I go to high school in India. In my school, there is an incredibly strict grade deflation policy and so most of grades are Bs. I have ranked in the top 1 percentile in several examinations, I scored a 5 on AP calculus BC, AP psychology and AP Chemistry. I am afraid that my GPA, along with my demographics (Asian male) already eliminate me from the top 10 colleges in USA. Is there anything I can do about this?
Yes, study harder.
I’m being serious. Your teachers think you’ve earned a B. These don’t turn into A’s just because you don’t like the consequences of B’s.
Where do you rank overall in your class/year? Top 1%? Top 5%?
If there is grade deflation (as is true of the grading system in some countries when compared to the US), knowing how you perform compared to your peers gives context to your GPA and should be addressed in your counselor recommendation.
The acceptance chance for international students, even more so from India, is very small so have safeties in your country (or UK, Canada).
Let’s be clear. If most grades are Bs, that’s grade inflation. It only feels like deflation because all US high school grades are massively inflated now to the point that C, rather than being average, is a failure.
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Ha. Fair point. The inflation in the US system is ridiculous now. Honestly, we should always put those terms in quotes… “grade deflation or inflation”.
But to better help the OP, I do think we need some context as to where his grades place him in his school (or even country, since international admissions is so extremely competitive). AOs will consider the application in that context.
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You really need to be one of the best students in your country to have any shot at a top 10 US college. If you are not one of the top students in your HS (assuming some students earned A’s) then your chances are negligible.
You can look at some less competitive US colleges and fortunately there are many fine college options in your home country.
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