<p>I was wondering, if I go to a very competitive public high school, what gpa and other factors would help me get into Harvard?</p>
<p>have the best scores and GPA you can have ,and take the most rigorous classes you can take. </p>
<p>Edit: yeah EC’s too</p>
<p>Then pray that you are one of the 5-6% of the people that gets accepted</p>
<p>^ec’s matter a lot</p>
<p>Be amazing</p>
<p>There is no set equation. Just do your best in everything and be someone outside the classroom. There is no way to answer your question, because there are so many factors that go into their own formula. The chance threads for schools like HYPSM are not that helpful because there is just no way to predict who will get in.</p>
<p>^^^ Absolutely true. The thread should just close now.</p>
<p>@jmh8290: Ask your guidance counselor, as the answer will vary depending upon your high school. For example, at my son and daughter’s high school, depending upon the year, Harvard has accepted between 8 and 25 students every year. However, no student has been admitted to Harvard in the last 10 years with a GPA below 94, no matter what they scored on their ACT/SAT, no matter what their EC’s. Bottom line: ask your GC!</p>
<p>Gibby: does a 94 GPA mean 3.94/4.00 or does it mean 94% of a 4.0 or 5.0 scale? Thanks for all the great info you provide here!</p>
<p>94 GPA is 94/100. Each class is graded on an 100 point scale.</p>
<p>I don’t know of any school in the US that provides actual exam scores on transcripts (in case that is what you meant). Most schools I know provide a letter grade based on either a fixed scale or a curve for each course, which is then translated into a numerical average (GPA) based on different schools’ individual grading practice.</p>
<p>Some high schools don’t give letter grades, but instead give grades for each class on a 100 point scale. So if you scored a 93% in a class, it would go into your gpa as a 93. It is not just the exam score, but the score for the entire semester of work.</p>
<p>Sometimes, weighted classes are weighted a few points (like a 102 instead of a 100; I dunno for sure–I don’t go to one of these high schools). A 94 would usually translate to an A- to A average in most high schools, methinks. But then again, the “translation” is a bit funky.</p>
<p>Thanks for the explanantion, I did not know that. Still curious if there is a way to translate the 94% into a 4- or 50-scale GPA.</p>
<p>I think it’s a 3.9</p>
<p>I don’t think you can do a direct translation from a single % to a GPA out of 4.0. Take a school where they report percentages rather than grades on the transcripts, and a 94% is an A.</p>
<p>Now imagine student X who has six classes and gets three 92s and three 100s. They have an overall percenatage average of 96%, but they have 3 "A"s and 3 "B"s, or a 3.5 GPA.</p>
<p>Now imagine student Y who has six classes and gets 96s in all of them. They also have a 96% average, but they’ve received "A"s in all their classes, so they’d have a 4.0.</p>
<p>I hope that makes sense.</p>
<p>…Since when is a 92 a B? At my school anything above an 86 is an A.</p>
<p>Things aren’t the same at every school. In fact, in some schools things are the same from class to class.</p>
<p>As an example, my kids’ AP Physics teacher had really tough tests but a very generous curve. 65 was an “A”, but getting "A"s was really hard.</p>
<p>You need top grades, EC’s and leadership. A hook or a unique EC that makes you stand out from the the other amazing apps will help. If Harvard is your goal you should attend a “feeder” high school. The same high schools have several kids accepted every year. Other high schools have not had a student accepted to Harvard in 20 years. Then a lot of luck.</p>
<p>The best way to get in to Harvard is with a fake beard and moustache.</p>
<p>I laughed ^</p>
<p>you could always try knocking</p>