Hi,
I have a low GPA to start (3.67) and during all my high school career I had the DREAM of going to an ivy league or a really prestigious school. But after I saw my first semester of junior year GPA (3.78), I was HEARTBROKEN. Literally. I know that colleges will not accept someone with a GPA that low, especially when it comes to Ivy Leagues. So I need some encouragement here. My schools list has just gotten narrower that now there are only two low Ivy Leagues + 3 more top 10 schools + 5 safety schools. All my life I’ve been reaching for those schools but because of my GPA, I’ve fallen. Really.
To be honest, I think that I’ve been aiming for those schools just because I want to be recognized by people at my school. Oh but more importantly, the country that I live in focuses on where I attended for undergraduate school, instead of looking at the graduate school. Because of that, I’m pressured to go to a school that is recognized by my country. I think those two reasons are the main reasons why I want to go to an Ivy League. Sad me. I HAVE NO HOPE.
Can someone please encourage me? Please please.
Is that unweighted or weighted GPA? Because unweighted, those are not low GPAs and are competitive.
@guineagirl96 i think its weighted cause 4.23 is the max.
Dont go on CC if you want to stop obsessing over going to an elite college bro ---- CC makes people go crazy
Not even everyone with a 4.0 gets into Ivy Leagues. There are only so many spots.
Luckily, there are thousands of colleges in the U.S. It’s not being a member of a certain athletic conference that will make you happy!
You don’t know that you’ll be rejected unless you have gotten rejection letters.
But the answer to your question: Grow Up.
The Ivy League is an ATHLETIC CONFERENCE. Stop thinking of them as the be-all and end-all. There are tons of schools where you can get a great education and meet your future goals. Start thinking of college as those, instead of some name brand competition of some kind. Good for you if you have 5 schools you are really sure you will get into, know you can afford, and really want to attend (that is the definition of a safety). If some of those are really matches, just be sure you do have a couple of true safeties on your list.
Also, having 5 reaches and 5 safeties is good, but what about matches? A match would be a school you like, where you’ve run the NPC and confirmed with your parents that it’s affordable, that has at least a 40% admit rate, and where you are above the average GPA/test scores and closer to the 75% threshold.
In addition, lots of schools are prestigious. Your state flagship may be prestigious to some. An elite LAC may be prestigious to others. Some colleges you may not know are really prestigious in specific fields (Lawrence for physics, Beloit for anthropology, for instance). In short, there are many ways to define strengths and prestige.
“Impressing a bunch of teenagers you won’t see again until you’re 28 or 33” shouldn’t be one of them.
Finally, your worth is not defined by the name of the college you attend, but WHAT YOU DO there.
Finally, your GPA is fine. It depends where you got it, what your class rank is, what classes you took to get there, what test scores you get, etc. but it would not make any Top 25 university/LAC unreachable. Keep in mind that these schools are basically “reach for everyone”, and you have hundreds of good schools to look at for your matches and safeties.
Finding the dream school is the easy part… the real part of the college search is now starting for you.
It’s actually easy, speak to a person of higher position (for me it was the CEO of MetroHealth) and have them explain how where you got your degree from isn’t all that because your experience with the school is what counts, you can goggle how to build a car and be just as smart as the guy with the expensive piece of paper.
Take a deep breath and repeat after me: I will do fine if I work hard no matter where I go to college. I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!