<p>In my high school, a = 4 while a- = 3.7. I have straight a-, will that appear as 3.7 gpa in MIT or 4.0 when I apply. Also, I am only a sophomore, so when taking the SAT next year, do i have to pretty much get a 800 in math and at least a 700 hundred in reading? I calculating my GPA without including electives, etc. I only counted math, science, english, social studies, and foreign language. Also, those a- are in honors and AP classes, not regular, so will that help my strength in subject area.</p>
<p>ok, let me start off saying that at most schools your unweighted gpa will be 3.7 if your school operates under a 4 scale. Secondly, i never heard of using gpa to predict sats. I know students with 3.6 gpas who got 800s on math and yet i know some students with 4.0s who got 720, so i do not know if gpa is a great predictor (previous standardized tests usually are a better predictor). </p>
<p>secondly, when i attended an information session (just three days ago - btw i am an accepted student and i believe the following is what got me in) the MIT admission counselor made it clear that while having top grades are important but they want to see individuals who really delved into what they were really interest. They found their hobbies and really got involved at their schools and communities. For me this was with my high school sports teams(i got involved by making a web site for swimming in which i compete and taking stats for baseball and football). I showed them my dedication in these areas. Therefore, while having competitive stats (which you appear to have at this point -- still very early), I would make sure you find something you really like and really get into this field/activity.</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>Bah, MIT doesn't get finicky about this stuff. An average of A- is fine. You're not going to need a perfect SAT score to "make up" for it. MIT wants to see that you pursued challenge and did well (a high GPA, not necessarily a perfect one - and SAT scores in the 700s). Once they get a collection of academically qualified students, they sort them based on other things - passions pursued, challenges overcome, opportunities you had and took (ie, don't worry if your school doesn't offer the APs that other schools do).</p>