Average GPA

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

Hi,

I’m an international student from Poland, where we usually send 1 Harvard College student a year. The question than makes me feel bad is, what’s with taking into account GPA from all High School classes? In my country, we have only 3 years before graduation and I’m about to start second one this September (first year of IB Class). I’ve learned about possibility to go Harvard just few weeks ago and my last and current year are some sort of terrible. (I have had no need to learn a lot cause of competition which allowed me to get into any HS I wanted to) Do I have any chances if my IB grades will be 6s and 7s?

2

Try this: http://www.foreigncredits.com/Resources/GPA-Calculator/

Select your country, put in your classes and grades, and see what your GPA comes out to be. Current freshman at Harvard have an average GPA of 3.93.

3

For the equivalent of US HS first year I have 3.21, for second will have close the same. If I would I know about Harvard before I would have 3.95 :frowning: What Can I do?

4

Does IB grades evaluated higher? We don’t normally have high level to work on. Can Admission Office only rate two last years?

5

Sorry for spaming, but I think it may be important - here we can choose school subjects only in 2 last years, before nearly everyone in country has the same ones.

6

@NeXt2530‌,

Harvard’s admissions are highly competitive. In terms of objective academic criteria, at what would you think they’d look other than standardized test scores and grades?

7

Several things you need to understand about Harvard.

  1. Harvard has about 1660 beds on their campus for incoming freshmen. In any given year, Harvard fills 10% to 11% of those beds with international students -- that's about 180 to 190 international students.
  2. Some countries are more represented than others. The majority of international students at Harvard come from Canada, China, Korea, Great Britain and Australia.
  3. Harvard Admissions does NOT exclude years -- they must treat all applicants the same, so they cannot count just your last two years.
  4. Currently, there are four (4) students from Poland at Harvard College (the undergraduate school). See: http://www.hio.harvard.edu/statistics. That means that, on average, Harvard admits about one (1) student from Poland per year.
  5. To be that one student admitted from Poland, you have to be the best of the best from your country.

With a 3.21 translated GPA, I’m going to be honest: you have absolutely no chance whatsoever, as you don’t seem to be the best of the best from your country (sorry). By all means apply if your heart is set on it, but I really don’t see how it’s possible.

8

I feel like losing my life dreams. Anyway, Thank you for response.

Are all subjects included in GPA?

9

^^ All academic subjects are counted. Colleges generally exclude courses such as gym, music, theater, health etc, as those courses are easier and tend to boost a student’s GPA.