Chance a low GPA, high test scores for Ivies

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I go to a super competitive high school and take the hardest possible classes. Here are my grades, which are pretty bad (1st semester/2nd semester).
Note: My school doesn't factor + or - into GPA. It uses a 4.0 scale, and all Honors and AP courses get an extra point (so they are 5.0 if you get an A, 4.0 if you get a B, 3.0 for C, 2.0 for D, but if you get an F you don't get an extra point so it's still 0.0)</p>

<p>8th: (these are just the APs I took in 8th at a local high school, I took other classes too but didn't list them [I was homeschooled until HS])
AP Computer Science A: A+/A+, 5 on AP Test
AP Calculus AB: A+/A+, 5 on AP
AP Latin Literature: B-/B-, 4 on AP (Latin was my main hobby outside of school, and considering it was in 8th grade I think I did quite well on the test)
AP French Language: A+/A+, 5 on AP (my parents were brought up here and I speak it at home with them so I'm technically a native speaker even though I am Indian, weird I know)
I don't think those 8th grade classes factor into high school GPA, even though they are AP.</p>

<p>9th
AP Human Geography: B-/A, 5 on AP test
AP Calculus BC: A/A+, 5 on AP test/5 on AB subscore
AP Computer Science AB: A+/A, 5 on AP test
Honors Spanish III: B+/A-
AP Biology: A/A-, 5 on AP test
Honors English: B/B
Gym (1st semester) (not used in Academic UW or W GPA): A
Art (2nd semester) (not used in Academic UW or W GPA): A-
9th grade GPA UW: 3.66667
9th GPA W: 4.66667</p>

<p>10th
AP World History: A-/B+, 5 on AP test
Multivariate Calculus Honors (1st semester): A
Linear Algebra Honors (2nd semester): A-
AP Environmental Science: A/A+, 5 on AP test
Spanish Language AP: C+/B-, 4 on AP test
AP Chemistry: A/B+, 5 on AP test
Honors English: B-/B
AP Studio Art: A-/B+, 4 on AP test
10th GPA UW: 3.428571
10th GPA W: 4.428571</p>

<p>11th (1st sem)
AP US History: D+ (I'm worried that this is going to completely screw me over)
Honors Differential Equations: A+
AP Statistics: A+
Spanish Literature AP: C-
AP Physics B: B+
AP English Language: A
AP Music Theory: A+
11th 1st sem GPA UW: 3.142857
11th 1st sem GPA W: 4.142857</p>

<p>11th (current): these are what I currently have for 2nd semester grades, so they are still subject to change
US History Honors (I dropped AP US after 1st semester): A-
Honors Differential Equations: A
AP Statistics: A
Spanish Literature AP: B+ (this will probably go down, but I'm hoping I can still get at least a B-)
AP Physics B: A (this may also go down, but I'm hoping to get an A-)
AP English Language: A
AP Music Theory: A+
Projected 11th 2nd sem GPA's: 3.857143 UW/4.857142... W
Self studying both AP Economics exams, and shooting for 5's on both</p>

<p>I am going to take Topology and Discrete Math at a local community college this summer; I should get A's in both.</p>

<p>Total current GPA (without 11th 2nd sem and 12th): 3.4545...etc UW, 4.4545... W</p>

<p>12th projected schedule:
AP European History
Honors Real Analysis 1st sem / Honors complex analysis 2nd sem
AP Psychology
AP Latin Vergil (due to my school's stupid policies, I have to pass a summer self-study exam to get into the course, but since I already know a lot of Latin (i took the AP Latin Literature) I will pass it)
AP Physics C: Mechanics and E&M
AP English Literature
AP Art History</p>

<p>SAT Subject tests:
9th: French With Listening: 800, Math II: 800, Biology: 800
10th: Chemistry: 800, World History: 800
11th: I'm not sure yet if I will take any, but if I do I'll take Physics and/or US, and will shoot for 800's on both</p>

<p>SAT (taken in 10th): 2400, no MC missed and 10 essay
PSAT (11th): 239, so I will get National Merit Semifinalist and probably Finalist
ACT with Writing (11th): 36 Math/36 Science/36 English/36 Reading/12 Writing/36 Composite</p>

