<p>Does GPA (UW and W) matter more to colleges or do extra curriculars and essays/supplements?</p>
<p>If two people applied to let's say:
Stanford, Harvard, UChicago, NYU, UCSD and Columbia</p>
<p>Which person would have a better chance of getting in? (Specifically UCSD,Columbia, UCHICAGO and STANFORD)</p>
<p>Person 1
- 3.98 UW GPA // 4.87 W GPA
- 2320 SAT I
- 4s and 5s on most AP tests
- 700+ on all SAT IIs
- ECs aren't extraordinary but show commitment
- Essay talk about the EC</p>
<p>Person 2
- 3.45 UW GPA // 4.5 W GPA
- 2300 SAT I
- 4s and 5s on most AP tests
- 700+ on most SAT IIs
- ECs are focused on student's major and interest and isn't a typical EC
- Essay shows an odd situation and passion</p>
<p>A 3.45, personally, is too low to be saved from great EC’s. While students should participate in activities related to what they want to do with their life, they shouldn’t be slacking off that much in academics. It’s not something that will look attract to admissions.</p>
<p>If the GPA showed more focus (roughly 3.6-3.8), I’d take the person with the better EC’s and that 2300.</p>
<p>The essays are what make you stand out, but a 3.4 is hard to get by with at these schools… even with extraordinary essays.</p>
<p>If there’s a steep upward trend (bad/average Semester 1 Junior GPA) but 4.0 UW Semester 2 Junior and 4.0 UW Senior year (if only 2nd semester Senior year counted too…), would that benefit the 3.45 student by showing focus? Or would it be considered too late</p>
<p>A bad junior GPA would hurt you regardless. A bad freshman GPA could be excused by some colleges (Princeton disregards it in their recalculation of GPA), but junior year is an important year. The only exception is if something terrible happened that semester (e.g. family death), which could be explained by the counselor in the recommendation.</p>
<p>But looking at the two profiles as they are now… probably neither student would get in to UChicago, Stanford, and Columbia, depending on how ‘ordinary’ the first student’s extracurriculars are.</p>
<p>^ I think xquiksilver probably has the right of it. For the schools you listed, they will have many applicants with top stats and wonderful ECs. They will end up rejecting some of those students. Great stats will not get students into most tippy-top colleges, nor will great ECs. You have to have both and even then, there are no guarantees.</p>
<p>T26E: I’m person 1 and my sister’s person 2.
I (Person 1) am trying to get into UChicago.
Person 2 is trying to get into Stanford.</p>
<p>Frankly, both of us would be absolutely happy to be accepted to any of these schools, but the two mentioned above are our #1 choices. I’m just really worried about my essay/ECs/recs because a lot of students with high scores get denied by these schools. My sister’s only worried about her GPA, but she’s worrying a ton.</p>
<p>Her GPA relative to the Stanford applicant pool is her handicap. She’ll no doubt get into a great school and be very successful. But not at a school as selective as Stanford, unfortunately.</p>
<p>Don’t count her out all the way yet! People with lower GPAs have gotten into Stanford. It all depends on just what her ECs are. If one of them is something Stanford needs, then she could get in.</p>