<p>From the past EA, ED, and RD results threads that I've been browsing, I've noticed that there are a few schools that are fairly lenient with GPA. </p>
<p>Unlike most of the Ivies where every accepted candidate seems to have a 3.95+, a few schools, namely UChicago and NYU (Stern). At these schools, it seems like they really consider all of their candidates without immediately disqualifying one due to a relatively low GPA. </p>
<p>I have a 3.6 GPA as I've taken the hardest course load through high school. (Full IB, 13 IB/AP classes). </p>
<p>Despite this class rigor and exceptional SAT score, most top schools would immediately reject me because of my GPA. </p>
<p>Are there any other top schools that don't base their admission solely off of an absolute GPA, as it seems?</p>
<p>The thing is, all of those schools have enough sheer numbers of applicants that they can take kids who took classes that rigorous (or more) AND got As in them. Harvard classes are going to be much more rigorous than AP classes, and they have to know you can succeed in them.</p>
<p>It may be late in the game for you, but read this book:</p>
<p>“How to Be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get Into College By Standing Out (Without Burning Out)” by Cal Newport</p>
<p>(This guy ought to pay me royalties, because I recommend this book often!). He would say that a 3.7 GPA is enough to get into any school in the country (and you don’t need to take the absolute maximum hardest courseload) IF you focus your EC time and attention wisely.</p>
<p>But you really need to read and take this to heart early in your high school career to get the maximum benefit. So if you have a younger sibling…</p>
<p>But believe me… your life is NOT over if you don’t go to an Ivy or other “top” school. You can do very well at whatever goals you have in life starting at schools farther down in the rankings. Just get a Fiske Guide to Colleges and look at the schools that are a tier down from the Ivies and the “tippy tops” like Stanford. Pick schools that appeal to you for location, major strength, size, and vibe. Find a couple of reaches, a few matches, and a couple of safeties. If cost is important, look for a few schools that give good merit aid and your test scores stack up well against the admitted scores. I don’t have any suggestions for what schools those would be, as I don’t know what is most important to you (all you have asked for is “top school”, and I don’t think choosing by ranking is wise).</p>
<p>Unicameral is right: it’s not that Harvard and its peers are rejecting students out of hand because they have GPAs in the 3.6 range. Rather, Harvard’s applicant pool is so much larger than the size of its entering class that they’ve already filled all the beds in the freshman dorms before they get around to admitting otherwise viable candidates with somewhat lower GPAs.</p>
<p>I realize, for the applicant who gets a skinny envelope in the spring, that’s a distinction without a difference. But I think there is a conceptual difference between “rejecting students with 3.6 GPA” and “running out of room before you get to students with 3.6 GPA.”</p>
<p>And I think you’re going to find the “running out of room” problem at most elite colleges and universities. But I also agree with intparent that there’s much more to life than going to Harvard. Heck, I went to Harvard, and I think there’s a lot more to life than going to Harvard!</p>
<p>All the Common App schools agree to be holistic. Not sure where you get this idea they will summarily reject you because the gpa is 3.6. They look at the transcript, see the rigor (or lack,) where you got the less than A grades- whether that’s in your proposed major or something else. They look at the recs, activities, how well you present yourself in the app- if you seem to be on track or daydreaming your way through the app. Nearly all schools have a first cut, but compelling kids with the right stuff can get past that. It’s in the end, where your performance and desirability are weighed against the pool, that you can lose.</p>
<p>This isn’t to say you should aim for schools that are a reach, hoping for the best. Most kids can’t really assess how they come across, holistically. Look for schools where you fall into the top 25% of stats. Then find those which have a self-image you match. Dig through their web sites to figure out if you are the sort of kid they tout- or if those are heads above you in terms of activities and accomplishments. And, decide whether you want to be big fish or scrambling to keep up.</p>
<p>If your school has Naviance, that would be your best source of “chances”. Scattergrams vary across schools. That’s because a 3.6 could be top 10% at one school, and 3rd quartile at another. It matters in the context of your school. </p>
<p>At our public mass high school, top schools where at least two students with 3.6 GPAs and lower got in are
Bates
Boston College
Brandeis
Bryn Mawr (listed on CC top colleges, but 3.6 is very likely)
UCLA
Carleton
Carnegie Mellon
Chicago (though quite rare)
Colgate
Cornell
Dartmouth (though quite rare - hardly anybody gets in, but green dots cover big range)
Emory
Grinnell
Hamilton
Haveford
Johns Hopkins
Kenyon
Lehigh
Macalester
Michigan
Mt Holyoke (listed on CC top colleges, but 3.6 is very likely)
NYU
Northwestern (rare)
Notre Dame (hard for everyone, but there are dots)
Oberlin
Pomona (rare)
Reed College
Smith
USC
Trinity College (listed on CC top colleges, but 3.6 is very likely)
Tufts
Vassar
Wake Forest
Washington University in St Louis (no rhyme or reason- 3.5 and 4.0 have equal chances)
Wellesley
William and Mary</p>
<p>The only USNews Top National University beyond 35 that I included was Lehigh because most people with a 3.6 DON’T get in. All of the others aren’t that competitive. </p>
<p>You can help your chances at one of these schools with early decision, but that requires an extensive effort during junior year to be able to make such a clear decision.</p>
<p>There’s significant ethnic and economic diversity at DS’ selective-enrollment private HS. Its Navigance admission stats therefore show a significant range for certain Tier 1/1.5 schools regarding scores and GPA. Furthermore, this HS has a strong academic reputation in Midwest. Many LACs noted privately to us that students from this HS get a “boost” during admissions consideration. That’s seems to be reflected in its Navigance data. That same “boost” seems less likely outside Midwest - except for URMs, and this HS has a strong track record for placing its URMs in Ivy-caliber colleges and universities.</p>
<p>Without further info regarding your personal situation, I’d suggest looking at colleges that rank from #30 to #60 that would be looking for “regional diversity” from your state. Look at Grinnell and Kenyon, particularly if you’re male.</p>