GPA Cutoff?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Johns Hopkins University
1

<p>Well, first of all, my school's GPA system is pretty awkward. </p>

<p>Freshman/Sophomore Year:</p>

<p>A=95% and above
A-=90-94%
B+=87-89%</p>

<p>Weighting: AP: +0.5; Honors: +.25</p>

<p>It's being changed right in the middle of my HS career which sux big time...</p>

<p>Junior/Senior Year:</p>

<p>A=93% and above
A-=90-92%</p>

<p>Weighting: AP: +1.0; Honors: +.50</p>

<p>So, my point is that my school pretty much practices a policy of grade deflation. The courses are harder than they need to be and the teacher you get for a course can have a huge impact on your grade (this worked against me, in fact!). So, will JHU adcoms recognize this and compensate? My GPA (probably 3.87 UW, 4.17 W by the end of junior year) would probably look pretty crappy compared to those high 3.9s and 4.0s from so many other applicants but, there may also be a possibility that I had to work harder to get that grade. I think I rank pretty high in my class, but my school doesn't officially submit rank...Oh and I have no idea how JHU will be able to judge my GPA. I've heard they look at the profile or what the counselor tells them, but my school profile hasn't been updated in years and my counselor has no clue how to get them to understand my GPA (I begged her to tell me and she couldn't...). I'm an Asian male from an overly competitive public school in NJ and really worried about my (less-than-competitive?) GPA. Can anyone shed some light on the matter? If it's any help, I'm expecting high SAT scores (>2270) based on practice tests. Thx in advance.</p>

2

<p>Don't worry - Hopkins recalculates your GPA so that each individual HS's policies can be compared. Think about it: each HS does things differently; colleges need a way to standardize things. So while a profile that explains how your grading policy changed during your time in HS might be useful, it's not just about numbers - as Admissions_Daniel has explained many times. It's also about doing well in the most challenging classes possible. Your rank (if given) can be helpful here, too...</p>

<p>...main point: don't stress about it. Admissions people are pros; they've worked with your HS before. They'll be able to figure it out.</p>

3

<p>Read the posts on this thread on the JHU Forums ... it should help shed some light on how we look at GPA:</p>

<p><a href="http://z14.invisionfree.com/Hopkins_Forums/index.php?showtopic=287%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://z14.invisionfree.com/Hopkins_Forums/index.php?showtopic=287&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

4

<p>Thx! That was pretty helpful. I'll have 5 APs by the end of junior year and around 10 by the end of senior, so I think I'm in good shape. Oh, and I have only one B (89%) in freshman year so hopefully my recalculated GPA will help too. A plethora of A-'s are what really killed my GPA as far as I can tell. Thx again.</p>