<p>I am currently a white/european male junior at Boston Latin School ( very rigorous curriculum) and I have a 3.11 average gpa for the first two terms ( out of 5) of this year. My classes are:
Us history- (b-) (c+)
ap biology- (c+) (b)
Italian 3- (a-) (b+)
algebra 2- (a) (a+)
Latin 4- (b+) (b-)
English- (c+) (c-)</p>
<p>My extracurriculars are pretty bad-
- youth diversity alliance (every Friday for this year)
- I hAve a part time job working as a cashier at a dry cleaners ( does this even matter?)
- I plan to join pre medical society at my school next year
- plan to volunteer at a brigham and womans hospital, MGH, childrens hospital, or MSPCA senior year
----I have received "cum lauda" in the national Latin exam of my freshman year
I got a 180 on my psat</p>
<p>Do I have any chance at all getting into Harvard/MIT/BU/BC/Northeastern? What if I work hard to raise my gpa to 3.5-3.7? I'll do anything to raise my chances</p>
<p>Harvard and MIT are no ways at this point. The rigor of your school in general matters, but you still need to keep a high gpa. You also need some more volunteering and stuff so you should definitely follow through with your plan. Northeastern or BU might take you. I would expand your choices and find a few safety schools.</p>
<p>A 3.11 will not make it into Northeastern or BU without a major hook and those are the least selective schools on your list. If you score high on the SAT, that might counterbalance your GPA.</p>
<p>But what about a college like MIT. do they really care about how i did in history and english? I really am a math/science person and the c+ in ap bio i mentioned was a first in My whole high school career. I ALWAYS get at least an A in all my math courses. Would that be considered a hook?</p>
<p>Also lets say perhaps i got straight A’s from here on, would i have a chance or would my average gpa always come into play?</p>
<p>I know what you guys are saying but what i was asking is if i get straight a’s in all my classes from now until i graduate, will that pay off? Would a college like harvard realize that i turned my grades around and got straight a’s or would they be stuck up on looking at my average gpa of my WHOLE high school career? Basically what im asking is if i get straight a’s from now on (which is really hard at boston latin school), would that give me a shot, and would they disregard my average gpa from all my years at Boston Latin.?? ( surely they would see such a dramatic improvement as a really good thing, right?)</p>
<p>Keep in mind that Harvard and MIT are basically a lottery even for students with perfect stats throughout high school and no hook. The other schools may be impressed by a major improvement in GPA. But if you do succeed in getting all A’s or A-'s in the future, it implies that you were not really trying up until now.</p>
<p>@dtt9408 as other posters have suggested talk to your GC or look at your schools naviance. Perhaps Boston Latin school or whatever IS super competitive and you grades are actually really good at your school. That will be better advice than any random people on the Internet.</p>
<p>On the other hand, your 3.11 GPA for the past 2 grading periods suggests a low cumulative GPA for the past 2 years as well, which means that your chances at Harvard and MIT are practically nil. </p>
<p>Also, colleges look at your whole high school career and not just junior year though it is the most important. In general cumulative gpa of 4.0 > cumulative GPA of 3.5 with upward trend > cumulative gpa of 3.5 with downward trend >cumulative gpa of 3.0.</p>
<p>^ tomofboston really hit the nail on the head with that one. Though it would be great for you get get your grades up and keep them consistantly stellar till graduation, the fact that you’ve been struggling and/or not meeting that priority thus far does not speak well for you. I would only add that your stats as a whole are not terribly impressive. How many AP, Honors, and IB classes does your school offer you? Rigor is pretty important to top and less selective schools. Leadership in after school activities and on your own and “passion” are all factors that come into play. Do you come though as a dedicated, hardworking and demonstrateably attractive candidate that will improve ‘said college’s’ student body and reflect well on them? It is as much about your capabilities as a prospective as it is about whether or not you look worth the effort, I would argue, with schools like Harvard. </p>
<p>So I would say, analyze yourself. Look at your accomplishements, peronality, interests, and capabilities and start a new college list. There is more to living and being successful than having an MIT sweatshirt for the next 30 years. What you make out of your community while IN college often times can do more for you by being a big fish in a smaller pond than being at the bottom 1% of a more competative undergrad.</p>