<p>Since freshman year, I've been taking progressively more difficult classes. First year was all curriculum one, next year I took an honors course to "test the waters," and this year I took three APs and two honors (and a curriculum one class). Next year, I intend on taking 5 APs.</p>
<p>Looking at a lot of the threads on this forum, I know for certain that's nothing special. In fact, I'm slightly intimidated that many of the people asking for "chances" to these schools have GPAs that are at times +0.5 to mine.</p>
<p>Currently, my unweighted GPA is a 3.4. Weighted, it is around a 7.84 (out of 9). Because of this, I've already decided to apply to my schools regular decision, in order to provide myself with time to improve my GPA.</p>
<p>What I would like to know - will my current GPA make it less unlikely than average to be accepted? Will my potential success in my 5 APs next year be an influencing difference?</p>
<p>Ignore every other part of the application - assume my standardized test scores, extracurriculars, essays, and interviews are outstanding. </p>
<p>What I'm asking is - with this GPA, should I bother?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>A 3.4 GPA isn’t horrible but it’s not great either. I honestly don’t think that it’ll be difficult for you to get into a relatively good college (BU,Northeastern etc) if every other part of your application is outstanding. The APs next year won’t hurt-- but I don’t think it’ll make or break your application.</p>
<p>According to MIT’s Common Data Set: [MIT</a> Office of the Provost, Institutional Research](<a href=“MIT Institutional Research”>MIT Institutional Research),
95% of admitted students last year were in the top 10% of their high-school class, and 100% were in the top 25%. Your gpa will be evaluated in the context of your school. </p>
<p>My son is a college freshman now at Willamette U. in Oregon on a very generous merit scholarship. His unweighted gpa was 3.44; weighted = 4.02. His SAT scores were at the high end of MIT’s range, and he had some great extracurricular activities. Although he did not apply to MIT, he did gain admission to 5 of the 8 schools to which he applied, including the University of California at San Diego, Boston University, Emory University, etc. He was waitlisted at Grinnell College, and he was denied at his two top-choice schools, both liberal arts colleges.</p>
<p>If MIT is a top choice, then go for it. Apply if you believe you have a 5% chance of admission. But also think carefully about applying to a range of schools for which you are a “good match” on paper, and throw in some safety schools – those schools where you can see, on the common data set, that your statistics are at the high end.</p>
<p>My son ended up choosing his “safety school,” and it has turned out to be a really great experience. He also saved a ton of money by choosing Willamette, which means he’ll have money for graduate school going forward, if he decides to attend. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
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<p>You have to convince the admissions people that you can handle MIT level academic rigor. This holds true of any tough school you choose to apply to. A school with easy ways out is going to be much more comfortable with someone who has a slightly more blotchy record. I guess MIT requires everyone to pass their classes, but it has been stated many times on CC that there have been people who were struggling pretty hard at the beginning.</p>
<p>So in summary, yes I think you should try, and yes, try to do well on those 5 AP’s. Try to get As if you can. If you end up applying to a state school or something, that will improve your chances considerably (state schools are often stats-centered).</p>
<p>For MIT, probably. It’s probably THE hardest school to get into in the us. Less than 2000 kids get admitted each year, and they have 17000+ applicants a year. 6000 have perfect SAT scores. 8000 have a 4.0. If you really love it, you might have a shot if you apply early decision, but make sure you have a wide range of schools to apply to. You’re definitely in at some of the lower top tier schools. Good luck, and definitely take those 5 APs!!</p>