I have a 3.5 unweighted GPA and a 4.2 weighted GPA. My counselor told me that the prime GPA he would put for my transcript is the weighted GPA. I’ve heard that people get into Northwestern, University of Chicago, etc. with this GPA as well as decent EC and ACT scores. If I were to apply for early decision to a prestigious school, would this be considered okay or should I not apply at all?
I know some of you are thinking that I’m stupid for thinking about getting into Northwestern with a 3.5 GPA but I just need some honest opinions.
Please let me know!
Regardless of what you GC puts on your transcript the colleges will recalculate it according to their own policies.
What do you mean by “decent ACT and EC’s”?
Apply to those schools but also have matches and safeties.
Lower statted applicants who are admitted to top schools will have a hook: URM, athlete, legacy etc.
I would guess anyone getting into the colleges you list with a 3.5UW is indeed a legacy, recruited athlete, URM or child of a major donor.
Take your shot at one or two of your favorites, but apply to several match and likely schools that you would also be happy to attend.
Falling in love with a dream school is a choice. You can opt not to make that choice and instead keep an open mind and bloom where you’re planted.
Hmm, not sure
The odds are against you, but it’s not impossible. Something in your application will have to make them say “we have to have this kid!”
There are always other factors in play to compensate for academics, admissions community calls them “hooks”. Athletics, EC talents, celebrity, legacy, race, geography, donations, essays, adversity, connections and luck are some of the strongest hooks.
I will admit that this is an issue on which I have an opinion that is not widely shared anywhere.
A friend of a daughter went to Chicago. From elementary school through high school (they have known each other a long time) I do not think that he ever had a B in any course, ever. He is that strong a student. He came back in breaks and complained about how tough Chicago was and how much work it was. I think that he really loved it and I know that he learned a lot there and got a great education. However, it is an academically very demanding school.
Do you have a reason for the unweighted 3.5 that will not repeat once you get to university? If not, then I am not convinced that Northwestern or the University of Chicago are good fits for you.
Your GPA is very good. There will be lots of other universities that are a very good fit for you.
In a quibbling mood this morning, so I am going to amend that.
A “hook” is something that you have that a college wants. It could be your talent/skill (eg, an athletic recruit or a Regeneron Grand Prize). It could be $$ (the more famous the school the bigger the # of $ needs to be). It could be your fame (eg, Malala Yousafzai, who had perfect HS marks and a Nobel prize in hand when she applied to college). It could be your ties to the university (eg, legacy, which matters more at some places than others). It could be URM status. But whatever it is, it is something the college wants.
“Essays, adversity, connections” and geography are not hooks. They can be point that differentiate you from other applicants- but they aren’t something the university specifically wants. Being from an underrepresented state can get you a little longer look- but it won’t override weakness in your application. The idea that AOs prefer a good hardship story, or that the best trauma essay wins is not true. Connections can help (which was what everybody assumed when Malia Obama got into Harvard, ignoring the fact that she was a top student at a HS that routinely sends students to HYP), but are not quite the ticket people think they are (did anybody pay attention to where Sasha Obama went? not HYP- she went to a place that is where the B team from her HS goes) (not dissing her or the university! good kid, good school).
Finally, Luck. Luck plays one of the biggest roles in college admissions of all. Were you lucky enough to be born to parents who were able to give you a stable home in an area with good (or good enough) schools? Were you lucky enough to not have any physical or emotional challenges significantly shape your journey from birth to 17? Then luck is on your side. But it’s not a hook.