Hello,
I am currently a freshman in high school and the school year has not ended yet. I would say that I am a bright person (not trying to sound cocky), but sometimes I lack effort in the things I do, which I am trying to improve on. Right now I have an unweighted 4.16 GPA. The school I go to is one of the top 50 schools in the country and is known to be very difficult. I know that isn’t an excuse for my grades, but it did make it harder to get some grades. This year I took World History Honors, French 1 Honors, Geometry Honors, Biology, English Honors, and 2 electives. I got a C in World History Honors, Bs in all my other honors classes, and an A in Biology. This semester I am expecting to get A’s in all my classes except maybe a B in World History and possibly French. I know these aren’t the best grades, but I am trying to gage what schools I could get into with these types grades. Right now I am interested in going to UC Berkley, UCLA, U of Chicago, Northwestern, London School of Economics, Oxford, and maybe the Ivy/Standford schools. Could somebody give me an idea of the chances I have on getting into these schools are? With my understandings, it will be hard for me to get into some of the TOP schools, but what harm could it do to try?
Thank you
Your unweighted GPA is not a 4.16; unweighted GPAs can’t go above a 4.0, only weighted can.
Also, it’s way way too early to tell what schools you can or can’t get into. Keep working hard and try to get all those Bs and Cs to straight A’s by Junior year (or even sophomore year), and then you’ll have a shot at some of the top schools. Also, START YOUR TESTS EARLY. Take your first ACT and SAT in the winter of junior year to allow ample time for improvement. I have people in my school who don’t start until October of Senior year, which is not enough time. So don’t do that.
If you want to get into Northwesterm, U of C, and the Ivys you need to start getting all As is your classes, especially while your in easier freshman classes (ie usually for most schools that non-APs and graduation requirements). Maybe one or two Bs a year is okay, but your ultimate goal needs to be As in all honors classes with high rigor. Also make sure your are doing extracurriculars also. Luckily an upward trend is important and greatly considered for colleges so you manage to improve getting mostly As next year and basically all As Junior year your slow start to HS shouldn’t hurt you that much. Try to isolate your weaknesses and strategically plan your schedule for sophomore and junior year so it’s hard but your not overwhelmed. Good luck!
Thank you so much! I will definitely take you advice on isolating my weaknesses and improving on them.