<p>I am a sophmore at a competitive public high school in CA (ranked top 50 in US)
currently taking 6 classes (3 honors and 1 ap) and got terrible grades last semester (2As 3Bs and 1C) T.T which gives me a 3.16 unweighted/3.83 weighted for last semester.
Currently working my butt off trying to raise it to at least a 3.67 unweighted/4.33 weighted.
Planning to take AP Computer Science A and AP Chinese test this May. </p>
<p>I have heard stories about how super-rigor course load + okay grades > straight As with not so rigor course load. And my GPA is not very high so I was wondering if I can sort of stand-out in the selection process with my ap/honors course count and # of AP exams taken. So umm, can anyone fill me in with more info on this?</p>
<p>planned courses for next/junior year:</p>
<p>AP Calc BC (could end up with a B, hopefully not)
AP Biology (should be able to get A with some effort)
AP Japanese (Easiest class next year :P)
AP US History (dunno, could end up with B)
American Lit (B-ish) OR *American Lit Honors (dunno...)
Psychology (at local CommunityCollege)
*Physics (at local CommuityCollege)</p>
<p>If I take the so-called "most challenging courses necessary" (the ones with *)I would end up with 7 classes all AP/Honors and COULD possibily obtain a 5.0 GPA. And I could also take 6 AP tests nextyear (Calc BC/AB, Biology, Japanese, APUSH, Psychology, Physics B), get 4 or higher on all of them and become a National AP Scholoar as a junior. But I'm pretty scared of the course load so yeah.. Any advices?</p>
<p>It is hard when your GPA is low in sophomore year because it takes a LOT of hard work to bring it up. Don’t push yourself too much. You want to take all of the APs to raise your GPA but what if you can’t handle all of it and it lowers your GPA? You want to challenge yourself but not to where you would get C’s and low B’s. </p>
<p>It also depends on what colleges you are planning to apply to. If they are in the top 25 then you have to really work you a** off to raise that 3.16 GPA. (Colleges do not care what your weighted grade is because they unweight it anyway)</p>
<p>Good luck and PM me if you have anymore questions.</p>
<p>“Colleges do not care what your weighted grade is because they unweight it anyway”</p>
<p>Not true at all. Colleges compare your GPA to the rest of your class. So if your school weights GPA, they will compare those. If your school ranks, it will give them an even better idea.
Colleges know perfectly well that a GPA with APs is worth more than one with no APS.</p>
<p>“Not true at all. Colleges compare your GPA to the rest of your class. So if your school weights GPA, they will compare those.”</p>
<p>That is not completely true. Yes they compare you to the rest of your class but most colleges plug your GPA into a computer system to make everyone’s GPAs unweighted. If no one else applies from your school then they can’t compared to the rest of your class besides rank. Even if others from your school apply, they don’t read all of the same school’s applications at the same time and compare them to each other.</p>
<p>Zala…the real issue here is the ability to perform at a high level in AP courses and the influence that has on college admissions. You have to realize that there are kids all over this country that are cranking out A+ in AP classes and thriving on the pressure. If you are applying to top 25, you are going to have get the GPA up. The majority of top 25’s turn down 4.0 GPA >2200 SAT kids every single round. They also take 3.4 kids every round. But to increase your chances, you have to dig deep and perform at the highest level possible. If you are not gunning for a top 25, your course work will be fine for many good universities.</p>
<p>(sigh)
I guess this is where the hard work and upward trend comes into handy eh…
so the conclusion so far is GPA > course load?
and exactly how honorable is National AP Scholar anyways?</p>
<p>My advice: Take all of those courses. High school isn’t that hard anyway. If there is one thing I regret, its not signing up for the hardest courses offered at my school. Do whatever you can to take the hardest courses availiable and ace them- its easier than you think. </p>
<p>APUSH especially. Everyone says its hard but its actually really easy. The DBQ’s and FRQs are a bit of a pain but meh.</p>