<p>i had a few personal predicaments throughout hs, and couple that with being a slacker, i had about a 3.2 GPA at the end of my junior year (although i did have an huge upward trend). the fact that i made close to 4.0's my junior year with a rigorous courseload, yet still ended up with a 3.2 cumulative should indicate how much i messed around my first two years... all out of aimlessness. </p>
<p>in at: pomona (surprised, and i will be attending =]), tufts, syracuse, suny schools, occidental, uc-davis, uc-santa cruz, and pitzer.</p>
<p>wait-listed at stanford.</p>
<p>edit: but man, i did learn my lesson: it always pays off to be diligent. that's a trait i will carry with me next year.</p>
<p>i've been worrying about my GPA, I'm done with sophomore year with a 3.1 and I'm going to try extremely hard to get a super high GPA as a junior for college. (are AP out of 5 unweighted or still out of 4?)
Haven't taken the SAT, but I think I have a shot at National Merit, and will probably get around a 1400 on the SAT.</p>
<p>i go to a top 10 high school for the gifted, and I play lacrosse, president of club, 150 HRs community service, and some other ECs. </p>
<p>hahahhaha ok so back to the point, this is a great thread and is very encouraging for people in my shoes.</p>
<p>The term "Low GPA" is usued relatively, as in for the level of schools people are applying to, a 3.6 UW or being ranked barely in the top 10% is low. Obviously this level of achievement in general is considered quite excellent, but for Ivies and the like, it's pedestrian if not a real detriment to one's application.</p>
<p>It goes way beyond GPA, but since I would have loved to have seen this info last year I will bite (on behalf of son):
W GPA 3.96 0r 3.99, UW unknown (8 APs, 3 College courses)
2220 SAT, NMF
Approx 12% rank
Strong upward trend beg Jr. year
In at UCLA, USC, UC Berkeley, UCSB, UCSC, and others- some with merit aid. Not the top 10, but still in at some great schools!</p>
<p>Take the hard classes. Be more than your GPA, it does not define you! Write good essays.</p>
<p>x90, you are major inspiration, my friend with a near perfect GPA applied to 10 top tier schools and the only one he didn't get into was Pomona. I'm hoping for Claremont McKenna and I have around a 3.6 UW GPA. The thing is, I get a lot out of my education, I don't cram for tests, I remember what I naturally learn... I hope I can convey that to the schools I apply to.</p>
<p>dpc1192, I know how you feel, I go to a high school with a 30% acceptance rate. So, logically, if I'm in the top 50% of my class, I'm actually in the top 15%, right? Hehe, colleges don't think so.</p>
<p>Seriously, let's keep this going. Anyone get into decent liberal arts colleges with a okayish GPA?</p>
<p>well, even with these low gpas, the people who got in probably had other spectacular things.. like leadership or super athletic skills or perfect sat scores or legacies...</p>
<p>Somewhere around 20th%-ile, 3.4 something, just below 3.5, unweighted. Nothing special high school. </p>
<p>Recent grad CMU computer science, was also accepted to JHU, and honors @BC. Only one rejection (ivy). Bunch of safeties because of the "low" gpa and rank. </p>
<p>Some people just can't get motivated in high school. I think to an extent colleges realize that, except for the very top ones.</p>
<p>Hmmmm i remember a cc member in the Upenn wharton thread got in with a 3.6 and 33 Act............kinda forgot his screenname----- silversurfer????? maybe... lol what matters is that you tried your best and colleges realize that and If a college rejected you because of a 3.6 without looking at your character and actual potential, then i say that the school is retarded and you shouldn't go. Go to someplace you will be happy =] even if it means non-ivies.</p>
<p>I think that the biggest things that helped me were my ECs. I have an interest in electrical engineering and have done a number of projects on my own and for credit. I built an electronic drumset, a tube amp for an electric guitar, and a fm synthesizer. I also did an independent study of the programming language lisp. Another thing I did was I kept submitting essays explaining how my projects work in terms of the math involved. I don't know if I was even correct, but the fact that I was motivated enough to try and learn how my projects worked in terms of the math probably told the admissions committee something. Anyway, after looking at the gpas of people admitted to RPI and WPI from my school, I have the lowest, but my sat score is comparable.</p>
<p>i have around a 3.45-3.49 GPA and a 5.0 weighted out of 6. i'm applying to NYU Stern ED but I feel like my chances are really slim. Any thoughts, please?</p>
<p>Hmm. Interesting topic.
I had a 3.65 total.
High SAT though - which still means nothing.</p>
<p>I got into Duke and Berkeley (both for bioengineering), and I'm attending Berkeley next year. Honestly, my grades, horrible as they were, did nothing to harm my application :)</p>
<p>That's why I always laugh to myself when I read threads with people that are like" OMG!!! I got a B+ in AP/HONORS BLAH BLAH". </p>
<p>Get used to it. I was just at orientation these past two days - people were thinking they could get a 4.0 at BERKELEY engineering. Close to impossible btw :D</p>
<p>I'm checking out Berkeley right now, I live ~ 100 miles away. I have a pretty high UC GPA, but does Berkeley only look at your UC GPA or do they also look at your weighed/unweighed cumulative high school GPA too? Berkeley/San Francisco is an amazing and culturally diverse area. Congrats .:Indian:.!</p>