Since I came to my school (in Texas) in the middle of freshman year, I didn’t do that well, but have improved significantly since then (Freshman:3, Sophomore: 3.85, Junior: 4.5) and got a decent ACT score (32). Combined with my long list of extra curriculars and extensively peer-reviewed essay, will my GPA weigh me down much?
UW only looks at unweighted GPA so the max is 4.0
If your UW GPA is a rising trend then I think UW looks good upon that.
@Vrael101, Washington’s Common Data Set states that in making admissions decisions, rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and application essays are “very important,” and standardized test scores, ECs, talent/ability, first generation, volunteer work, and work experience are “important.” Also “considered” in making admissions decisions are character/personal qualities and state residency.
The Common Data Set reports the unweighted GPA of enrolled freshmen in 2016 as follows:
3.75 to 4.00: 65.40%
3.50 to 3.74: 25.96%
3.25 to 3.49: 6.20%
3.00 to 3.24: 1.89%
Under 3.00: 0.55%
Average unweighted HS GPA for enrolled freshmen in 2016 was 3.78.
Middle 50% ACT of enrolled freshmen in 2016 was 26-32.
I am not aware that UW publishes stats of admitted students in addition to stats of enrolled students. However, bear in mind that as a function of yield, average stats of enrolled students are slightly lower than average stats of accepted students (e.g., UCLA admitted ACT: 29-34; enrolled ACT: 26-33).
I agree with @SecretMalamute that your rising GPA trend will help you (along with your great ACT and strong essays and ECs) in UW’s holistic review of your application.
Good luck!