<p>Now for my EC's:
Tennis: since 6th grade
JV Tennis- 9th, Varsity Tennis- 10th-11th (and I will play varsity next year as well). I was a JV starter 9th and I'm a Varsity starter this year.
I'm also nationally ranked in singles, around top 500 in the nation.
AIME Qualifier- 9th, 10th, 11th and probably next year as well (I was the school's highest scorer in AMC in 9th grade)
CAML participant since freshman year, school High scorer- 11th (it was also a perfect score)
USAJMO Qualifier- 10th
USAMO Qualifier- 11th, hoping to get to MOP this year (I took WOOT on Art of Problem Solving this year as well)
USABO Semifinalist- 9th, 10th, 11th
USNCO Semifinalist- 10th, 11th
USACO Semifinalist- 9th, 10th, 11th
NACLO Semifinalist- 9th, 10th, 11th
USAPHO Semifinalist- 11th
JV Basketball- 9th + 10th, Varsity Basketball 11th and probably 12th
JV Cross Country- 9th, Varsity Cross Country 10th-11th, probably 12th (I also ran a 4:59 mile earlier this year)
Piano (13.5 years so far): ABRSM Theory Level 5, ABRSM Piano Level 8, ABRSM Piano Diploma
Violin (7 years): ABRSM Violin Level 8
Guitar (5 years): I play in a band with a few friends
Other instruments I play for fun: Drums (4 years), Bass (4 years), Ukulele (2 years), Cowbell (2 years) [just kidding... well I do play it but that takes no skill)
Community service: I do all kinds of service, it's one of my passions, I passed 500 total hours last week and got a school award for completing 250 hours in one year (this year); I'm also going to do more this summer+senior year
Writer for my school newspaper since freshman year, will be one of the editors-in-chief next year
Math club since freshman year (I was the Secretary freshman year), President since sophomore year (we participate in competitions like AMC/CAML/ARML)
Science club since freshman year, will probably be President next year (we participate in all the olympiads, and science bowl)
Robotics since freshman year (VEX + FRC), I went with my team to FRC World Championships last year and am going this year too
Speech and debate since freshman year, I went to state freshman and sophomore year and am going to nationals this year
Quiz bowl freshman year
Karate from 3rd to 9th grade (black belt, 2nd stripe)
Edit: I forgot to say, I have participated in local science fairs since freshman year, and this year I qualified for the California State Science Fair</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Indian
Income: middle bracket
Will probably get great recs from Math and English teachers
I'm going to work really hard on essays and get feedback from lots of people, they should be good</p>

<p>PLEASE CHANCE ME FOR Harvard (EA), MIT, Princeton, Yale, Brown, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Caltech
oh yes, and Harvey Mudd, Carnegie Mellon, Dartmouth, Columbia, Cornell, UPenn, although I'm not 100% sure that I am applying to these</p>

2

<p>Your resume is impressive. As with most top privates, admission is a crapshoot unless it is a institution was Early Decision. Which Ivies are you looking at? </p>

<p>HYP: high reach, better than most tho
Columbia/Brown: semi high reach
Dartmouth: low reach ED, High reach RD
Cornell/UPenn: Low reach</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

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<p>Thanks! So you don’t think that B’s, a couple C’s, and that D ( :frowning: ) are going to completely kill my chances at those schools? Well, that’s certainly encouraging, because I almost thought I would have to give up trying to get into those completely. Thanks for the “chance”!</p>

4

<p>Sorry, but a GPA like that is going to murder your chances at all of those schools.
Apply if you want, you might get lucky, but have some safety’s too.</p>

5

<p>They will probably label you a lazy genius, but in your defense, you have great Ecs so they might negate those few bad grades, and they take your school competibility(not a word) in account</p>

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<p>Yes, I do have safeties, but I didn’t put them on here.
Is it my GPA, or the fact that I have C’s and D’s? My school counselor said that a 4.455 is a decent weighted GPA, but it’s my unweighted 3.455 which is worse, but even that would be okay if I didn’t have C’s and D’s and my lowest grade was a B- instead.
So my EC’s and high test scores still don’t make up for it? [And my advanced math and the fact that my schedule is the hardest out of anyone at my school?] Note: I’m not trying to argue with you, simply asking.</p>

