<p>I currently have a low gpa of 3.5. Even if you do well and stand out on your essay and other EC is it impossible to make up for your past failures? Because I tried extremely hard for the SAT and other curricular stuffs. </p>
<p>Also if you see my stat about my sophomore gpa I got 3.38, but at the same time I received honors roll, which was only given to 5 people in my grade. Even though it seems pretty low, if I were to re-calculate my sophomore year gpa to the scale that was used in my freshman year, I would have gotten 4.0, but the class just got extremely hard. </p>
<p>Definitely. A high class rank can indicate that grading is really tough at your school. Essays/ECs/exam scores can also show that you’re a great applicant. An upward trend in grades is also very good, so do well your junior and senior year. </p>
<p>However, many admission officers have said that the high school transcript is the most important part of the college app, so keep that in mind. What schools are you looking to apply to? Your GPA is fine for most colleges and only “low” for top schools. </p>
<p>if many of the following apply to you: ORM, high income bracket, unhooked, then anything below a 3.8 basically cannot be made up for(even if your classes were rigorous)</p>
<p>You could take a community college course during the summer which could boast your GPA if you are a Junior. Also the admission officers will compare your GPA with your high school peers. As stated above, if your school is very difficult, they will see that in the rankings. </p>
<p>OP seems to be alluding to the fact that his school might suffer from grade deflation. If that’s true, a 3.5 might be perfectly acceptable. All GPAs are viewed in context - if the top GPA in the school is a 3.7, with rigor, then it’s entirely possible 3.5 is a very good GPA. We simply don’t have enough info to conclude that nothing can be done. As well as the fact that 3.5 is fine for most schools, just not the tippy top, depending on test scores and other factors.</p>
<p>Anything can be explained through an interview or personal statement - don’t worry about it too much especially since there isn’t much you can do. Focus on first semester senior grades and write some killer essays. Colleges can see past the GPA if they feel that a student is on an upward trajectory and is passionate about learning.
Best of luck! </p>
<p>I don’t know why you think that a 3.5 is “bad.” If you will only consider a handful of colleges worth attending, then perhaps it is, but those colleges routinely reject applicants with perfect statistics. That GPA is good enough for the vast majority of four-year colleges. If it is unweighted, and you have been taking a rigorous courseload, then it is good enough for almost all colleges.</p>