<p>It seems that for one with a 3.8+ UW GPA with 10 APs (or however many some of the CCers take), a 2200 or 2300+ seem to be the norm.</p>
<p>But I'm in a dilemma. Junior year, I took literally the toughest courseload available (4 APs, 1 Honors, 2 regular), tried my best but only ended up with a 3.4UW GPA for the year.</p>
<p>SAT score: 800 CR, 740M, 710 W</p>
<p>How will I explain this to college admissions? I don't want them to think "Oh what a lazy kid, he did well on the SAT but didn't care to do keep up in school." :-?? </p>
<p>It really depends on several factors… It could be that an personal situation (family death, illness, etc…) affected you throughout the yr. in which case that is a viable excuse for your average grades. Colleges understand AP’s/IB’s are hard and that not every student will do great in them. So while you might not make it into Harvard or Yale, there are still some great options and you have to look at your entire high school record to truly get an understanding of where you might go. If you have consistently gotten between a 3.3-3.6 or above then it might concern colleges a bit but if this is the best you’ve done up to this point then it isn’t a big deal</p>
<p>3.4 isn’t lazy. I don’t think for even top schools they’d consider that lazy, but I’d explain it in your essays. Hopefully there is an upward trend?</p>
<p>I do not think that there is necessarily anything wrong with a 3.4 GPA. It all depends on how tough your HS is. IF you go to a very competitive HS where most everyone goes to a selective college, a 3.4 GPA may be pretty good, especially if there is no grade inflation. If your school ranks, where do you fall? All of this information is sent to colleges from your GC/school admin so that college have an idea of how your HS compares with other HS in the country and how you compare to other kids at your school. </p>
<p>My suggestion is to continue taking the rigorous course load that you seem to enjoy, and do the best you can as a senior and realize that some selective colleges may want to see your senior first term grades before making any decisions.</p>
<p>first and last bump:</p>
<p>And regarding school rigor in general, it’s common for kids in the top 20% (not 10%) to go to fantastic schools, like Amherst, Haverford, Carnegie Mellon, UMichigan, College of William and Mary.</p>
<p>That might be due to the fact that our Honors and AP classes are weighed the same… so an A- in AP Lit would be worth the same as an A- in English Honors.</p>