<p>hi i thought i was doing realy well during high school, and im going to be a junior this year, and i just realized that my weighted gpa is 3.9 so far! i couldnt believe this. i vowed to do really well during my junior year, but im still worried. i want to know that i can get into columbia or other highly selective colleges with a gpa like 3.9. thx a lot.</p>
<p>holy crap. 3.9. thats like almost a 4.0. hate to say it, but ur screwed. don't even apply</p>
<p>seriously, im looking to get into columbia with a 3.3. ur prolly fine</p>
<p>That's his weighted gpa. To get into schools like Columbia , you n eed unweghted GPA of at least 3.8 or so. Weighted GPA requrements would be around 4.5 or so. Just for the record, my daughter has a 3.9+ WEIGHTED GPA and her counselor told her that, unless she has some marvelous ECs and some other fabulous pull, she probably has zero chance for an ivy based on GPAs. No one has gotten into Columbia from our school within the last 5 years, with weighted GPAs of under 4.5. I should note that we might weight grades differently. If you took honors or AP courses, you get an extra point. Thus, an A=5 points, a B=4 points etc.</p>
<p>Well, I must respectfully disagree here.</p>
<p>There are many a student at Columbia who got in with under 3.8 UW and 4.5 W (including myself). There is absolutely no set minimum or maximum on GPA's that exclude students or get them in. It is the entirety of an application that will get someone in.</p>
<p>-Jaug1
Columbia College, Class of 2009</p>
<p>Lets use facts instead of opinions; here is the url for naviance for our school:<a href="https://tcci.naviance.com/fc/signin.php?hsid=wootton%5B/url%5D">https://tcci.naviance.com/fc/signin.php?hsid=wootton</a></p>
<p>Click in as guest on the right and do a college lookup for columbia. If you check the graph option,which lists admitted students and rejected students by SAT and GPA, you will get a feel of what Columbia is looking for. I should note that we have very hardworking, motiviated kids since we host two internal magnet programs. Our school was also rated number 17 by US News and World Reports; thus, it is a well respected school by Adcoms. Maybe if you attended Purdunk high, you can get in with slightly lower grades and SATS,but I would suggest that the differential won't be that great.</p>
<p>As you can see from our school no one got admitted with less than a 4.5 weighted GPA UNLEES they had over 1500 on the old SAT. In that case, the GPA requirement was eased by about .25</p>
<p>i also must disagree, gpa is weighted differently at every high school so you can't just say you need a 4.5 weighted.</p>
<p>ugh..........im screwed arent i? i mean a weighted gpa of 3.9 sounds really low after i heard all your comments.................. im gunna have to work on my SAT score i guess... or try to raise my gpa this junior year. i have to try hard....... anyway, thx for ur replys.</p>
<p>Yes, you probably are screwed. I am sure that someone here will tell you that you have a reasonable chance with solid ECs, and that admission to all the ivy schools are a "roll of the dice." However, truth is, that unless you have unbelievable ECs ( ie. son of the President or published a best seller etc.), you have very little chance.
Sorry</p>
<p>Taxguy, you are absolutely wrong. This is coming from an ED acceptee to Columbia from last year who has been through this process.</p>
<p>Admission to Ivies is not a crap shoot or roll of the dice. If you can show truly demonstrated interest and have ballpark stats, you stand just as good a chance as everyone else.</p>
<p>I am a white male from Southern California. There is nothing truly spectacular about me. I was accepted because I showed a true desire and interest in Columbia. Everyone that I have met from the class of 2009 is extremely happy to go and we all have a huge countdown online. We are all enthused with the opportunities available. This is why we were accepted..because admissions committee members could see the definite interest.</p>
<p>Now, that being said, Woo..do not get obsessive over Columbia. This will not help your chances. You understand that it is your first choice (and I think you have a great first choice ;)), but remember that there are tons of other schools out there. </p>
<p>Apply ED if you feel that strongly and are willing to make that committment. I wish you the best of luck and maybe I'll see you on campus in the fall of 2006.</p>
<p>Jaug1, check out the web site url that I posted and say that again. Just curious, What were your SATs, and GPA ( weighted and unweighted? Did you do any spectacular ECs too?</p>
<p>Woo89, check out the URL that I posted. If you don't believe me,just file the application with your check, do the essay and wait for your rejection.</p>
<p>taxguy, that's kinda harsh isn't it? he still has...let me check...OVER A YEAR LEFT.
grades aren't everything xP...standarized test scores, EC's, volunteer and work experience, essays, etc can compensate for a low gpa.
