<p>Freshman year of high school i got really into competing and slacked off alot during first semester and so my grades were extremely low and not near what they would have been if i would have focused and did my school work. My grades for first semester were 3 cs 2 as and 3 bs. My uw gpa from previous advanced classes taken in middle school combined with this is 3.48. I am a sophmore now, and have 3 years before graduation. Will I be able to get my unweighted gpa up enough to be accepted into one of my top college choices?(listed/ranked below)
Top Choices/Reach
University of Chicago(I really love this school)
MIT
Yale
Columbia University
Stanford</p>
<p>Middle Choices
Duke University
Rice University
University of Notre Dame
Vanderbilt
Purdue</p>
<p>Safeties
UT Austin
Baylor
Boston College</p>
<p>The 3.48 will hurt you in the long run, it will hurt your cumulative GPA as well as your class rank. Also know that your freshman GPA is more important then your high school classes from middle school, which means your GPA is actually closer to a 3.0. Could you get into any of your reaches (or middle choices for that matter) right now, no. That being said hypothetically yes you could still get in if you do well sophomore and junior year (assuming you also have strong ECs and test scores). But you have to remember most of the schools on your list are extremely competitive and you will be competing for admissions against people who never had lower then a 3.9 or 4.0, meaning they will all be very big reaches for you. Also know that your senior grades don’t really matter in college admission (they expect you to maintain good grades but they don’t really make it into your GPA before you apply) which means you have two years to improve your grades not three.</p>
<p>I’m not understanding how my gpa is closer to a 3.0 Could you explain this for me?</p>
<p>The 3.48 from my understanding reflects grades earned in middle school as well (which colleges are likely to remove when they recalculate your GPA). So if we look at you grades from freshman year alone we get a 2.875. Here is the math that led me to this number.
2 + 2 + 2 (because of your three Cs) + 4 + 4 (because of the two As) + 3 + 3 + 3 (because of the three Bs) = 23
23/8 (because that is how many classes you took, note this is wrong if they are not all worth the same number of credits) = 2.875</p>
<p>Note: For example if gym is only worth a quarter of a credit (as it is in my school) and that was one of your Cs your GPA would be higher, if it was one of your As your GPA would be lower. My guess is your class are not all worth the same number of credits (gym and electives tend to not be a full credit). So my calculations will be slightly off.
3 cs 2 as and 3 bs</p>
<p>Colleges don’t care about your GPA in middle school.</p>
<p>Even though that is what my gpa is on my current high school transcript you think it is still that low? That is really worrisome for me… I may have to completely reconsider my college choices if my gpa is really that low.</p>
<p>I am not 100 percent sure what you are asking, but I hopefully can answer correctly…</p>
<p>Colleges often recalculate your GPA when reviewing your application, the sometime recalculate using their own weight system because they vary by school, but the big thing is they recalculate your unweighted GPA. Most will recalculate using only your core subjects from your high school career (English, math, science, social studies and foreign language). That means any classes you took in middle school will be removed, as well as all electives and required courses that tend to to not matter (usually gym and health, some schools have other classes that are pointless but required).</p>
<p>It varies by school, but my guess is that at least half the schools on your list do that in some variation or another. So yes that would mean your GPA is rather low (it would remain in the land of GPAs that start with a 2). Like I said in your current situation those schools are extremely unrealistic and my guess is most will remain so. Focus on getting good grades the rest of high school and you will end up at a good college (even if it is not one of the ones on your list).</p>
<p>It’s too soon to feel doomed. The best advice is to do as well as you can, from this point forward. Many colleges won’t look at 9th grade. Virtually none will look at middle school.</p>
<p>Whether a college recalculates depends on the college. But, all see your transcript. They’re going to hone in on your (hs) solids; that’s where your best grades need to be. And, you will need some rigor.</p>
<p>The bad news: none of the schools on your current list will be happy about a B average. The good news: hey, you’re just starting soph year. You have so much time to bring this up, get nicely involved in hs and community activities- and grow.</p>
<p>ps. Yes, they will see 1st semester senior grades, unless you go for rolling admissions. Even with ED, they see a mid-semester report.</p>