Recently, I got my fall semester grades back from my school and did well, which was cool. I was also notified that I now have the highest GPA in school history, which I believe is a pretty decent distinction (my school is relatively competitive ). I would like to notify AOs of this, but am not sure exactly of the method. Should I directly contact the admissions office or should I have my counselor write a note/update about me?
I’d let it go
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If you applied regular decision, it’s very likely the colleges will require a midyear transcript. This will show your GPA.
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I understand, but the number of my GPA does not necessarily indicate that it is the highest GPA in my school’s history. For some colleges which receive many applicants from my school, they will have a decent understanding of what a good/great/outstanding GPA is given a good amount of students to compare me to. However, for some universities, such as Northwestern, there may not be many applicants to be compared to, as not many students from my school have ever applied there. That is why I want to notify these schools that my GPA is indeed impressive (as GPA tends to differ from school to school given grade inflation/deflation).
Ask your school counselor to do this.
I’m not sure why this would be as important as seeing that you have a very high GPA…is that the case?
Schools don’t admit students based on having the highest GPA ever. They look at your GPA (and some actually recalculate it because as you noted…formulas vary).
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I’m sure the fact that this makes you the number one ranked student in your class and Valedictorian should suffice.
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My schools doesn’t rank, so I am lumped with the top 25-ish students. Between the bottom of the decile and me, there is about 0.6-0.7 difference, hence my desire to let AOs know.
I am well aware that this won’t come close to making or breaking my application, but I would just like to craft the best application possible. Even if the change is miniscule, (as long as it doesn’t take undue time and effort to notify AOs) I think it would make sense to notify the AOs. At least in my (admittedly slightly neurotic) eyes, I believe that there is a difference between a val and a person who has done the best at a specific school in its history.
Yes, of course they won’t admit someone for GPA lol I know. However, I feel that any amount of distinction, no matter how small, is important to put forth. And as far as letting AOs know about this, I don’t think it takes much effort, so I don’t see any downsides in contacting them in some way.
Well if you think this is a wise idea I certainly would have it sent forward from your GC and not yourself.
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Admissions really isn’t hierarchical in this way. It really won’t make a difference. And at top schools with holistic admissions, it will really be about other things.
But yes, your GC can write about this if they think it is appropriate.
This is a nice distinction but it sounds like your school is very competitive so maybe stressful! Congrats on your hard work and excellence…
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Have you attended any online prospective student sessions?
No?
Many of the top schools will state: “If we didn’t ask you for it, don’t send it”. They are swamped and don’t need the extra emails.
The counselors can send additional information, but as a student, it’s not a good idea. It wont help you if they think that you can’t follow instructions.
There are 30K high schools, so imagine 30K Valedictorians and Salutatorians submitting applications. Now, envision those same students sending additional emails.
What happens when next year or the following year another student surpasses your GPA?
Don’t send it. It will show on your transcript.
If anything, if you send it, you might end up annoying them. It’s a very busy time of year and they don’t need the extra “paperwork”.
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If anything, if you send it, you might end up annoying them. It’s a very busy time of year and they don’t need the extra “paperwork”.
Sounds good. The risk rewards here seems minimal in comparison to the AO getting annoyed by another message. Thank you for the input!