<p>I'm a junior this year, and the two most competitive schools I'm planning to apply to next year (and, as of now, my top 2 choices) are Northwestern and Columbia. I attend one of the most academically rigorous public high schools in the northeast, and have an extremely challenging course load, taking a total of 11 AP classes in all of high school (6 of them this year). Because of the unfortunate combination of these two factors, however, my GPA is lower than I'd like it to be - a 3.7 for 9th/10th grade, and so far about a 3.6 for 11th grade (although I'm on track to bring it up to anywhere between a 3.75 and 3.85 by the end of the year), which I know is sub-par for both of these schools. </p>
<p>The strong point of my application, however, will be my achievements in music. I've played 1st chair trumpet the past 3 years in my high school's jazz band, which has consistently won state and national festivals, and made 1st chair in 2 All-State, 3 regional, and 1 northeastern jazz bands (via audition). I also received a runner-up award in a national jazz composition contest, and have a shot at making an all-national jazz band which I'll find out about soon. Needless to say, this should be an impressive resume.</p>
<p>So my question is, for anyone with prior experience or expertise on the matter, can an extracurricular resume like this help a sub-par academic record like mine in getting into schools like Columbia and Northwestern? All advice and thoughtful answers are appreciated.</p>
3.8 is still a relatively solid GPA(im gonna be there) and so I feel like you will be fine. Schools aren’t stupid, they will realize that you are a hard working, and talented student, and that you be a nice addition to any school :] Hope this helps, rate? (sorry bout being a rate hore) <a href=“