What do colleges think of an applicant who has an “eh” unweighted GPA, such as 3.6-3.7, but has taken fifteen AP classes in his or her high school career? Keep in mind said applicant is in top 10% of a 800 student class, officers of several clubs and president of two, over 175 volunteer hours at a local library, several competitive awards, and medium-high SAT/ACT scores?
Can I get some opinions or thoughts on this?
Probably fine. It’s the top 10% that REALLY matters. It’ll probably knock you a bit, but not as much as if you were in top 20%. It’ll probably be a bit of a stretch for uber-selective schools like HYPMS (well, more than it would have been as a 4.0).
Thank you! Also while we’re on this topic, for students who take large amounts of AP classes, such as 6-7 in one school year, do colleges really expect us to get straight A’s in all of them? Isn’t it overlooked that with such a rigorous schedule grades are likely to drop a little bit?
@xiphos
It depends on the college. Too many of them are driven by their ranking, which is sad. Having such a rigorous courseload will definitely help to offset the GPA, but it probably would not completely offset dropping into the second decile, at least for a rankings-driven top 20 institution. But as long as you stay in the top 10%, you should be OK.
It kinda depends on what college you want to go to. Your in good shape, and its a big positive that your willing to challenge yourself. It would be helpful if you could try yo raise your GPA just a little more. Your extra curriculars seem solid too
Thank you all for your responses!