I’m a junior and how much will this 3.5 hurt me? Do i even have a chance anymore? I take 4 APs. Thanks
Depends on your class rank but tbh pretty much 0 chances.
The Ivy Leagues have enough applicants with a 2240 (or even 2350+) that they can afford to be very picky when it comes to GPA. Unless your school is extremely rigorous and the 3.5 puts you in the top 5-10% of the class (ideally top 5%), your GPA will present a significant issue.
Fortunately, there are several thousand colleges in the country beyond the Ivy League, which is just an 8-school athletic conference. Several - Stanford, MIT, Duke, or the University of Chicago, among others - are as good as, if not better than, half the Ivy League. This is a good time to uncouple “success” and “Ivy League” in your mind.
It’s also a decent time to uncouple “success” and “top 20” or “top 30,” because a 3.5 will make those outcomes similarly unlikely
Not that this student will likely attain admission to those other top schools, either. About a 3.7 UW seems to be the cutoff, and you better be spectacular in other areas if you have a 3.7.
@NotVerySmart stated it perfectly. A GPA is received very differently from an SAT, especially at a school like Harvard.
Your SATs, and someone correct me if I’m wrong, should be an attempt to “justify” your low GPA or vice versa. It has to be compensated within itself. For example, @NotVerySmart pointed out class rank and course rigor. If you aren’t taking many challenging courses (4 total APs is not a lot) and if you’re not in an academically competitive environment and school with a top percent ranking, that 3.5 GPA will gradually become more burdensome.
Ivy leagues are NOT all that… the quality of education is very comparable and sometimes better at other prestigious institutions.
At a school that only has four APs to offer, it would be. We don’t know.
Also worth noting that OP is a junior who could be planning to take 4-5 AP classes next year. Which falls well within the “depends what the norm is at your school” range where a student will be considered academically qualified, and just needs the ‘most rigorous’ tick.
Your chances are practically nil with those stats, unless maybe if you’re a recruited athlete.
Depends on your performance relative. Would say your chances are pretty much none unless you’re a minority or have extraordinary talents and capacities or other contributions.
D had a 36 ACT, 3.82 UW GPA, 10 APs through high school and top 5% class rank. She was rejected by Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Brown. My read on it is that an unhooked, non URM, non Legacy, non Athlete had better have a 3.9 or higher GPA and an extremely high class rank. Maybe if you went to an extremely well known “feeder” high school or one of the top high schools in the country you could get admitted with a lower GPA but I think the bar is pretty high
@Wje9164be Damn great stats thats a tough loss. But then again at schools like HYP its a crapshoot really even with amazing stats.
I will actually have taken 11 AP courses by end of senior year. I’m just taking 4 currently. But anyways, thanks for the feedback everyone!
All depends on Class Rank and the rigor of the school.
If 3.5 UW somehow puts you at the top 10% of your class or if your high school send dozens of kids to top schools, then you would have a shot. Otherwise, very slim chances.
I would recommend that you apply early to safety schools and not Ivy Leagues. This way, your first semester senior grades will be factored into your decision for your reach schools which should help you a bit.
I did forget to mention I had a 3.6 UW by first semester freshman year and I did get into couple top 20 universities (including ivy’s) so it is possible but a poor GPA is balanced out with other factors. With a 3.5 UW regular applicant it is impossible.