GPA messed up by middle school advanced classes

Applying to College
1

Hi,

I’ve been hesitant about posting this but I really need an answer so I can get out of my own head, haha. I go to public school, but in a very competitive county (the poorer part of the county, but same diff in a national context) that lets you take a few high school credit classes in middle school. I’ve been taking high school classes that went into my GPA since I was ten years old. I couldn’t comprehend the importance of my cumulative GPA at that age, and on top of that I had very poor mental health ages 11-15. I’m still not solid, but I’ve figured out how to compartmentalize that to get good grades.

I’m a second semester sophomore, and my GPA (unweighted) is hovering at a 3.4. I’ve done my calculations, and conditional on getting straight A’s from here on out, I’ll have a 3.65 when applying early decision. I’m taking the hardest possible classes for a sophomore: AP Gov, Honors Pre-Calculus, IB French 5, Honors Physics, Pre-IB English 10, and a double period intensive art magnet. I have my heart set on Barnard, and I’m also looking at Harvard, Columbia, and Swarthmore.

Obviously, all of those schools expect stellar grades, and I am being realistic- for match and safety, I’m looking at VCU, Bryn Mawr, Reed, UNC Chapel Hill. I’m planning on attaching an explanation on my common app, recalculating my GPA without middle school and with first semester senior year, bringing me to a 3.8, along with a brief explanation of the circumstances in middle school and freshman year.

Will this mean anything, or will it look like I’m making excuses?

Here’s some more information:

PSAT- 1320/1520 (without any prep, I’ve always been good at standardized testing and I expect a 2200+ on the SAT)
ECs (when I’m applying)- Forensics team all four years and captain since tenth grade, GSA 4 yrs and vice president for two/president for one, debate two years, literary magazine all four years and editor for two, film club vice president for two years, national arts honors society two years. I also currently have a paid internship making historical comics for the Smithsonian through May, so I will have some published work. I have a job running teen workshops at a woman-run comic shop lined up after that, as well as a part time job at the library. I’ve been fencing since last year and expect to be ranked by the time I’m applying for colleges.
Classes:
Junior Year: AP Calculus BC, AP French, AP Physics 1, IB History 1, IB English 1, Art magnet
Senior Year: IB Math HL or AP Statistics, AP Physics 2, IB History 2, IB English 2, Art magnet, Yoga (required gym credit), as well as a Quantum Physics elective I will travel to take at a science magnet

My recs will be great- I have a wonderful relationship with my counselor, and my forensics/debate coach/gsa sponsor/ib history teacher is basically a mother to me. I’m a strong writer and I’m sure my essays will kick ass. I’m also semi-fluent in Arabic, as it’s my first language. The nationally recognized art program will probably count for something too.

But of course, everyone applying to Ivies and other top tier schools stand out, and have better grades than I do. Am I setting myself up for disappointment?

2

Have you spoken with your guidance counselor about all of this? What has the previous experience of students from your high school who have followed a program like yours been?

You shouldn’t feel that you need to write any note explaining that your overall GPA is affected by those classes taken in middle school - if anyone is writing that, it should be your guidance counselor. Likewise any comments about mental health/family situation/medical issues. That is your counselor’s job.

You also can drop a line to the admissions offices at the places on your list, and ask how they handle HS-level courses taken while a student is in middle school. Some won’t look at those grades at all. They will only look at the grades for courses taken in 9, 10, 11, and 12.

3

The counselor would not write about mental health issues without permission of the candidate, I think. I agree tho that it makes no sense to start excusing grades. They will see the grades. What could you say that isn’t apparent to them already. They will see that the grades from when you were 10 and 11 are poor but the grades are higher from classes taken more recently. They will see that themselves. I would not want information about mental health conveyed to the colleges. Schools may be reluctant to accept students they know have had mental health issues. Past issues predict future issues are more likely than would be the case for mental health issues from student who never had them. Even at very competitive schools, students are clamoring to get in and then complaining that the competitive nature of the school is impacting poorly on their mental health. Well, what did they expect? So, I’d think twice about applying to highly competitive schools if you have had significant mental health difficulties but I’d not convey that information to the schools.

4

My experience has been only grades received in grades 9-12 were submitted The benefit of taking more advanced classes in middle school was to allow a student more options/rigor in HS where the selection is usually greater. Before you get really worried about this, please review with your GC what will be sent.

5

I would not send the schools your own personal recalculation of your GPA. It seems pretentious and many schools do some kind of GPA recalculation based on their own criteria… Also admission officers will see that some classes were taken in middle school. And it is fine to apply to some reach schools (just don’t get your heart set on them) but you need to approach this process realistically and have a good mix of match and safety schools as well.

@gardenstategirl Our HS has something similar where honors 8th grade math and foreign language are included on a student’s HS transcript.

6

How is it possible that you have taken classes that count for high school GPA since 10yrs old? What classes are these?

It is true that classes taken in middle school count in high school GPA and appear on the high school transcript. For my D, Spanish I and II as well as Pre AP Algebra and Pre AP Geometry showed up on the transcript. The individual colleges will then decide how to factor them in but they will have a look at them if they are in the transcript.

Try to not put stock in attending a dream school. Work on self development and academics to the best of your abilities and the rest will follow.

7

Agreed. Even if they are part of your HS GPA, many colleges will ignore grades prior to 9th grade.

8

@goingnutsmom French one in sixth grade, through eighth grade, and algebra + geometry seventh and eighth grade. They are on my transcript, although the years these classes were taken is noted.

9

Not sure about your school. In our school district, high school class taken in middle school would only earn the credits for high school graduation but would not be counted in GPA. Many colleges would recalculate your GPA and they would only consider your high school grades sometimes even without freshmen grades.