for instance, if a college’s average gpa is a 3.8, but a student has a 3.2, will that student most likely be rejected?
i need honest answers!
Yes, unless you have some other amazing part of your application to compensate, ie being an athlete, child of a large donor, etc.
GPA differs greatly at high schools so it can be hard to compare your GPA to other people’s from other schools. I would rely on Naviance if your school has it.
If your freshman year was terrible but you’ve done great since, it might matter less at some schools.
The gap you gave in your example is large, though, and suggests this school might be a reach for you.
The recommended measure is if you’re near the top 25% for GPA and test scores and the school admits about 35-40+% students it’s a match.
If you’re at or below the bottom 25% you must have a very very strong reason (you had to work 30hours a week to keep a roof on your siblings’heads while your mother was battling cancer) or be a recruitable athlete whom the coach has already reached out to.
My sats is the same as you. But the reason why I got such a low grades is mostly because I moved to U.S three years ago and I didn’t speak any English at all back then. It takes me really long time to overcome my language barrier… if I explain how my struggle and how I overcome is that going to make me stand out more?
I think it depends largely on five things:
- The school's admit rate
- How far away from the mean GPA you are
- How much the school values/considers GPA in admissions
- Whether you have a hook working in your favor
- How strong the rest of your app is
Admit rate: If the admit rate is 70%, you may still have a decent shot of getting in even if your GPA is below average. The lower the admit rate, the greater a weak GPA will likely be magnified, due to an increasingly smaller margin for error as selectivity increases.
Distance from mean: If you are half a point below the mean, that’s worse than being 0.1 below the mean.
Value of GPA: There is variation in how much schools value this variable.
Hook: Obviously, a hook helps to mitigate deficiencies.
The rest of your app: Excelling in other parts of your app can help to mitigate a relatively low GPA.
Another thing that can help to lessen the blow, as has been mentioned, is a compelling reason for the low GPA.
@kl95070 , it will help if your junior GPA is at or above the average as that would be consistent with improvement from an ELL.
Most schools look at the whole transcript, not a single number, and your GC should mention this is the GC rec.
Were you enrolled in ESL? Take the TOEFL to underscore your ELL status and mention the situation in “additional information” if it doesn’t appear elsewhere.
Perhaps take SAT subjects, preparing well, to show that now you speak English well your content mastery is strong and thus the early grades reflected your English mastery not content mastery.
It depends on how far off is it below average and how strong is the rest of your application. For competitive schools, even above average stat would still have high rejection rate.
@gardenstategal @MYOS1634 I did took ESL for the first year I moved here. And I’m taking TOEfl as well, hope that helps!!!
Btw, did anyone knows that Michigan would take student like me? (if so, what kind of POV they are using to view mw?) Also, if my school report is really good is that going to help?
Just want to add up, my dream school is UMichigan, Ann Arbor
Do you live in Michigan?
Yes the fact you were classified ESL and the fact your transcript is good will help.
(What’s your family income or EFC, and do you live in a rural area?)
@kl95070 Start your own thread in UMich’s subforum. Don’t steal others thread or you will confuse other people.
@maroonmelville I’m disagreeing with everyone above and saying no, it doesn’t mean the kid will be rejected. Of course, it depends on where you’re applying. Harvard? Yale? UVA? Yes, probably. My son had a GPA below the average of every school he applied to - and he was accepted to every school he applied to. But he applied to 3 of our state schools, a couple of small LAC colleges with higher admit rates, and a couple of the PASSHE (PA public schools).
There’s not definitive yes or no to this one.
It is interesting to read someone disagree with everyone without reading the details.
What details did I miss? It was pretty straightforward. Maybe yes, maybe no.
If the average GPA is 3.8 and your GPA is 3.2 then barring a major hook (ex. being a recruited athlete, child of a huge donor etc.) most likely you will not be admitted. That doesn’t mean there is a zero chance of admittance, but you would face long odds and if you apply the school should be considered as a big reach.
It is fine to throw in a reach application or two but as a piece of unsolicited advice your time and energy would be best spent seeking out match and safety schools that you would be happy to attend and that appear affordable.
Read again to see who said this kid would be rejected. Who are the “everyone” you disagree with? LOL
Let’s just focus on OP, a junior. (Well, this summer he said rising.) That leaves him time to focus, improve, and strategize.
He’s got to know what his targets look for or he’s shooting in the dark. (And I don’t know what those targets are. Nor grades in 9th and 10th.)
The backstory of moving a few times may help re past slips. But if he doesn’t understand what those targets want, how does he make a good app? How does he even handle the next 15 months?
And he’d need to do quite well in soph and junior year, then 1st sem of senior.
Im not sure what OP is doing to get ahead of past issues, if there’s concerted, aware effort.