Hi, I’m a rising senior from NOVA and I’ve been stressing out about earning no worse than 3 A-s this year, otherwise my weighted GPA will drop to ~4.296. I’d like opinions on whether or not the difference from 4.296 and 4.300 actually matters in admissions, just because it has a bigger looking number (.3 vs .2) despite being practically the same value.
[Just for context, I have a 1580 SAT, a ton of hard APs, and good ECs]
Your GPA will not be a problem.
I don’t see this as being an issue. There are only a handful of schools where a 4.2 weighted GPA wouldn’t make you competitive (GPA-wise). Have to remember that competition is VERY stiff at the top - there are a lot of students with straight A’s, amazing test scores, great LORs and ECs - there’s a degree of you happening to be the right combination of all to be the person that any given school is looking for.
What is your UW GPA. That is what matters.
^ Yes, the weighting systems are different for each high school. How was your UW GPA affected?
Most schools will look at the unweighted GPA rather than the weighted one.
Mantra for the HS student:
Do not think 'Every point I get off of a homework or test is a point away from going to Harvard."
Think: “I need to do my best, and there will be a college that is right for me when I graduate.”
Do not think “If I don’t go to an Ivy League School/Top20, I am doomed forever.”
Think: “No matter where I go, I can bloom where I am planted. I can get involved and shine.”
Do not think: “My life is over…the kid in my math class is taking 20 APs and I am taking 5. I will never succeed.”
Think: “I need to challenge myself, but only to the point where I can still do well.”
@bopper very well said.
@txmom19 Thank you , I had to make it a Frequent Post that I can copy and paste since we get this type of post so much.
Actually, depending on the weighting system, a 4.2 weighted GPA may have come from (for example) a 3.2 unweighted GPA, which would make the student not competitive for many of the colleges discussed on these forums.
Absolutely correct - my error. I had meant to indicate unweighted. Weighted GPA can vary tremendously between schools.
Hi everyone, thank you so much for the replies and support! My unweighted will be around a 3.77 either way. It’s probably just me stressing for no reason.