With a 34 ACT and 3.5 gpa unweighted with all of the hardest classes I don’t see matches for any college that I’m interested in. I really don’t understand how weighing grades factor in all of this.
You can get into hundreds of fine schools with those stats.
none of the ones on my list.
Where are you looking, Oxford?
Yes, a 3.5 UW is on the low side for some colleges (I suppose you’re looking at the usual suspects) but completely fine for others. Are you a senior now? How many AP classes have you taken? Is there an upward trend? All important.
Then make a different list.
i have taken all the hardest classes and now entering my junior year. i feel like i should have taken easier classes. i was hoping for schools like Bowdoin, MIddlebury, Wesleyan, Cornell ect. I’m assuming that everyone at these schools have a 3.9 or above unweighted with ap classes.
Make a different list.
What is it that you like about schools like Bowdoin and Cornell? Make a list of what matters to you in a school and then find matches with a GPA similar to what you have. Is it location? Size? A specific major you’re interested in? There should be no reason why the only schools you are interested in are the extremely “prestigious” ones which have slim chances of admittance for kids with 4.0s and the same scores as you.
@giantoctopus What GPA it typically takes totally varies by your school. The colleges have a profile on your school and a ton of stats on the typical GPA’s of our peers past and present to help them weigh what is rigorous and successful at your school. If most of the kids from your school who apply to those same schools were taking “all the hardest classes” it wouldn’t have done you much good to skip them just to push your GPA. And while GPA (relative to your school’s peers) is hugely important, it’s not the only criteria. If you write an amazing essay, get great recs, have an interesting EC or experience, etc., it will help. These schools you listed all accept people with GPA’s lower than 3.5 every year. Not too many, but some. And they all turn away 4.0’s too. I attended the admitted student days for some you listed and they would give presentations on the stats of their admitted students and consistently they barely referenced GPA or test scores and focused on their story on how many were student body presidents or editors of the school paper or accomplished musicians or athletes, etc.
All that said, you need to not have your mind fixed that these are the only schools that can make you happy. Why are they? Just prestige? Because there are many exceptional schools with easier admission chances and likely better financial aid that you could thrive at.
As disjointed as the whole college application process is in America, I believe that (In the wisdom of the crowds) it is cumulatively fair. As long as you can accept the balance of GPA, SAT, family income, URM, legacy, athletics, etc. And I’m not being snarky. While I disagree with race and not income being a source of advantage/disadvantage, and hate the whole emphasis on athletics in gaining admission, by and large I’d say the thousands of colleges, or at least the hundreds of selective colleges, operate with similar criteria.
I wish my daughter were going to Chicago or Haverford. We visited and liked them. Naive father then did further research and came up with a different list. Still looking at Top 100 LACs and satisfied with that. Conn Coll, BMC, Lewis and Clark—she liked them just as much. (We’d love a 34 ACT).
Please stop feeling sorry for yourself. You will get into a lot of great colleges with your test scores. And your GPA could be worse. Not sure if its a question of you not working hard early on, or some entirely different issue, but you can’t change what you have. Work super hard to get top grades in the first part of senior year.
GPA matters to top colleges, because they tend to be rigorous. High grades show an ability to work hard, and hard work will be required to succeed at the top schools. If you had some mitigating circumstance, such as you were working to help support your family, or some other situation, by all means, have your counselor address it in the letter of recommendation.
I’m a parent with some sympathy for you…I think it’s BS that many of the more selective schools say “We want to see kids taking the hardest possibly schedules they can.” but then hold it against the student if they don’t get an A.
At a Carnegie Mellon info session a few years ago, I asked “Is it better to get a B in BC or an A in AB?” and was told “It’s better to get an A in BC.” (Daughter took BC as a junior and got a B. She still go into CM, but ended up not attending.)
That said, I am also a proponent of building your list off the stats you have, not the stats you want.
I don’t know the formula, but many high schools and colleges weight AP courses so it counts more than just the regular amount. This is good if you did well, bad if you did poorly. I don’t know the particulars. I am guessing that your 3.5 would improve. You can ask your guidance counselor.
If you had taken easier classes and got a better GPA, (#1) the “elite” colleges would notice and hold it against you, and (#2) you might fare poorly at the most selective schools. Do you want to be the bottom student who has to struggle just to get a B, surrounded by all kinds of Type A, straight A (with all APs) students?
There are LOTS of excellent schools to choose from, and you can still apply to a few of the “elites,” just know that even for the best students, those schools are a lottery.
“I think it’s BS that many of the more selective schools say ‘We want to see kids taking the hardest possibly schedules they can.’ but then hold it against the student if they don’t get an A.”
That’s not BS – what are they supposed to do when there are tons of kids taking the hardest classes AND getting all As? Ignore them in comparison? I’m sorry – but that’s what makes them “selective”. It’s not a label they apply to themselves. It’s an *outcome of the sorts of students whom they accept.
@giantoctopus What does “Bowdoin, Middlebury, Wesleyan, Cornell, etc” even mean? I see the connection among the first three schools, all highly regarded LAC’s, but throwing Cornell, a large research university into the mix doesn’t suggest a coherent set of criteria.
“I’m assuming that everyone at these schools have a 3.9 or above unweighted with ap classes.” Bad assumption. Don’t assume, research and learn. There are many ways of actually finding out about the grades and scores of admitted applicants. It is definitely not true that everyone at these schools has 3.9 or above uw. It is true that vast majority of the admitted students will have excellent grades in the most challenging classes available to them. When you apply your guidance counselor will have to fill out a form about you and one of the questions will be whether you took the most rigorous course load available. Schools of the selectivity of the schools on your list want the answer to be “yes.” You would have done yourself no favors by taking easier classes.
If these are the sort of schools you want, then get better grades this year. All A’s your junior year will help raise your GPA and will show a nice upward trend that colleges like. Can’t get all A’s and still have a life and get some sleep? OK, that’s life. Make a different list. (How did you come up with this list?) As @Lagging said, figure out what you like about these schools besides their fancy names and find some schools that share those characteristics but that are more reasonable places for you to apply. You will still go to college with smart people and get a good education.
the interest is in schools with good liberal arts/ creative writing programs. I have others but these are samples
You have one addition year to improve your GPA before application time. An upward trend will look very good. Your college search should start with what you can afford- after financial aid and possible scholarships- and what fits your interests best. If you are limiting your list to top 25 schools your list is unrealistic. (It would be unrealistic if you has a 4.0 and 36 too.)
Yes, you have this year and even fall of senior year to bring up your GPA. My kid with a 3.7 got in everyplace she applied, including U Chicago, Swarthmore, Harvey Mudd, Carleton, and some lower ranked LACs with great merit aid. With some studying, I assume you could push that ACT up another point or even to a 36 if you got a 34 as a sophomore. You have time to improve if you want to.
That said, I would guess you have a shot at Wes with your current statistics. How about Hamilton or Kenyon if you want LACs with good creative writing?
thank your for your response. those schools are also on my list. i’m shocked that your kid got inall of hose schools with that gpa given everything i am reading. did he/she have amazing extra curriculars?
She had great test scores (2380 superscored SAT, 800s on Math II and Litsubject tests). Strong ECs, a bit quirky, but nothing amazing.
what makes a strong ec? i have 780 on math II but haven’t taken lit or history subject yet. did she come from a college prep private?