Honest Opinions - is there a big difference between a 3.9 and a 4.0?

Applying to College
41

<p>"Honest Opinions - is there a big difference between a 3.9 and a 4.0?"</p>

<p>you sound like a smart person, I'm pretty sure you could have doen the math yourself.</p>

42

<p>I have a 3.8. Is that the same as a 4.0?</p>

<p>I hope so. Maybe I still have a chance at UVA.</p>

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<p>Wow, I can't believe I acknowledged the existence of this thread...</p>

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<p>so a 4.0 with 13 aps..now that has to help?</p>

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<p>OMG I HATE THREADS LIKE THIS SINCE the OP doesn't provide any context as to the views of any specific university. Division III schools probably give full-rides to kids who get a 3.8+ GPA and decent SAT/ACT scores while Caltech may defer/reject an applicant just because he doesn't have the coveted 4.0. These kind of threads have been popping up all over CC and it's rather quite annoying, since I basically have to assume that the OP is talking about Harvard admissions when he could just as easily be talking about his local state college.</p>

<p>OP: Focus on your essays/awards/recs/etc. if you're aiming at the top schools like HYP. The funny part is, regardless of whether you have a 3.9 GPA or a 4.0 GPA, your chances to get into a top ivy like Harvard is still under 10 percent. So this should make you wonder: Is it important that I be worrying over my nearly immaculate GPA when it only alters my admissions chances at a place like Harvard from 6% to like 8%, or should I focus on racking up national awards/atheltic talent/musical ability which could easily make myself an auto-admit at any university that I desire?</p>

<p>Set your priorities straight.</p>

46

<p>rightly stated evil<em>asian</em>dictator ..there are things beyonf those pesky stuff that we cant seemingly change or worry about..</p>

<p>change the tangible and dont try to sue the intangible past...</p>

<p>SM</p>

47

<p>What does a 96.5 unweighted GPA translate to? 3.8 or 3.9?</p>

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<p>maden10, I assume your :) implies you're joking. Otherwise, I'd be impressed by your grammar.</p>

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<p>What does a 96.5 unweighted GPA translate to? 3.8 or 3.9?
Neither</p>

<p>Dont waste time converting GPA's. Colleges dont want it</p>

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<p>Hey, I got a 3.9 and was accepted to some schools that my HS's valedictorians got rejected from. The GPA is NOT the only criteria used for evaluation, so calm down all you 3.9ers.</p>

51

<p>lol don't focu soo hard on .1 difference in grades (wow can't believe this thread's 3 pages long)</p>

<p>first of all GPA is taken in context of your school and your tanking at most top schools. </p>

<p>second, GPA is not your entire app, there are alot more to your chances. done stress over 1 variable</p>

<p>my GPA is no where close to 4.0 and I still did alright during the ED round.</p>

52

<p>I believe 96.5=4.0</p>

<p>I have a 3.9 GPA...and probably ranked something anywhere from 3-10 out of a class of 45. You have to take a test to get into my school (it's a county school)...so you have the best of the best student's in the county. However, my school doesn't rank b/c of this.</p>

<p>How does Wharton @ uPenn look at this? Do I have a shot?</p>

53

<p>4.0 = just barely acceptable
3.9 = you fail at life = secret government "re-education" camp in Eastern Europe = dead end minimum wage job in a sweatshop</p>

<p>...lol, j/k. I personally don't think there's a huge difference between them unless you are applying to a hella good school.</p>

54

<p>you say "be brutally honest..." </p>

<p>so heres my opinion. if your in here asking people if theres a different between a 3.9 and 4.0, your basically too stupid to get into college anyway. the different is .1</p>

<p>now get a life and stop worrying about decimal places. its pathetic.</p>

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<p>is 4.0 like the highest at ur schools or something? not at mine. 4.5 is the highest unweighted. 4.0 is all A's and 4.5 is all A+'s. A+ is 95 and up.</p>

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<p>"now get a life and stop worrying about decimal places"</p>

<p>i only asked because looking at the EA threads, it seemed that for the particular school i want to go to, most acceptees had 4.0s. Im sorry If It sounded like I didn't have a life to you, but the day I posted was the day i found out I missed getting a 4.0 because i had an 89.2 in pre-calculus. I was flustered and posted this in a spur-of-the-moment decision. in addition, I've seen many people post their GPAs and I have seen 3.8s and 3.86s being told that "it might be just a bit low for such and such school". i have a dream school, even though Im not supposed to, and in one angry and upsetting afternoon, I began to freak out. don't tell me no one on this board has not had that reaction at least once before. Well it happened to me and the criticism that i got in response did nothing to make me feel better.</p>

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<p>mmm i think a 4.0 is better because its .1 higher than a 3.9</p>

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<p>okay okay okay. i get the sarcasm. can someone just please close this thread?</p>

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<p>wow calm down lollypop. i was just being brutally honest. don't take people's opinions so seriously. especially on the internet. </p>

<p>here, i'll give you a nice answer.</p>

<p>4.0 sounds waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better to colleges. it translates into perfect. but 3.9 translates into REALLY good, but not perfect lol i mean what kind of answer did you expect? what did you want people to say</p>

<p>my point is, you shouldn't care</p>

60

<p>Some posters seem utterly convinced that a .1 difference in GPA cannot make a real impact on college admissions. Some--although many of them are being sarcastic--are equally convinced that it does make a difference.</p>

<p>Listen--and this comes from somebody who has gotten into Harvard and knows dozens of others who have (doesn't make me an ultimate authority, of course, but does provide a nice basis for judgment)--it does make a difference, although the degree of difference varies enormously depending on the circumstances. If 2 Bs make you drop from 2/300 to 16/300 in class rank, your perceived "academic achievement" will be affected, however ridiculous it may seem. You can still get in with a 16/300, of course, but your chances will be lower.</p>

<p>Or say you're applying to Caltech and got a B in AP Physics. This may be unfair--after all, classes at some schools are far harder than at others--but, as Ben Golub has repeatedly stressed on the Caltech forum, a B in a science/math class will make a huge difference. As a general rule, a B in any area of focus in your application (which is math/science for everyone getting into Caltech) will be a serious problem. Again, it won't doom you, and with very strong recommendations, test scores, activities, etc., there's a decent chance that you'll still get in--but your chances will be lower.</p>

<p>The only instances where there isn't a sizable difference are those where 1) the B barely moves your class rank, or your school doesn't rank, and 2) the B is not in a field of special importance to your application.</p>

<p>Moral of the story--it's not the end of the world if you don't get exceptoinal grades, and the other elements of an application are extremely important, but do your best to get good marks!</p>