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<p>Thanks. Yes, some of my bad grades are due to laziness but another factor is the amount of time I put into EC’s which leaves me less time for homework and studying and I’m also often tired during school, which affects my performance. My AP US grade was part laziness and part personal stuff that went on in the 1st quarter: it was the class I focused on least for some reason, so I managed to do ok in my other classes besides Spanish. I had an F first quarter in AP US and a D- in Spanish, so I did work hard to bring those up 2nd quarter, but unfortunately I still got the D+ and C-…</p>

<p>Also, I forgot to mention it in my original post, but I think I will get a great rec from my high school counselor, as he has known me well since freshman year and we get along great together. He also might explain the reason that I struggled in first quarter of junior year (long story short, depression, family problems, etc…)</p>

7

<p>Your descending curve on your grades in 11th might work against you unless you have a way to justify it. You probably should consider doing slightly easier courses that allow you to keep your GPA higher in 12th.</p>

8

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<p>Thanks for your opinion. Yes, people have advised me to take easier courses in 12th, so I might consider dropping one of my AP’s for a free period, and maybe even dropping down in a couple more to the regular-level course. However, I do APs mainly because I love learning (trite as this sounds), not for college apps, so I’d really like to keep all of them. I might drop some if I find that I am struggling next year though.</p>

<p>Also, I also forgot to mention this but I am still taking the AP US test, and aiming for a 5. I hope that this, along with hopefully the A- in Honors US History and possibly the US Subject test, might redeem, at least in part, my D+ in the class 1st semester.</p>

<p>Also forgot to mention these (jeez): Class Rep 9th and 10th grade, School Treasurer 11th grade, will be School VP 12th grade, and my gender is Male; no disciplinary problems/etc</p>

9

<p>Another thing: My dad went to Stanford for Grad school and my mom went to Harvard for grad. Both went to UC Berkeley for undergrad. I know “legacy” for UCB doesn’t help (right), but will the pseudo-legacies at Harvard/Stanford count for anything? (We haven’t donated anything there… and does grad school even count for legacy?)</p>

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<p>I am no admissions counselor but Harvard being a liberal arts school, may not be happy with your performance in liberal arts classes. Stanford on the other hand may view it more kindly if you are planning for engineering. Your profile seems more fit for Caltech and MIT though. I am not sure why are taking so many different languages in high school (people care you are good in one and spend a solid 4 years in it). </p>

<p>Taking every AP available and claiming it is for knowledge only goes so far if you can’t keep up your grades in them.</p>

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<p>Yes, I’m planning on being an engineer (although I’m not 100% sure yet).
I’ve taken Spanish for 3 years now but there’s no course after AP Spanish Lit, so I just decided to take AP Latin (which I should do well in, considering I did ok in AP Latin Lit in 8th grade). French was in 8th grade cause I’m sort of a native speaker, and AP Latin Lit in 8th grade was because latin was a hobby of mine before I entered HS.
I do take APs mostly for knowledge and for a challenge. I’m not sure what the meaning of your post is as actually, if I did keep my grades up in them, it would probably look more like something I do just for college. Taking them and doing poorly reflects in my opinion that, while I may not be able to handle them I do them anyway because college isn’t my priority for taking them, i take them for myself.</p>

<p>Two other things (both pretty minor): I have played golf for 4 or 5 years, although I’m not on my school team (although I’m probably good enough to make Varsity) because it conflicts with tennis. I also train and enter my dog in disc competitions, which I’m not sure is an EC but is just a fairly unique hobby of mine.</p>

12

<p>my dilemma is like this except I have a upward trend.
dont worry fellow brownie, it’ll work out.</p>

13

<p>“I do take APs mostly for knowledge and for a challenge. I’m not sure what the meaning of your post is as actually, if I did keep my grades up in them, it would probably look more like something I do just for college”</p>

<p>D+ and C- are not acceptable grades in a serious academic subject for any top 20 college no matter how you justify the thirst for knowledge. If you get this in shop or PE, it can be written off as ineptitude. </p>

