<p>thank you, randomperson. that is the kind of honest answer i wanted to hear.</p>
<p>Could someone please comment on my situation:</p>
<p>I go to a high competitive public high school in NJ, I'm ranked about 20/500 in my class. My school weighs A+, A, A- etc differently when calculating GPA. Now, as a junior, I haven't gotten anything lower than an A- for my final average, and right now, I have a 3.9. How will colleges see this?</p>
<p>"thank you, randomperson. that is the kind of honest answer i wanted to hear."</p>
<p>Naught against randomperson, but how do you know that it is honest?
U mistitled the topic should be </p>
<p>"Opinions fitting mine - is there a big difference between a 3.9 and a 4.0?"</p>
<p>No, antarius, i did not want opinions fitting mine. However, all the responses Ive gotten so far seem to be criticism or sarcasm. At least randomperson tried to give me an accurate evaluation.</p>
<p>And btw, I heard from teacher earlier and I didn't get a B in the class so my original frustration is all gone. Turns out he hadnt yet added in a 3 pt extra credit project that i did (the EC he gave us all semester) and those 3 pt gave me the little boost i needed to pull off an A.</p>
<p>Admissions probabilities decrease rapidly with class standing. But I believe the schools when they say that difficulty of classes is crucial.</p>
<p>ben:</p>
<p>be careful when reading the Val/Sal stats, since there are 35,000 high schools in the country, and many of them are small. Thus, while a top tier, large HS may earn 10+ Ivy slots for it graduating class, the small, rurual HS may earn only 1 -- the Val. Indeed, many of the authors of college guides have made that point -- a top 10 kid in a class of 500 is viewed much more favorably than #2 in a class of 35. (Or course, assumes that the small school is just a normal school, and not a private prep with top counseling.)</p>
<p>I agree that a .1 difference can mean a lot. This is because the people who get a few B's in high school don't usually have 98+% in every class--usually they are 90-93% and they just "slip" a little in one class and get a B. Therefore, if you have a 4.0, even though you may still be a 90-93% student, the college has no way of knowing if you are actually a 98+% student, but if you have a 3.9, they will probably assume you are borderline all the time.</p>
<p>not sure if i can trust you THERE. the higher the better is all i can say.</p>
<p>To the OP: It's the psychological difference between $10 and $9.99.</p>
<p>HVSahin, no, not really.</p>
<p>difference between 3.9 and 4.0 are those single questions on tests that push the boundaries of what you have learned...ones where you have the tools but not the method...4.0's nail it while 3.9's may not. thus, it could be a significant difference or it could not, but it's those types of problems that separate those who really understand the material from the memorizers/format copiers.</p>
<p>Plenty of people with 4.0s are just memorizers/format copiers. The difference in GPA is what, one or two "-" next to your A's throughout high school? Generally insignificant.</p>
<p>I agree. A lot of these people spend time mugging and being pround of a 4.0. Unfortunately, they get the coveted 4.0 but everything else sufffers and their apps scream
"I AM A XEROX MACHINE, I WORK 24X7"</p>
<p>3.9 looks like you worked hard
4.0 looks like your classes are too easy</p>
<p>and I was one of those memorizers/format copiers and it's biting my butt now
end of 1st semester: 1.8 gpa</p>
<p>I used to rank 3/650 but got 8 Bs over the span of 2 semesters (ouch), the counselor says this will drop me to around 35/650. What kind of ranking would I actually need, and how important is it in top college apps?</p>
<p>35/650 is good but you have a downward trend in gpa which is very bad</p>
<p>Yeah, that's been worrying me. My trend isn't really dramatic, but it's definately there. My classes get harder, though. Would it make a difference if I got all As this last semester?</p>
<p>all this up ward trend seems to be looked upon highly by colleges. sometimes i wonder if i should have purposely done badly freshman year then slowly gotten better</p>
<p>"sometimes i wonder if i should have purposely done badly freshman year then slowly gotten better"
real smart..
Its simple, u show a downward trend, ur dead
U have lousy first sem. grades and improve, they kill you for the bad grades</p>
<p>Just be HAPPY with ur 3.9 and life will move on</p>