<p>Okay, the first one is this:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I'm filling out the common app and I got to the point where it talks about GPA and class rank. Now my question is this: I've got a 3.98/4 GPA unweighted, and a 4.7/5 weighted GPA (will be basically a 5.0 by end of senior year. AP's and honors and whatnot). I'm also ranked 5th in my class. However, I don't know which to report and furthermore, how do I know if my rank itself is weighted or unweighted?</p></li>
<li><p>I've got a list of schools, please look at them quickly. Yale, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Dartmouth. I'm contemplating applying to Stanford, WashU in St. Louis, Northwestern, and Brown as well. First of all, are there any schools of similar caliber that I may have missed or should cut off my list?(especially those with very strong biology/premed programs) And two, can anyone point me in the direction of a few slightly less competitive, but still great schools? I need backups/matches severely and can think of nothing.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>First question: To me, the 3.98/4 GPA looks much more impressive.
Second question: Princeton and MIT for schools of the same caliber? Not sure about safety schools though.</p>
<p>All schools rank differently, so you would need to ask your guidance counselor whether yours is weighted or not.
I also think you should report the 3.98/4.</p>
<p>I would recommend Rice as a school with similar caliber.
University of Rochester might be a decent match. It’s somewhat less competitive (38% acceptance rate, 3.8 average GPA, 1970 average SAT) but is still very strong in the biological sciences.<br>
Safety schools are harder to recommend without knowing a little bit more about what you’re looking for. Does size matter? Location? What about cost?</p>
<p>Size is important. I’d prefer a medium-small size school. Madison, my state’s flagship school is too large, and that is one of the biggest reasons I’m not applying
Location: Preferably east coast or midwest. I want four seasons a year. Oh, and I’d prefer a medium size city, but I’d make a few exceptions
Cost: Well, most of the schools I mentioned are very good about providing for financial aid. We could handle virtually any price tag with the right amount of help, so I’d like to keep it not too high. Most of the schools I’ve looked at are right around 50k a year (with room and board, tuition, and meal plan), so maybe under 40 would be nice.</p>