Does having an upward trend even matter to top schools? + Difference between 3.92 and 4.00

I ended my freshman year with a 3.63 unweighted GPA, but then I received all A’s during my sophomore and junior years. I am also taking a few summer courses, and I hope to get A’s in them as well. I expect my cumulative GPA to be a 3.92 by the end of this summer.

I understand that ideally, top colleges would more likely want to see a 4.0, but given what I have right now, would it look impressive to schools like Cornell and Brown to see a student go from a 3.63 to a 3.92 while taking harder courses each year?

Also, exactly how different is a 3.92 from a 4.00? I have received 3 B’s all in my freshman year and will have taken 38 courses by the end of this summer.

Well a 4.0 UW would mean that a student has gotten straight As their entire high school career. But yes, an upward trend matters, especially since you brought your GPA up pretty high. For Cornell, you seem to be slightly above the average with a 3.92, so I think you’re fine. What about your W GPA, how does that compare?

@lilypippili I have a 4.94 weighted GPA. My school counts AP’s as 6 quality points and honors/dual-enrollment as 5. I was also ranked 6 out of about 70 students by the end of my sophomore year. I expect to improve or stay the same by the time I get my new rank this fall.

Uptrend is good.

@AnEpicIndian Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re fine. You’re in the top 10% of your class!