<p>i know this sounds crazy but even i take as many ap and honors classes as possible my total gpa can only reach 4.5 in my school. is that normal? because in my school they only offer 2 standardly in sophomore year and you can take as many as you want in junior year but none for freshmen so i could only get a 4.0. 4.5 just doesnt seem high enough because i want to go to harvard! isnt is beneficial to get like a 4.7 for that kind of school? </p>
<p>i got 4.0 last year, 4.66 this year in sophomore year, and even if by some phantom chance i get 5.0 next year i will still only have a 4.55 average next year!</p>
<p>i know i know, i just feel so frustrated!! this isnt even my fault!</p>
<p>Colleges, including Harvard, evaluate your transcript in the context of your school. If you have done very well in a course of study that is just about as demanding as your school allows, that is all they can ask.</p>
<p>How will Harvard know what the context of your school is? Two ways. In the school report that your guidance counselor (or other administrator) completes, that person is asked to evaluate your program of study as “rigorous,” “very rigorous,” “most rigorous,” etc. In addition, along with your school report, your school will send a profile that tells colleges information like what fraction of the most recent class went to four-year colleges, what your school offers in terms of honors or AP courses, what limitations (if any) are placed on students who what to take honors or AP, etc.</p>
<p>Technically, the highest is generally 4.0, the unweighted. Some schools grade on another point system and this is taken into account. Since each hs can weight advanced classes (AP or honors) by its own formula, there is no standardization. Some add a point, some add less, whatever they adopt. So, while gpa’s above 4.0 are pretty, they are not a good basis for comparison.<br>
Also, adcoms spend most of the year working their assigned regions- getting to know schools, GCs, socioeconomics in the hs, town, region, etc. There are also reference materials which provide detail, by hs, and for the surrounding area. And, yes, the profile the GC sends.
To get into Harvard, you need more than a max gpa.</p>
<p>yes thank you all that makes quite a lot of sense lol o.o</p>