GPA Confusion and Chances

Hi,
I’m a sophomore and just began really looking at colleges and admissions, but I never understood this GPA thing and the 4.0 scale. I’ve looked on many sites but they all say all different things and have different conversions.

So to cut to the chase I estimate that at the end of my junior year my unweighted should be at least a 94 and weighted 95/96. Is a 94 still a 4.0? Do colleges use this 4.0 system for admissions?

Also, I’m curious about how colleges will look at my transcript since my freshman year is bringing down my GPA a bit. My freshman year my unweighted GPA was a 91, not bad, but this year it’s around 95.5, a considerable improvement. How bad will that 91 freshman year look to ivies? Or will they see the growth and look favorable upon it?

Lastly, if my overall weighted GPA ends up at 95 and I get a very high SAT score like 1550 or even a perfect 1600 would my chances from that alone be lower than the next person who applies because of the somewhat low GPA? Or would the really high SAT score make up for it? Would I have a realistic chance at Cornell or should I just forget about it?

I would appreciate it if someone could genuinely answer these questions because I can’t stop thinking about it and it’s really stressing me out. Thank you!

Are you international?

Nope, I’m from the US.

Most colleges go on the traditional “4.0” “5.0” “6.0” scale (in reference to normal, honors, and APs when weighted) and just plain old 4.0 with unweighted. So essentially if you got all A’s you have a 4.0 unweighted. If you had some Bs mixed in there then you have a couple 3.0s and just calculate based off that.

But if I had one 85 (B) and two 100s that would average to a 95 which would be a 4.0 right? So then it’s safe to assume that if my overall GPA is a 94 then I have a 4.0 GPA?

Nope, if you had one b and two 100s that is a 3.67 on the 4 point scale

If you got anything lower than an A ever, you don’t have a 4.0. It doesn’t average the numerical scores – it averages the grade points (4.0 for an A, 3.0 for a B, etc.)

“I’ve looked on many sites but they all say all different things and have different conversions.”

Exactly. Different high schools calculate GPA differently. This makes the numbers very difficult to compare.

“Is a 94 still a 4.0”

It depends. At our local public high school, if you never take an honors or AP class, and you ever had any grade lower than a 98, then your GPA is lower than 4.0. At the high school that a colleague’s child went, if every grade that you ever had was an A, then you have a 4.0 (even if some of the A’s were a 90). Many high schools give higher credit for honors and AP classes (so that a 98 in an AP class might in some cases for example count at a 5.0, to be averaged into the GPA numbers for each other course).

Generally the 4.0 scale is not based on your overall average. Rather it is based on how you did in each individual course. Therefore it is not possible to convert between an overall average of 94 and a GPA.

“How bad will that 91 freshman year look to ivies? Or will they see the growth and look favorable upon it?”

Generally speaking, a GPA that increases through your years in high school is a good thing – it shows that you are getting stronger as a student as time goes by. However, how much they care about an average grade of 91 freshman year of high school varies from school to school. I am not familiar with what each of the Ivies will do. However as one example, I have read that McGill (not in the US, and therefore not an ivy) does not consider your grade 9 grades at all. If you apply they will recompute your GPA based solely on grades 10, 11, and 12 when available. I am not sure if anywhere in the US does the same thing, but later year grades are likely to be more important.

“Lastly, if my overall weighted GPA ends up at 95 and I get a very high SAT score …Would I have a realistic chance at Cornell or should I just forget about it?”

Admission to the Ivy league schools is exceptionally difficult to predict, and is based on a lot of things other than GPA and test scores. If you average grade ends up as a 95, then you might have a small chance at Cornell or other Ivy league school. However, acceptance at any Ivy league school (or equivalents such as MIT and Stanford) is a long shot for pretty much everyone. Even with all A and A+ grades, 1600 on the SAT, many AP classes with “5” on every AP test, getting into an ivy league school is still not all that likely.

More importantly, going to an Ivy league school is not needed to be successful in the US, and is not likely to be a good fit for most students (including most students who are obsessed with getting into one – you will find that some of these post on CC).

“I can’t stop thinking about it and it’s really stressing me out.”

First relax. You are doing well. There are several things that you might want to think about at this point:

  • You are a very strong student. If you continue to get strong grades, then you will have many very good choices for universities to attend.
  • There is no need to attend a "big name" university. In the US, the prestige of the university that you went to does very little.
  • There are an enormous number of universities and colleges in the US (thousands), and more outside the US. The "big name" universities (Ivy League, MIT, Stanford, Chicago, Caltech) are a good fit for only a very small number of students. For nearly all students it is important to consider a range of other universities.
  • You need to figure out what you want in a university and what is important to you. Look for a good fit for you. What is a good fit for you might have nothing to do with what was (years ago) a good fit for me, or what might be a good fit for anyone else.
  • The US in general puts an enormous amount of stress on our high school students, much of which is related to getting ready for and applying to universities. This stress really is not necessary. Figure out what you want to do, and then find a good way to do it. "What you want to do" might include honors or AP classes, but might not. I know several students who never took any honors or AP class in high school, but are either at very good universities or will be in September.
  • Generally speaking, when you get around to selecting universities to apply to, you will want to think about finances along with multiple other factors.

As a sophomore, you are starting to think about these issues relatively early, which is a good thing. Relax, keep ahead of your classes, have some fun in high school, and you should do well. Best of luck with this process!

Much obliged. Thanks for the well thought out response!