<p>Right now my unweighted GPA is right around 3.5, which is pretty bad for colleges I want to attend such as MIT. Caltech, and Harvard. To compensate for this, my SAT Subject Test scores are 800 for both Physics and Math II. I plan on taking the ACT during my junior year, as my PSAT scores filled me with the urge to vomit. However, I am now left in a rut. Should I take advanced and AP classes where I'll likely average B+ results like I did my sophomore year in Physics B (4) and World History (5) or take normal classes where I am almost guaranteed an A? My weighted GPA is about 5.2 (I have no idea how my school calculates this), but they use unweighted for class ranking, which makes me fit into the Top 40%. Also, is it possible to explain bad grades during early years of high school? In my freshmen year, I suffered from bouts of what appeared to be something like autism that required psychological help, and my first trimester in my sophomore year involved me being sidelined for two weeks with the most unsympathetic teachers one could imagine and a visit to the good ol' Emergency Room. As of now, I am on the straight and narrow (my GPA for this trimester is 3.8, but my junior schedule as of now contains AP US History, AP English Composition, German III, Advanced Chemistry and Advanced Calculus and AP Physics 2. If needed, every class on there can be downgraded to regular classes except for German III (and the hellhole that German is).
tl;dr unweighted gpa a .3 too low, weighted gpa 5.2. take easy classes for A or advanced for B+ wat do</p>
<p>I definitely think you should take a couple AP classes in subjects you’re truly interested and/or have succeeded in the past with. Also, you have to remember that a lot of the kids who are applying at the universities you mentioned like MIT and Harvard have schedules that are FULL of AP classes. So if you want to be apart of this highly competitive atmosphere, definitely take some AP’s . Unless you have some incredible extracurriculars, a 3.5 GPA with average classes taken junior year really isn’t going to put you in a good place with the admission officers at these schools.</p>
<p>Take as many AP’s as you can if you’re aiming for those schools. You seem more math-science oriented so I think you’ll do better on the ACT over the SAT. Take AP Chem, its really not that bad and a lot of people get high scores on the AP test, in comparison with other AP classes.</p>
<p>If you’re trying to compete people in the Ivy leagues you need to take as many AP classes as possible. No questions asked. As for AP/honors v. regulars, AP looks much better because you’re challenging your self and taking rigorous classes. If your school offers AP Chem or AP Calculus you should take them. These people are basically the best of the best and you need a killer schedule to compete with them.</p>
<p>Also to make yourself stand out, rack up on EC’s and some volunteer work. This really just beefs up your applications and really just helps you.</p>
<p>Okay and if you haven’t done so already I highly advise that you take the AP exams in May and score highly (either 4 or 5’s) on them. These tests can account for college credit and are just another thing to set you apart from everyone else.</p>