can extracurriculars make up for a bad GPA?

Applying to College
1

my freshman year GPA was fairly good b/c at my school we aren’t allowed to take any APs so i took an accelerated class (3.9) unweighted. my over the course of my sophomore and junior year i took 8 APs + 2 accelerated courses, which was definitely overload on my part. my unweighted GPA fell to a 3.57 and my weighted is a 4.02. my SAT superscore is a 2310 and my ACT is a 35.

during this time though I managed to get really ahead with my extracurriculars, amassing a lot of leadership positions, and did a few unique internships. i think my teacher recommendations could also be good, since i’m very close to the teachers i asked.

how much would my extracurriculars + teacher ECs + test scores + internships outweigh my weak GPA? although my family doesn’t qualify for the application waivers, they aren’t willing to pay for more than 2 applications, so i would pay from my own money… so if it’s not possible for me to get into a college like georgetown, penn, columbia, NW, i think id rather just not apply in the first place.

thanks!!

2

Okay, first, there is NOTHING weak about your GPA. Your academic stats are really strong, and you should be proud of that. And although everyone says upward trend is ideal, I think colleges will understand that it dropped a little because you took so many challenging classes.

You haven’t given much detail about your extracurriculars, but it sounds like you have a lot going for you there, too. Basically, you have a really strong profile right now. Just try to relax. :slight_smile:

3

Your GPA is fine. But as a general rule ECs, essays, etc. (unless you are a recruited athlete, Olympian, Malia Obama or something along those lines) do not make up for academic performance that is markedly below the school average.

It is always fine to apply to a couple of reach schools - -just be sure to have affordable match and safety schools on your list as well.

4

^ This - all of it.