Hi, I am a sophomore who recently transferred to a public school. At my old school (an international school), the GPA was not weighted, there was no class rank, and they did not offer pre-AP or AP courses in freshman year. I got a perfect 4.0 in my freshman year. However, at my new school, they use weighted GPA. My previously great GPA of 4.0 now only gets me to 191th in class rank (not even in the top 20%). At my old school I would have been within the top 10 people (not %) and my teachers and parents had high expectations for me and what college I would go to.
Is there anything I can do to improve my GPA? Can they calculate class rank without freshman year or with unweighted GPA? Does class rank count that much in admissions and can I omit it? Please help, I am beginning to think this transfer will really ruin my future.
Stop stressing, you are a sophomore and it is too early to be thinking about colleges. Take time to enjoy life. Take advantage of the academics, find friends, get involved in activities you care about etc.
And to answer your question…
–First off you are a sophomore and have lots of time for your rank to improve if you continue to perform well in school.
–Second, when the time comes you can ask your guidance counselor to include the information about your transfer in his/her recommendation so colleges are aware.
–Third, I agree that course rigor and GPA are most important. As to the question of if weighted or unweighted GPA is reviewed, that depends on the college. Many colleges re-calculate GPAs based on their own criteria (ex. academic classes only etc.)
Thank you happy1.
I am not really stressing over this. I was just somewhat worried when I first saw my class rank and I wrote this thread in passionate state.
I’ve heard that public colleges, especially state colleges, use GPA and class rank as their main basis for choosing students though. For example, UT Austin requires you to be at least in the top 7% before they even consider you. Is this true?