<p>I already posted about being a freshman in high school and it seems like for this year all that I have to do is have a good GPA and some EC's.</p>
<p>Courses in public school her in Maryland(Grades to be determined at the end of the year): </p>
<p>Honors Geometry
Honors Biology
Honors Spanish 3
Honors English
Honors History
Journalism
P.E. (Switched from Programming to P.E.) </p>
<p>EC'S: </p>
<p>Teams I plan on joining: Chess, maybe Debate, maybe Basketball, maybe Ultimate Frisbee, etc.
Clubs I plan on joining: Chess, film, ultimate frisbee, music appreciation,etc.
Other: Play guitar, do community service(already worked at one hospital and have some great recommendations), recommendations, write, try to win awards/contests, take some standardized tests and practice for them, take summer courses, etc. </p>
<p>So what GPA do I need for Columbia? I know that you are just going to say that I should strive for the best GPA possible. Can you tell me what unweighted GPA you think I'd need? What is the deal with weighted anyway? I'm sure my weighted should be high, but do colleges care or what? Also, please clarify the grade scale for me, it seems to be different with certain schools, but what is the main scale(3.67= A-...)? Also, could you answer some of my questions that are still left untouched in my other thread below?</p>
<p>Thanks and sorry if I am asking too many questions,</p>
<p>g0ldenboy</p>
<p>I don't think it is a secret that you need predominantly A's to get into any top school. There is no formula. Just work hard and do your best. What are you going to do if I tell you that you need a 3.14159 GPA or whatever? Study less?</p>
<p>Absolutely not. That is what I thought you'd say. Just do the best you can. Get the highest GPA possible. </p>
<p>But I would like to know what GPA I should have so that a.) I don't get my hopes so high up when it is probably impossible to get and b.) am not worried all of the time whether my GPA is too low or whatever. I should be worried regardless, but it is just a little extra incentive knowing what GPA I need. Then again, I might be going through high school striving to reach Columbia's GPA standards and always achieveing a little below and then going to a college right under Columbia's standards. So maybe I should strive for Harvard standards. I'm only kidding though. I am going to try and get the highest possible grades, regardless of any college's standard, but I still want to know what their GPA standards are.</p>
<p>GPA is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Columbia gets applications from thousands of high schools. Columbia may think that a 3.7 from Jefferson High is better than a 3.9 from Washington High. Heck, Columbia may think one Jefferson High student's 3.7 is better than the next Jefferson High guy's 3.8.</p>
<p>If you're not getting A's while taking the hardest possible courses at your high school, you should be "worried."</p>