I am a Hispanic student, have gotten 217 on the PSAT, and will get good scores on the SAT and SAT Subject Tests. I will end up taking 9 total AP classes. However, I will probably get 2 to 3 B’s this year. Will this hurt my application to Harvard? My final GPA will probably be between 3.6 and 3.8.
Colleges put more weight on your high school transcript and demonstrated course rigor (AP classes) than they do on test scores, that’s because your transcript is a 3-YEAR window into your potential as a scholar, whereas an ACT/SAT test is a 3-HOUR window into that same potential.
Selective colleges view a student’s GPA in the context of their school. That means that when you apply to colleges, Admissions Officers will consult your high school profile to see how you did in relation to other college bound students at your high school, and will also look at your Secondary School report (SSR) that your guidance counselor fills out on your behalf. (See; upper section of page 2: http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/documents/UG_Admissions_SecondarySchoolReport.pdf)
Bottom line: Having a few B’s is fine, however, if you look at Harvard’s Common Data Set, C11 data (http://oir.harvard.edu/files/huoir/files/harvard_cds_2013-14.pdf), 87% of accepted students to Harvard had at least a 3.75 GPA.
Gibby, do you think a 3.6 GPA in junior year would seriously damage my chances?
No one here (as far as I know) is on the Harvard admissions committee. Neither will any of us see your full application. So, we’re all making guesses based on incomplete information. But what @gibby is pointing out is that the overwhelming majority of students who are admitted to Harvard have very high GPAs. Getting in with a 3.6 would be the exception, not the rule. Especially if your GPA dips from freshman and sophomore year through junior year.
Colleges look at your cumulative GPA from freshman to junior year – not just your GPA from junior year.
HYP are all looking for the same thing – students with ultra high GPA’s (3.8 to 4.0) that also bring another talent or skill to the table. Student’s that have a GP in the neighborhood of 3.6 to 3.75 are at a disadvantage for those schools, unless they also have an extraordinary talent – such as sports, music, drama, debate etc. Harvard is a reach for everyone, but even more so for students that have a 3.6 GPA. By all means apply next year, but realistically, I would think it’s a long shot, even for a URM. As @notjoe said
Thanks, Gibby. Would an intensive course load (4 AP classes, and 2 others) and family circumstances serve as mitigating for a 3.6 GPA?
Many successful student’s admitted to Harvard have taken multiple AP’s, and have near perfect to perfect GPA’s – so having an intensive course load is NOT a mitigating circumstance. See: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1619966-ivy-standards-for-rigor-of-highschool-curriculum-p1.html
With regards to family circumstances, that’s usually dealt with on a case-by-case basis by your guidance counselor in your SSR, so it’s impossible to predict, but I would still think that with 3.6, even with a difficult family circumstances, HYP would be a long shot. See: http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs
Thanks for your advice, Gibbt. BTW, is taking AP tests helpful?
I think it can be helpful. My son got a B in APUSH sophomore year. He thought it was an unfair grade, for a number of reasons. He took the AP test (5) and the SAT Subject Test (780)… just in case the AO was wondering about the B – better to show than explain 
ETA: it’s one thing to say that the teacher didn’t understand how long you can experience the effects of a concussion, and that giving him the tests when the teacher did was simply for the teacher’s convenience, blah, blah,blah – but better to just rock the objective measures of what you had learned.
@DominicBayer
Taking the AP test at the conclusion of an AP class is not only helpful, but necessary, as it’s: (a) part of the AP curriculum, and (b) because it allows a college to judge how well your high school is teaching the material, and how well you actually did. For example, college’s expect that a student with an A in an AP class should receive a 4 or 5 on the AP test in that subject. Conversely, as @IxnayBob said, if you score a 5 on the AP exam, but get a B in the AP class, it tells a college that your high school has a very difficult grading curve, with possible grade deflation. Although some students take an AP test without taking the AP class, I really don’t see that as the best use of a student’s time.
I’m currently planning on taking the SAT on May 2, as I live in South America and only that date and June 6 are available. Should I move the SAT to June 6, in order to take the AP Tests?
SAT’s are on a Saturday; AP tests are M-F. There is no time conflict, and many students take both in May. If you’re more comfortable moving the SAT’s to June, feel free.
Your GPA is low. Your PSAT is borderline.
But Harvard looks at a lot more than just grades and scores. It is just that most of the kids there have top GPA’s, top SAT/ACT scores, top AP scores, AND have a very compelling application.
Certainly, being Hispanic may help (generally if you look at Hispanics admitted to Harvard, both those metrics are lower). Or being a sport recruit buys you a look with lower scores.
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@rubberfall: As far as I know, Harvard does NOT publish the GPA’s or test scores of admitted URM’s, so I have no idea where you’re getting this information. Please supply your source!
DominicBayer, you are asking very specific questions to an audience that is not in a position to have the answers. That is what the admissions process is about. They will give you the answers when you apply. All the schools you mention on your posts are looking for the very best students in the world. Do you have credentials that suggest you are in that category? If you have such evidence, you will likely be in the running (although there are no guarantees). If not you are less likely to be considered by the most selective schools. The evidence is rarely a matter of one score or one achievement. It is, as has been pointed out before, a matter of all the material collectively. What story does all the evidence taken together tell? If the story turns out to suggest you are a standout, you will likely be considered.
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9072.html
No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal:
Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life
Thomas J. Espenshade & Alexandria Walton Radford
Lostaccount, I am an excellent test scorer (I scored 740 on Reading in the SAT’s a year ago), and am a good essay writer. Sadly, I haven’t been able to have any good extracurriculars due to living in a foreign country and not having enough money to pay for the options available. I hope my good test scores and essays will convince at least one top college to accept me.
@DominicBayer, generally, schools are looking to see what you made of the opportunities you have. For example, if your school has zero AP courses, it would be unfair to punish you for that. Ditto what you can’t afford. Good luck.
Thanks for your advice, lxnayBob.
