<p>I love Rice, and I'm now worried that my low unweighted GPA will hurt my chances. </p>
<p>UW: 3.5208
Weighted: 5.0408 (high weighted because I've only ever taken honors or AP, taken 8 AP and all of the most difficult offered in my school)</p>
<p>With such a low GPA, should I even bother sending in my application? Am I just set for rejection?</p>
<p>I think that they will consider the fact that your grades were in AP courses, and that if you had taken just regular courses, you might well have gotten close to a 4.0 unweighted.</p>
<p>However, most of the other kids who are applying have also taken many AP classes.</p>
<p>And it’s not just about your gpa, it’s your test scores, your recommendations, essays, etc… so your gpa doesn’t help you, but it’s just part of the picture. Make the rest of it look great!</p>
<p>You’ll never know if you don’t apply! But to be honest, a 3.5 won’t cut it unless you are world-renowned in some other way.</p>
<p>You will not be rejected simply because of your GPA. Considering the courses you took, they will want to look at the entire package…not because your GPA is “low”, but because you have done well. As someone else stated above, make the rest of your application look great. My S is presently a senior (engineering) at Rice and he has classmates who came from rigorous high schools who had GPAs similar to yours. BTW, if you major in engineering, you will be happy to have earned a 3.5 GPA from Rice (or most any engineering school). He is now preparing his applications for grad school.</p>
<p>Talk with your guidance counselor…he or she will give you a better assessment than someone whose only experience with the selection process is having been accepted.</p>
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<p>Not true. Rice uses more than just the number. A 4.0 in standard is not more impressive than a 3.8 in honors/AP necessarily.</p>
<p>OP - What is your class rank? That is what matters the most. I had an 82 cumulative average (out of 100; we did not have letter grades) and got in. While the score was not extraordinary, they did grade very hard and I was the salutatorian in my class. Rice considers all aspects of your application. Certainly your tough course load will tilt the balance in your favor.</p>