hello! I am currently a high school junior with a 4.0 WEIGHTED GPA. Not unweighted, so it is not ‘perfect’, but it is relatively low for even slightly competitive/prestigious institutions.
Please offer your completely honest opinions about how this number will affect my applications to the schools which I apply to (I plan on applying to Brown, Stanford, Duke, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UT Austin, etc.)
How can I make up for this low number? Would receive a near-perfect score on the SAT help? If so, by how much would this really help? What activities can I add to my resume to boost the desirability of me as a student on their campuses?
Any specific recommendations and detailed answers would be much appreciated! Also, I appreciate honesty (but perhaps, besides telling me I have no chance, just recommend how to make that a ‘slight’ chance rather than ‘no’ chance!) Thank you!
A 4.0 weighted GPA isn’t as important as your unweighted(this is what colleges look at). What are your interests? I would focus on something that you are passionate about and try to take some advanced (AP or local college) classes in that area. Also, with these schools, you will already need a pretty high SAT score, and a slightly lower than average GPA will require a near perfect SAT score. Good luck!!!
Weighted 4.0 could be unweighted 3.0 or 3.5 or 4.0. It’s more helpful if you said your unweighted GPA, then tell us about what weighted classes you have taken, namely AP classes. Also, state what state you are from, that will make a difference especially with the schools you listed.
The UCs have their own calculation, called a UC weighted capped GPA, based on your 10th and 11th grade grades, with some weight added for AP and honors classes. Typically the max UC weighted capped GPA will be somewhere between 4.30 and 4.40 depending on how many classes were taken. UC Berkeley and UCLA median average UC weighted capped GPA is around 4.23. Use this to calculate your UC GPAs and report back: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
UCs are very focused on GPA mainly, but a very high test score can certainly compensate to some degree. ECs that emphasize community service and/or leadership is a plus for Berkeley.
Do you have a list of schools that offer what you want to study or do you just have a list of “top schools”? I would find out what schools offer what you want to do in college, then work backwards from there. A top school in one field can be average for another. Maybe there is a prestigious program you can set your sights on at a less selective school? If you took the PSAT, you’ll gain a sense of your chances soon enough when the scores are released.
But there is no point in going to a top school if you don’t even know who you are and what you want to accomplish with your time. What do you want to be doing right now at school? Believe it or not, you will carry your HS and college education with you forever as a lived experience. This lived experience will mean so much more than a prestigious diploma locked behind glass in a pretty frame. Do you want an authentic HS experience filled with dreams, hopes and accomplishments that are meaningful to YOU and will feed your spirit? Do you, not college app you.
We heard a number of colleges, at their info sessions, express skepticism about people who suddenly start a new bunch of ECs in their junior year as it’s clear it’s just to pad the resume. You can add one or two in your area of interest perhaps, but largely continue with whatever you have been doing already, if possible in more in-depth/leadership positions. And do some good investigation with your counselor about match schools. (If you’re not a Texas resident, be aware that UT Austin targets about 90% Texas residents for incoming classes so it’s usually a reach for OOS.)