<p>As you predict in your original post, this may cause you problems.</p>

<p>Just an FYI, Stanford says they ignore your 9th grade grades and consider only 10th and 11th.</p>

14

<p>Unfortunately grades count for so much, no matter how smart you may be, but I have to say
USAJMO Qualifier- 10th
USAMO Qualifier- 11th, hoping to get to MOP this year (I took WOOT on Art of Problem Solving this year as well)
USABO Semifinalist- 9th, 10th, 11th
USNCO Semifinalist- 10th, 11th
USACO Semifinalist- 9th, 10th, 11th
NACLO Semifinalist- 9th, 10th, 11th
USAPHO Semifinalist- 11th</p>

<p>^^^^THIS IS RIDICULOUSLY IMPRESSIVE!!!</p>

<p>I honestly think that this and your extremely accelerated math can help but you really have to get your GPA up. I hope you get in dude. Good luck!</p>

<p>Also just curious what school do you go to if you don’t mind answering?</p>

15

<p>Thought this anecdote might put some things in perspective – I know it isn’t an exact correlation because your achievements are much more impressive than Person X here. He just applied this year to Caltech, MIT, and UCB - kind of a URM. I thought he was in at all of them - he was a nationally ranked swimmer who made mop two years in a row and was a chem olympiad semi-finalist and top 10 finisher (will not tell you the year or the place) at ARML. His grades were pretty bad though because he actually could not care less about school. I think he ended with a 3.2 or so UW at a non competitive public school. He was the smartest kid that I had ever met, but he got rejected from MIT, wait-listed at Caltech, and accepted to UCB thought he will not attend. Maybe this helps? I don’t know – I think that the accolades help to drown out the low grades – as is clearly evidenced by his acceptance (Out Of State) to UCB.</p>

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<p>I agree with letyor- I’m pretty sure your mathematical prowess will overshadow your grades :). Make sure in your app to focus on all that good stuff (test scores, etc) and put as little emphasis as possible on your bad grades. Is there a specific reason you got such low grades? Like did something happen that distracted you, or did you just not study hard enough? Maybe explaining what happened would help</p>

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<p>A <em>D</em>? Wow… Why? There must be some kids that got A’s, yet you got a D? And you’re clearly not dumb, so there better be a good reason, or I think your chances may be shot.</p>

18

<p>Your ECs and achievements are extremely impressive(probably the most talented I’ve met in that respect), but your downward trend in GPA is quite frankly going to kill alot of your chances. </p>

<p>3.7 to a 3.4 to a 3.1? Mate, get your act together. You seem like a bona fide genius, and I’m probably not far off with that assumption. But taking a rigorous course-load only makes up for a bad GPA up to a certain point. The number of APs aren’t as important as doing well in them; this is common knowledge in college admissions. </p>

<p>Though many unis say they look at admissions holistically, the moment they see your GPA there will be a chance in an automatic rejection: it is a common assumption AND expectation that most applicants to ivies have good grades, so this is used as a eliminating factor in the start. Then they look at the ECs and separate candidates amongst the ones that got good grades. Chances are, a few of the ivies will eliminate you purely based on the fact that you have a very bad GPA, before even glancing at your ECs.</p>

<p>Though the fact that you got good test scores (another thing that is first looked at) may lead to the conclusion that grade inflation is not prevalent at your school - this could bode well for you, as you say your school is very competitive.</p>

<p>You should offer a small explanation in your application as to why your GPA isn’t that impressive. Do your best with the years in HS you have left. Don’t load up on so many APs, just take it easy but DO WELL in them.</p>

19

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<p>Not true. No school rejects people before reviewing their whole applications, however cursorily. I don’t think the OP’s app will be binned straight away.</p>

<p>However, there really is very little he can do to improve his chances at this point, given that his GPA appears to be slipping even lower. I’d advise him to pull himself together next year, get straight As the first semester, and apply RD. And write incredibly good essays because that’s the only thing that could save him, I think.</p>

20

<p>Why would an Ivy admit you when they can find many other people with similiar test scores, and ecs, but are valedictorians as well?</p>