<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I want to know if colleges look at junior year with more weight than the cumulative GPA?
Freshman year I had a 3.45, and then sophomore year was that great, at a 3.35, and this year I have a 3.77-3.8 gpa. My cumulative will end up being around a 3.53. I want to apply Duke ED, and a lot of kids at my school who have applied had 3.5s for their cumulative. Does it look better to colleges with upward improvement in gpa? </p>
<p>I have great ECs, and an URM along with many other things that can't hurt.</p>
<p>Can I make it? and my orginal question, what's more important? Cumulative or Junior year, since that's when most people take more advanced classes?</p>
<p>An upward trend always looks better, but your GPA is rather low for Duke (both the cumulative and your project junior grades). From my understanding cumulative and junior are looked at basically equally.</p>
<p>Well my project grades aren’t rather low at all. The average GPA for a student applying early decision to Duke is a 3.6-3.75 and</p>
<p>That may be at your school, but nationally that is not the case (or if it is, they are mainly not getting in). Unless your school experiences grade deflation you are going to experience issues with your GPA.</p>
<p>Okay if that’s your weighted gpa, definitely too low for Duke. It’ll all depend on your EC’s. People tell you the upward trend matters- in most case, that’s not true for a college ranked in the top 15. Unless you are a recruited athlete or have some amazing EC’s, the odds are against you. In addition, it’ll also depend on your SAT score- you should have at least a 2200 for Duke (unless, again, you have some spectacular EC’s). </p>
<p>Also, never look at the average GPA of a school’s admitted students; that number is lowered by the recruited athletes (especially during the early decision round). Always be at least above the median and aim for the top 25 percentile.</p>
<p>We don’t have weighted gpas at my school. It’s unweighted, all on a 4 scale. Also, the students accepted early decision were not recruited.</p>
<p>That may be, but you never know what the rest of their application looked like. They could have had great test scores, amazing ECs/recommendations/essays, be a legacy with a family member who makes large donations, had a reason that is considered valid for the low grades and so on… Personally I would not waste my ED on Duke, but it is your choice/you have time to decide.</p>