Hi guys,
I was wondering how much weight big academic awards carry for HYPSM. Could they possibly make up for a mediocre GPA? I’m not talking about school awards, more like IMO/ISEF caliber ones.
Thanks in advance and all help will be appreciated
What do you mean by “mediocre” GPA?
Like an A- average
It’s hard to make up for a bad GPA because it is such a big part of the application. An A- average is not going to kill you either, I don’t think
Would it make any difference if my freshman year grades were really crappy but there was a steep upward trend my sophomore/junior year?
^^ Admissions will notice the upward trend. How much of a difference it will make is really anyone’s guess.
Does your high school use Naviance? If so, how many student’s with your GPA, regardless of SAT scores, have been accepted to Harvard? That kind of data is going to tell you more than asking for someone’s advice on CC. For example: Both my kids attended Stuyvesant High School. While I no longer have access to Stuy’s admissions data, my recollection is that only a handful of students (maybe 5 or 6) were admitted to Harvard over the last 15 years with a GPA of 93 or below. Maybe your high school is the same, or maybe it’s different. If your high school doesn’t use Naviance, ask your GC for that kind of data. You then can compare your GPA to actual data from your high school and better estimate your chances.
I should also mention that my hs is ranked the best public school in a very competitive state, and a 3.75 GPA( Provided a rigorous course load is taken) is considered to be pretty good.
^^ How many students has Harvard accepted from your high school with your GPA?
12 for the class of 2015
Oh wait no these are total amount I don’t know their GPA
^^ That’s what you have to find out from your GC or from Naviance.
Could anyone tell me about the weight of awards?
It’s really an unknown factor. My guess is that unless an award is a significant national award – such as Intel finalist or Google Science award – then it’s a relatively minor plus factor. And even then, your GPA and high school transcript is probably more important. FWIW: For someone like this student, I imagine her award just confirmed other elements in her file, including her GPA, transcript, EC’s and teacher recommendations: http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681325/what-happens-to-genius-kids-after-they-win-the-google-science-fair