<p>What top colleges are particularly forgiving when it comes to GPA? Meaning they would be willing to look past a lower GPA if everything else was excellent (SATs, SAT IIs, ECs, Essays).</p>
<p>I can't think of any colleges like that because colleges know that the best predictor of college success is h.s. gpa.</p>
<p>Someone with a high SAT, excellent ECs but bad gpa is much more likely than would a high gpa/low SAT/weak EC person to pursue their EC interests in college, but not pursue their studies. I speak from experience as one of my sons had a sky high SAT and very strong academically-related EC that had gotten national attention. He flunked out of a second tier college because he did a wonderful job with his EC in college, but didn't go to class or bother doing coursework.</p>
<p>You probably would boost your chances of getting into a better college than your grades would normally allow if you do a gap year and do something academic in it that proves that you have the maturity to handle college well, including being willing to do things that are boring, but necessary to get decent grades.</p>
<p>How low a GPA are you talking about? 3.5? 2.5?</p>
<p>Reed used to be (they used to be willing to give a second chance to bright HS slackers), but it is steadily becoming more selective.</p>
<p>my D had a 3.3 in high school- her SATs were comparable
however she matriculated into Reed in 2001- it is becoming quite a bit more selctive
she also had attended a quite rigorous private prep school
Still it really depends- on your essays on your reqs and on the rigor of your course work
If your SATS are high, unless your high school is just * killer* then it will look like you are slacking</p>
<p>I tend to think that high SAT/low GPA is the toughest combination, because it conveys (rightly or wrongly) the impression of a gap between potential and performance (slacker). If the high school is clearly a grade deflation school (and the profile will show that), if the recommendations are stellar, if there's an explanation as to why the GPA is what it is, that all helps.</p>
<p>What would be your explanation for the "mismatch" of GPA with other parts of your record?</p>
<p>Most colleges accept the majority of their applicants. In the past several years, two students I know with mismatched (slacker) GPA/SAT's were accepted and enrolled at UC Boulder.</p>
<p>"How low a GPA are you talking about? 3.5? 2.5?"</p>
<p>About a 3.2 GPA.</p>
<p>I'm not the OP (obviously) but I have the same question. What would you think if the same things as OP were true and the GPA was a 3.7W from a rigorous private school?</p>
<p>SuNa is clearly right, so it all depends on what selectivity of colleges the student is targeting.</p>
<p>unwritten (and I guess this applies to Piano,too), a lot depends on what that 3.7W "means" at the rigorous private school. What is the highest weighted GPA achieved in your class? Where does a 3.7W rank (or approximately rank if the school doesn't rank)?</p>
<p>We don't rank. I have no idea what the highest GPA would be. I'm probably not very highly ranked because about 15-20% of our class will be (based on years past.. our class is insane though so probably even more) accepted to Ivies, while I'm looking more at the Colgate/W+L/Trinity level (for reaches). 100% of our students go on to 4yr colleges, avg SAT 1350 (again, probably much higher for my class).<br>
I know most people say 'oh, well colleges will realize the rigor of your school based on its reputation' but for some reason our little all-girls Catholic school isn't well known at all (probably because of very little "diversity", small endowment, etc), so that worries me.</p>
<p>unwritten - does your Guidance office have a spreadsheet or scattergram showing admittances to different schools (esp. the ones you're interested in) compared to SAT/GPA stats? Do you have a school profile - it should give an idea of the range of GPAs achieved.</p>
<p>No, we don't have a spreadsheet/scattergram. It's amazing anyone gets into any college with the GCs we have. Saying they're incompetent is an understatement. </p>
<p>The school profile on our website doesn't have anything about GPA other than the weighting system, and that we don't rank. Is this the profile colleges will see?</p>
<p>You can search on the Parent Forum for past thread(s) on school profiles. I don't know if what you say on your website is the school's profile. Ask one of the GC's (I sympathize re the poor guidance; I know it happens all too often) for a copy of the profile which goes out with your transcript. At our school, the profile is provided to parents and students in junior year to give us an idea of what it includes.</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice. I think the info on that section of the website is the profile as it says 'Profile 2005-2006' but I'll definitely ask a GC for a copy of the profile going out to colleges.</p>
<p>Reed seems to look favorably on those who show ample evidence of a lively, perhaps brilliant mind, a passion for ideas or eagerness to engage in independent thought, yet give indications of undisciplined application to school work. Excellent essays, high recommendations and SATs, and perhaps a good interview can compensate for a low GPA.</p>
<p>Schools' Common Data Set sections C9 through C12 show the ranges of numbers for matriculating freshmen; the numbers may be a bit lower than those who were admitted.</p>
<p>Piano, check this article and the college lists that go with it:</p>
<p>"A+ Options For 'B' Kids"
<a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/articles/brief/06average_brief.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/articles/brief/06average_brief.php</a></p>
<p>First of all, a 3.7 from an elite private that sends 15-20% to Ivies is hardly a "low" GPA. Second, if that many kids do go to Ivies (and I have to assume many more to other non-Ivy highly selective colleges) then your school is well known to college admissions officers, and your GC's are doing something right to convey the rigor of the education.</p>
<p>For those reasons, the best advice you are going to get will be, as suggested above, specific to the results obtained by others from your school with similar stats. sit down with your GC and go over your options. Do you even know whether your gpa is "low" compared to your SAT's at your school?</p>
<p>My daughter had this issue to some extent -- a "slacker" gap between her GPA and SATs. In her case, even a cursory glance at her transcript would establish that her 3.6 UW GPA (at two very competitive schools) was an average of As in some types of courses and Bs and B+s in others. She had a lot of validated success in the field she liked most (English/creative writing), which of course she got to demonstrate through her essays, and good recommendations. She got into a bunch of good colleges (and got rejected by a bunch, too).</p>
<p>There's no question it was an issue for her, though. It was an issue in high school -- some of the teachers justifiably resented a student who got Bs because she could do that without actually studying for tests, etc.</p>
<p>I doubt my school is considered an "elite" private ("elite" being Andover, exeter, st. paul's, taft, etc). 15-20% acceptance at Ivies sounds really good but it was really only 7 people this year (class of 44). We have an endowment of like $4 mil.
Compared to others at my school, a 3.7W is not a good GPA. This is why I am worried. Granted, people at my school are really intelligent, our school has a 24% acceptance rate, etc.
Yes, people with my GPA at my school generally have SATs at least 150 pts (if not more) lower than mine. I don't know anyone with my GPA who has an SAT score within 100 pts of mine.</p>