Hi, I’m a sophomore in high school and Northwestern is my dream school, my current weighed GPA is 4.39, is that good enough. Also, what should I do to get a better shot at getting in?
That’s a pretty good weighted GPA, but remember that there are a lot of other things that are taken into account during the college admissions process, such as extracurriculars, course rigor, test scores (act, sat, psat), essays, LOCs, and more.
Let me put it to you this way: That GPA will not keep you out of NU. But as the other poster said, you’ll need a lot more than that. Test scores will be crucial. And your admissions essays.
Are AP classes worth 5/4 or 6/4 on your weighted scale? Do honors courses get any weight?
You’ll have a better idea of where you stand as well as where we might predict you stand once you take the SAT/ACT. Shoot for the score that you think you need to get to be competitive, whether that’s within the 50% range or above the 75% mark.
No one can tell from your wGPA as it has no standard. It would help it you provide your uwGPA. There are a lot of straight A students applying anyway.
There is so much more to a college application than weighted GPA – standardized test scores, course rigor, essays, letters of recommendation, ECs/work experience are also critical components.
It is good to take school seriously and know that college will be on your horizon, but it is too early to start planning for specific colleges. I would highly recommend that you get off of CC until your junior year.
For now you should focus on:
–Working hard, learning, and doing as well as you can in the most challenging curriculum you can manage.
–When the time comes study for standardized tests.
–Get involved (or continue your involvement) in activities you care about and work towards making meaningful contributions to those activities.
–Enjoying spending time with your family and friends.
I’d also recommend that you give up the idea of a dream school and when the time comes look at your academic stats (including GPA, standardized tests, course rigor) and work to create a solid college list that includes reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (find out your parents’ budget and run the net price calculator for each school) and that you would be happy to attend. The people I see who get hurt by the college admission process are the ones who focus on one or two hyper-competitive schools and then don’t get in. Cast a wide net.
I agree with @happy1. Once you’re stats match what the other applicants have, it’s impossible to stand out, so it really becomes a game of chance. With a 10% admission rate, your chances are lousy no matter what you do. Also, most kids who get into selective private “dream schools” can’t go there anyway because of cost. That being said, there are literally thousands of schools to choose from. Shop around, it’s a huge decision to make.