Is a 3.88 UW GPA too low for schools like Duke, Northwestern & UPenn? A 3.88 at my school is equivalent to a 95.5 average.
Please remember GPA and other academic facets aren’t the only factors in admissions nowadays. 3.88 should be completely fine.
Extracurriculars, awards, recs, essays, etc. all play roles in determining the final admissions decision. Don’t fret over a few decimal points in your GPA.
@sanjanagupta1 You can easily find out by looking at the CDS of each school. As a general rule of thumb most ivies and ivy equivalents have a average GPA of 3.9+ and 90%+ of their class was in the top 10% of their HS class.
@Penn95 so should i be concerned if my GPA is a 3.87-3.8?? sorry i know this is pretty vague without any EC or ACT scores and stuff but i should be concerned with this GPA?
Your GPA is competitive for these schools, but is likely very similar to the vast majority of those applying. Hopefully there is something exceptional in your writing, extra-ciriculars, or standardized test scores that can differentiate you from the rest of the pool of applicants.
No you GPA is fine, no need to worry.
How is your class rank? Have you checked the Naviance data of your high school?
@billcsho we don’t have a class rank but on Naviance the average GPA for who gets admitted to Duke is 3.91 
so I I’m really concerned
You will not get declined based on having a 3.87 compared to a 3.91. If you get declined it will be based on other factors.