<p>I have a serious concern right now.
My weighted gpa throughout my junior year has been about 4.33.
I did a good job of maintaining this gpa but I flunked my AP bio midterm and that seriously brought my semester gpa down to like 4.20's
Semester gpa is what colleges look at. I am so worried that my gpa became so low just because of this one exam grade.
Without AP bio class, my unweighted gpa throughout high school is about 3.96.
Do you think it's better to drop out of AP bio, study on my own with a tutor or something, and get a 5? That way I will be able to maintain a high gpa.
Or do colleges understand that ap bio is a challenging course and that such gpa is still considered high?
I am really worried that this gpa will be too low to get me into any top unis. :(</p>
<p>It depends. Some public schools look at UW only. Many others look at W and some even recalculate your GPA according to their own institutional practices (e.g. omit gym, art grades, etc.)</p>
<p>But if you’re truly “worried” or have a “serious concern” about a 3.96 GPA, then may I suggest you breathe in a dose of common sense? You’ve truly veered off the road and might want to come back between the lines. Lacking perspective which turns you into a freaking worrywort will sink your chances at top unis more than 0.04 points on your GPA.</p>
<p>The only place where UW doesn’t seem fair is with class rankings. For instance I have a good friend who is ranked ahead of me by UW GPA even though most of his classes are vocational tech, and in his academic classes he gets extra time to take tests. While the schools consider an applicants course rigor, they don’t have perspective into the rigor of those ranked by UW GPA. In my school a 96 in metal shop ranks higher than a 95 in AP BIO!</p>
<p>I said without AP Bio grade my unweighted gpa became 3.96, which is gpa I want. I didn’t say that I was worried with the gpa of 3.96. I said I was worried cuz my semester gpa dropped from 4.33 to 4.23 just because of one midterm exam I took in AP bio.</p>
<p>Some schools take unweighted, some take weighted, and some recalculate.</p>
<p>I will echo above.</p>
<p>Colleges look at your transcript, not just your GPA.</p>
<p>Some colleges may weigh the unweighted more heavily, others the weighted. It just depends on the institution. But colleges don’t just look at the number and decide from there whether or not you get in; they also look at the sum of your transcript including how difficult/rigorous your class schedule is.</p>
<p>Also, I dispute your assertion that “semester GPA is what colleges look at.” Why would they be interested in only how you did spring semester junior year, as opposed to throughout high school?</p>