I got a 4.0 unweighted GPA for my freshman year, taking honors geometry and biology.
I guess I kind of let down my guard, because this year, with taking AP bio and honors chemistry, advanced algebra my GPA suddenly dropped and now I have a 3.88 cumulative. I also only got a 4 on my ap exam.
I have an 800 in math II and haven’t yet gotten a score back for sat 2 bio.
I’ve gotten leadership positions in a big service club at school as one of the secretaries, and I also formed a new math club with a few of my friends, which I am leader of as well.
I’m worried, because the students and my school are very competent and so they have cumulative 4.0s and tons of club activities, and I’m now worried that I won’t be able to get into one of the top schools. If I don’t get in to the one of the top, then I have to just make do with a local community college in my home country and I really don’t want to do that.
Should I be really concerned? I know that 3.88 isn’t necessarily bad, but given my circumstances, I really need as close to 4.0 as I can get…
Is it a lost cause? How should I prepare for my junior year?
I have to say that a drop of .12 in GPA is actually quite a bit (especially when it comes to class rank). At my school, such a drop could mean between 10-15% of class rank changes. Had it been a drop from 4 to 3.98 (a .2) drop, it would have been negligible, but any drop over .1 in your GPA can matter, especially to top schools.
If OP wanted to apply to a state flagship (even if he is international), such a drop wouldn’t matter (there are plenty of good state schools out there also), but I believe that at the very top, such drops can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection, with so many top applicants vying for those schools.
This student likely got ONE B grade. Sorry…but as a sophomore…that is not a big deal. If this student gets all A grades as a junior…really…this “drop” won’t matter one bit.
If the student gets a 36 ACT or 1590 SAT…it won’t matter.
You know…even at top schools ALL of the accepted students do NOT have 4.0 GPA.
And that 3.88 is unweighted…what is the weighted GPA?
@RMNiMiTz you are giving this student unnecessary worry.
I’ll add…if this international student is looking at ONLY tippy top schools…like only HYPSM…even with a 4.0 GPA, there would be NO guarantee of acceptance…and especially as an international student where acceptance rates hover around 5%.
This student simply needs to do,their best. They also need to understand that there are a LOT of colleges between community college in their country and the tippy top schools here.
I honestly think that you’re fine. As long as you work hard the next year and keep participating in your clubs and activities you’re good. I would say that especially the top schools often put an emphasis on having outstanding EC’s, although grades are still a major factor.
A 3.88 GPA will not ruin your chances at top schools. Students with perfect 4.0’s and near perfect test scores get rejected from top tier schools all the time. This just goes to show that admissions to the top schools are difficult for all that apply.
In terms of preparing for next year, maybe change up your study habits and try a few different things. Juggling advanced classes and a busy EC schedule can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. Keep working and good luck this upcoming year!
Of course, there would never be any guarantee of acceptance, but every bit helps. It isn’t just the GPA, but mainly the class ranking loss that I am worried about for him/her.
Of course, if OP had a good junior year, it would matter a lot less, but there is no point in speculation.
If the cumulative GPA is currently 3.88 and OP had a 4.0 in freshman year, that means he had a 3.76 GPA in sophomore year. If he gets a 4.0 in Junior year, he can pull the cumulative up to a 3.92, but if the trend keeps on going it isn’t good.
If he had 7 classes, it would mean 2 B’s or 1 C. Doesn’t really matter, was just curious and did the math.
Yep I had one b+ in ap bio and a few a-s.
Thing are looking up a bit in junior year as I’m getting all As except for AP Macro which will probably end up a B+/A-.
Our school doesn’t do ranking although I do think I’m likely within the top 10-15% of the grade, I’m worrried about my GPA because of macro. It’s only a 0.5 credit but still, at this stage every little grade and decimal makes a big difference…
@lynnie99 PLEASE relax. You’re fine. Do your best and you will end up where you are supposed to be. The WORST thing to do is make high school miserable by wringing your hands for 4 years. At some point, you will look back and shake your head that you let yourself get so worked up. Keep after it but have some fun and be a kid too.
This parental thinking is why there is such a mental health crisis for kids.
Princeton - over 14,000 of the 35,000 applications were 4.0 unweighted. They accepted less than 2000 kids…and many of these kids were not 4.0. So yes, they accepted lots of less than 4.0 kids over 4.0 kids.
Lesson learned. You are not perfect. No one is. Junior year is the last full one seen by college admissions so you do your best next year. This means doing the work to learn the material and skills, not to get perfect grades. You need stress relievers and enjoyment as well as academics. HS is a time to try many things. The elite colleges will not only look at test scores and your gpa but will want to know how you rounded out your life. Perfect test scores/gpa’s are NOT guarantees of admission.
All stages in life are meant to be lived fully. Teen years are not just preparation for adulthood. Learning social skills and how to accept yourself are part of the maturing process. Experiencing many things now, even if it means not being perfect at them is much better than not trying things out of your comfort zone.
There is life outside of the tippy top/elite colleges. There will be many gifted kids at other schools to challenge you academically and be your peer group. Most top students will not go to that top school because there simply insn.t room for them all. An excellent college education can be found at many top tier schools. I mention this because you need to relax a bit about getting into colleges.
btw- you mention your “home country”. The US does not have a monopoly on good colleges. Be sure to check out options at home.