Woo89...WORK YOUR ASS OFF NEXT YEAR. DON'T SLACK OFF AT THE END OF JR YEAR..-__-;;...everytime you feel lazy and don't want to study, bang your head against the wall and repeat "Columbia" and then get back to work ^-^..</p>
<p>Ok? I think you have a chance! ^-^</p>
<p>Taxguy, my SATI was a 1440 (average this year was about a 1470), SATII Writing- 800, MathIIC-770, Chemistry-700. My UW GPA was a 3.83 and W was a 4.3. My raw number stats are either average or below the average for Columbia. My EC's were based almost entirely around music (I play 4 instruments). Nothing truly spectacular, no. I went to a small private school with no honor roll, no rank, and no awards. </p>
<p>Taxguy, I see that you are using your daughter's high school. Every high school in the United States has a different GPA system, course selection and difficulty of classes. This is why every school sends out a school report to every college that the students apply to. There is no way to compare high schools because they are so different. Every applicant gets equal time from an admissions committee member and they thoroughly read through each and every application. You cannot use a single high school to prove your point. </p>
<p>While I would say that GPA/course rigor is the most important factor in college admissions because it is the best determination as to how well a student will fare in college classes, I also believe the next most important piece of information are the essays. They give the applicant a chance to distinguish themselves from everyone else through their writing and storytelling. EC's are important to see if a student has a dedicated interest in a few things and has the ability to create passions for new topics. SAT scores are used purely as ballpark figures to see whether or not the applicant is average. The difference between a 2100 (1400 old) and 2300(1530) is almost nothing. A 2100 will not keep a student out of any school. Period.</p>
<p>As for the OP, do I believe you have to raise that W GPA to over a 4.1? Yes. That is something that you must work for and dedicate yourself to for the next 2 years.</p>
<p>I wish you the best of luck.</p>
<p>Jaug1, notice, your gpa was a weighted 4.3. His is 3.9. Any questions?</p>
<p>I will say this: private high schools get a bit of a nudge from what I have seen on other high school sites than that of public high schools. The reason is that if you attend a private high school, chances are that your parents have enough funds to not need financial aid! This was told to me by a Yale admission's rep. Thus, Jaug1, this is why you got in with your stats. </p>
<p>Now for the orignial poster, I don't know if he is attending a public high school, as our high school, or is attending a private high school. Either way, 3.9 weighted GPA is too low.</p>
<p>A friend of mine got into Columbia with a 3.6 or a 3.7. On the other hand, she was totally dedicated to her EC's, took tons of AP classes, and got the IB diploma. If you are similarly distinguished, no problemo.</p>
<p>my advise is...
-work really hard (with a pretty tough load) junior year
-im not sure about ur SAT scores but make sure those are high
and (which i cant stress enough) WRITE GREAT ESSAYS AND GET GREAT RECS</p>
<p>hope this puts u on ur path to columbia</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>some schools weight gpas in different ways. for example, mine only does it for AP classes. I've only taken one so far, therefore my weighted GPA is a 3.97 and my unweighted GPA is a 3.93. It would really be better to know your unweighted GPA to be able to judge.</p>
<p>I know someone who was accepted (after deferance) with a...
-3.2 UW GPA
-1590 "old" SAT
-2 or 3 AP Classes TOTAL</p>
<p>...Yea, crazy world out there lol.</p>
<p>Not crazy...most likey just showed dedicated interest...as I previously stated.</p>
<p>woo-
You aren't screwed. You have a chance. The people above who said that GPAs are weighted differently from school to school is true. For example, at my old school the general honors section got a .5 weight and an AP got a 1.0 weight. At my new school, first of all there is only honors math and it has no weight at all. and APs are weighted .5
So if I was still at my old school my weighted GPA works out to be a 3.9, and right now... it's a 3.5. Basically, our school doesn't even calculate our unweighted GPA because the difference is so miniscule ( like a 3.48->3.5 or a 3.37->3.39.</p>
<p>So you will be fine! Just be your best self, work hard this year, and write your best app.</p>
<p>u aren't screwed and the weighted GPA is different for many schools. For example, we only weighted APs 0.5 and we give nothing to honor classes. Also u can take only one sophomore year, and due to requirements in ur junior year u can max take 4. Even if u take 7 APs and get all As all four years. The max is like 4.3, and no one gets like that.</p>