Im a rising Senior now, applying in the fall.
Unweighted GPA: 3.79
ACT Composite: 35 (34E, 34M, 36R, 35S)
I spent some time in British secondary school, so started US high school sophomore year.
AP courses so far: Chemistry, Biology, Calculus BC, United States History, World History, Environmental Science
Senior Year courseload: AP Stats, AP English, AP Physics C, AP Macroeconomics, Multivariable Calculus
I am not going to describe my extracurriculars, I would just like to know if these credentials are on par with the Ivies that are NOT Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Is my GPA too low?
Your GPA is fine. Academically, you are more than qualified, but remember they like to see nice ECs & quality essays.
Academically, yes, but GPA is a tad below average for Ivies. Rigorous course load will make up for GPA.
Please, PLEASE drop the term 'lower ivy’from your lexicon. At best it makes you sound obnoxious at worst it makes you sound stupid, and in any case it makes you sound hopelessly adolescent and clueless. Self respecting ivy grads never would use such a term.
Moving on:
GPA is fine.
Your AP course choices don’t help in understanding your academic interests and strengths.
Do you have 4 years of a foreign language (or AP )
Can you drop AP stats and take AP gov instead?
In any case, consider any university with an acceptance rate of 30% or less as a reach.
Agree with @MYOS1634 … Don’t disrespect an Ivy… Plenty of people get into Harvard but not others. All of these places can fill their college multiple times with equally qualified students.
Anyways, if your ranking is on top of your class, your GPA should be fine. Your GPA is looked at based on the context of your rigor of your class. If teacher randomly gives out A’s for coloring in the lines, that will be worth less than if your teacher only ends up giving 2 or 3 kids an A. (The way this would show is that other’s ranking would be lower than the people who get the A)
ACT is fabulous. Course is great too. Good luck and don’t disrespect these amazing schools again.
Yeah, there’s no such thing as a “lower Ivy”. You might say “less prestigious” – compared to HYP, maybe – but they are all prestigious, and they are all reputably outstanding academically, offer great opportunities and have strong alumni networks.
Looking at stats solely, I think your GPA is a hair low – but likely won’t disqualify you per se – while your ACT is strong.
First of all welcome to CC and congratulations on finding the courage to do your first post!! Stay and lurk around and don’t be discouraged by folks who take umbrage to your “Lower Ivy” terminology. As a new poster, its OK to commit such faux pas here on CC Now for some honest advice.
Given the limited information you posted, you are not competitive academically at any Ivy, lower, higher or otherwise. In fact I think any of the top 10 would be huge reaches. These schools can fill their freshman classes with students with perfect grades and scores many times over and even they don’t get in, unless they have some hook or some EC that catches an adcom’s fancy. Now if you are an URM or first generation, or have some such hook, your chances may be better. Read thru the admit decision threads for various colleges to get an idea of who gets rejected and who gets accepted. May help you form your own opinions also.
Good luck with your applications! Don’t stress out too much. You seem like a good student. You will land somewhere good and in 10 years time will laugh at all the stress you put on yourself for your undergraduate studies.