I go to a semi-competitive public high school with no ranking system (apart from valedictorian and salutatorian) that calculates GPA on a 100 pt scale with 7 extra points added for honors and AP classes. It just recently started showing us our unweighted averages on the online gradebook, and mine is a 93 UW, 98.85 weighted. I’ve taken a fairly rigorous course load and will be graduating having taken 14 AP’s. My ACT is a 35 and I got 800s on the SATMath 2 and Bio tests. Although my test scores are decent, I’m worried that my GPA will negatively affect my Academic Index. Given the context of my high school, my course rigor, and test scores, do you think my Academic Index would be competitive (7-9 range) for UChicago, Penn, and other top schools? I’m pretty sure that Chicago doesn’t calculate AI on a scale like that, so more generally phrased, will my GPA hurt me when I want to apply? I’m an Asian Female with an upper middle class background. This isn’t meant to be a “chance me thread,” I just want to know if my GPA will be a severe hindrance for me when it comes to top tier college admissions - the fact that I have no idea what my rank is means that I’m confused about what schools are realistic options for me. I don’t want to spend time applying to 8 different selective colleges if my GPA only gives me a 25-40% chance of being accepted.
It seems you might be reading an outdated book (Michelle Hernandez?) that ascribes likliehoods of Ivy League acceptances based on a 1-9 ranking of AI scores. You can safely ignore the percentage chances suggested in that book.
The AI is real, but its utility as an admissions predictor is mostly limited to recruited athletes. For Harvard, Princeton, and Yale I’d expect that an unhooked applicant would need an AI of 225+ to have a decent chance of acceptance. Penn’s average AI will be slightly lower.
Also, with SAT Subject Tests becoming less universally mandatory at these schools, calculating the AI becomes murkier so I suspect that it currently may be used less as a tool to sort non-athletes.
Based on the profile you’ve posted you seem to be a viable candidate for almost any school. Your test scores are great so you’ve nearly maxed out that 2/3 of the AI calculation. I don’t know how a percentage GPA converts to a 4.0 scale but its obviously not bad.
In sum, don’t worry about your AI. You seem to have cleared the academic bar so, ultimately, your acceptance will probably hinge more on “soft” factors than a simple calculation. Good luck!
If you can get your app up to 25-40% chance with the colleges you list then you’re doing very well indeed. Just make sure you have a safety on your list that you can afford and would be happy to attend.
Agree with Sherpa, AI is about recruited athletes. Adcoms will look at your transcript and see what you got less than A in and how that relates to your possible major. They don’t settle for a scan of the gpa. Please be sure you understand what your schools are looking for. Where do you get the idea your gpa gives you an x% shot? You need to realize the whole is what matters.