<p>I'm a high school junior and going crazy with all these college stats. I've come to realize that there are a billion ways to calculate GPA and every high school does it differently... Because of this I find GPA stats relatively unhelpful. Could anyone tell me what the average high school letter grades would have to be to be considered for ND? I'm an A/B student, but I take the most rigorous classes possible at a well-regarded school (all honors/AP, I'll theoretically finish high school with 8 honors and 9 AP classes). My school's weighting system (.5 for HN, 1.0 for AP) puts me around a 4.0 weighted, which seems disastrously low compared to the stats I'm seeing here.
I feel like I just rambled a lot, so here's what I'm actually asking:
a) What are the average letter grades of accepted kids? Will me not having straight As write me off completely?
b) I've heard high test scores coupled with low GPAs are major red flags... does a 4.0 weighted with a highly rigorous schedule in one of the most competitive public school systems in the country fall into that category?
Thanks sooo much to anyone who takes the time to read and respond! :)</p>
<p>Does your school release your class rank?</p>
<p>If you have mostly A’s with a few B’s in a rigorous course load (yours sounds pretty rigorous), you should be considered competitive. You did not mention your SAT/ACT scores, so I can’t comment on the GPA/score combo. Also, class rank is deceptive, too. Being in the top 10-15% at a tough college prep school can be very different than top 5% at a less rigorous school (many people have limited control over where they go to high school, so you just do the best you can wherever you are.) It’s why ND looks at all of your application including essays and EC’s to get the best view possible. At this point, just do the best you can. Since you will be applying this fall, be sure to really work on your essays. Too many people take them lightly, and that can keep a good candidate from getting in.</p>
<p>My dad works in ND’s admissions office and he says that ND pretty much looks primarily at letter grades and class rank, since GPAs are so ambiguous. One admissions counselor said that basically what they want are “mostly As with a scattering of Bs,” so if that’s what your transcript looks like, then you should be okay. I wouldn’t worry too much about the actual number of your GPA.</p>
<p>Crystal- my school doesn’t rank, which I’m thankful for. We’re a very competitive county (suburbs of Washington DC) and I’d be terrified to know my ranking. I think I have one single friend who doesn’t have a weighted GPA above a 4.0.
newdomer- I’m taking the SAT in a week for the first time. My goal this time around is a 2000+, and by the time I’m submitting apps I’d like it to be around a 2100+. We’ll see what happens! (knock on wood!)
asianginger- thanks for the info, that’s really helpful to know!</p>