Hi,
I understand there are different situations but what do you think the lowest a gpa can be to be eligible for Harvard or such? what gpa must you have to get a chance?
and please don’t respond with it depends on your EC because I understand that people who are prodigies get in no matter the gpa. But im just asking at what point would it just be a reach if the score is anything below that for an average person? 4.2? 4.7? what do you think?
Since schools weight differently, the thing that really counts is unweighted GPA and course rigor.
schools only look at unweighted? what’s the point of weighted?
*elite schools
No, I merely said that there is more weight placed on unweighted GPA since some schools don’t weight classes.
@RoundGenius so your saying just in general all universities look at unweighted gpa more, there absolutely no difference with Harvard?
I can’t make sense of your poor grammar.
“…I understand that people who are prodigies get in no matter the gpa.”
Nope.
They’ll look at your transcript, not just GPA, see your rigor and expect top performance in classes related to your possible major. Unweighted refers to your letter grade, which matters more than how your hs adds points for honors or AP.
OP needs to research what Harvard and other elites say, not assume. It’s really a situation where, if you want an elite, you have to be the sort who gets an accurate understanding.
For grins, look at what Princeton and Brown show about the number rejected with top GPA and scores.
Thank you @lookingforward !
See table C11 here and similar common data set tables for the other ivies.
At Harvard 87% of students had GPAs higher than 3.75.
http://oir.harvard.edu/files/huoir/files/harvard_cds_2014-15.pdf?m=1457640342
@lookingforward, that’s kind of why I’m on here asking you instead of just “assuming” I know already.
But what I meant was realistically speaking what is the lowest gpa a person who has a chance at the ivies could get? what my point was with the prodigies thing, was for people to not say that someone with a lower gpa could get in if they have a spot on the national science team or something. Because then that wouldn’t be answering my question. I was just asking your opinion as to what you think the line is drawn GPA wise?
Also, what does OP mean?
@nw2this , okay but based on your observations and experience, what do you think is a safe gpa?
@nw2this and the 3.75 is unweighted right?
Why do you want to shoot for the lowest possible stats that give you a chance?
OP refers to the original poster, sometimes the original post.
You can look at what Harvard says they like. Eg, stretch, curiosity, etc. Haunt the web sites of your targets, until you get a sense of what matters in total.
Thing is, the competition is fierce- this isn’t anyone’s own hs, where maybe you’re tops or many believe in you. This is nearly 40,000 top kids lined up, a huge number with 4.0. Only 2000 will get in, a number of them athletes, legacies, or other enticements.
It will matter what you got less than A in. They aren’t guessing, they’re trying to assure you’re driven and that you’ll be able to handle their workload and class expectations. A lower grade in drivers ed or gym is one thing (so what if it drags down the gpa an iota?) But in cores, especially those related to your possible major, it can be an issue.
No, geniuses, prodigies, and super unilateral kids have no advantage. For an easy overview, look at the MIT admissions blogs.
@bodangles,
But that isn’t what I’m saying. I’m not aiming for the lowest gpa this isn’t about me. I just want to know your opinion on what gpa it would take you to be considered for Harvard. And like I said, we aren’t including EC in this discussison
Yes, unweighted.
@nw2this, question, is the unweighted gpa based on their own method of calculating, or the straight unweighted gpa, ABCD?
Also, shouldn’t aps and even honors count for more? I mean these classes are a lot harder than regulars. Don’t they take at least some consideration into the weight of the classes?
Letter grades.
In many cases, + or - doesn’t matter, just the letter.
APs count for rigor, just as taking college level post-AP math can. The elites expect rigor, except for those hs where there are no or few APs, or those competitive hs where they design all courses to be rigorous.
Weighting is just a high school thing…and you’re talking college admissions. You need to understand how elite admissions works, find a good book or college guide. As I sometimes say, you aren’t trying to transfer to a harder high school, you’re trying to make the leap to college. And one of the most competitive, at that. So breathe and dig in, learn how it works.
The GPA in the table is unweighted, but almost everyone they accept is taking AP/IB/honors courses. So take the most rigorous courses possible and try to get A’s in them all.