<p>I currently have 3.8 gpa. I know its kinda low for ivy league. So in order to make it up, I did really hard on sat and ec. So I did well on them. But I think GPA is the most important factor that determines the chances for college acceptance. Like is there anyway I can do to overcome low gpa? </p>
<p>PS: I started my essay and I am confident that it will be fantastic because I already had it revisioned 5 times and continuously trying to improve it. </p>
<p>A 3.8 is definitely not low for the ivy league. A 3.7 is low. A 3.6 is very low. A 3.8 is pretty close to normal for Ivy acceptances.
Remember, College Confidential =/= Normal</p>
<p>I presume that is unweighted but depends upon what courses you took.
3.8 unweighted in fluff HS courses is low… 3.8 unweighted with all honors and lots of AP is on the fence.</p>
<p>it is out of 4.0 and I took i honor and 10 ap courses</p>
<p>
You’re wrong. </p>
<p>First off, a 3.8 GPA on 4.0 scale is a 95 (out of 100). Many students are accepted to ivy league colleges with 95’s – some are even accepted with 92’s, 93’s and 94’s. For example, look at Harvard, C11 Data: <a href=“http://www.provost.harvard.edu/institutional_research/CDS_2011-2012_Final.pdf”>http://www.provost.harvard.edu/institutional_research/CDS_2011-2012_Final.pdf</a></p>
<p>
So, GPA and test scores matter – because they are a minimum threshold – but they are NOT the most important factor that determines the chances for college acceptance.</p>
<p>Ivy league schools (and all selective colleges) are looking for more than just great GPA’s and test scores – they’re looking for “character.” That’s an old fashioned word. It means the way you develop your inner qualities: intellectual passion, love of learning, maturity, social conscience, concern for community, tolerance, and inclusiveness. Those qualities cannot be gleaned from a student’s GPA or test scores, but from your teacher recommendations and essays. And if you don’t believe me, listen to William Fitzsimmons, Dean of Harvard Admissions: <a href=“Guidance Office: Answers From Harvard's Dean, Part 1 - The New York Times”>http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/harvarddean-part1/</a>
Good character is subjective – one Admissions Director my admire “your character” while another doesn’t get all warm and fuzzy over who you are. That’s why it’s so hard to predict who will eventually be admitted to the top schools.</p>
<p>With a 95 GPA (and good test scores) you have a solid chance just about everywhere . . . but you just have to send your applications out into the universe and hope for the best, as no one can predict if you will one of the 95% who are rejected or the 5% who are accepted. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>Keep in mind that a 4.0 would not guarantee you admission to an Ivy League school, and don’t beat up on yourself for the 3.8 Apply to some Ivy’s but also apply to schools that you have a better chance of getting into than a 4.0 student has of getting into the Ivy.</p>
<p>A good class rank will also compensate, but like others have written, a 3.8 is good enough, especially if you have a tough course load.</p>
<p>3.8 is fine. 3.8 or anything higher is generally in range for the best chances at ivy leagues.</p>
<p>Since you worked hard on your SAT and EC, please share with us your SAT scores and tell us a bit about your ECs.</p>
<p>Is your SAT score in the range for an Ivy?</p>
<p>^^ Assume for the moment that the OP’s SAT scores are within the range of an ivy and they have a great list of interesting EC’s. What does that tell you? Are their chances better because of those things? </p>
<p>If that’s the way you’re thinking about ivy league admissions, all you need to do is go through the EA and RD decision threads of HYP to see that students with perfect, or near perfect, SAT’s are rejected all the time. Ditto with students having interesting EC’s. </p>
<p>So many GPA scales are different. Which scale do you have a 4.0 on? What does that translate to out of 100?</p>
<p>Rigor is the most important factor in any admission,. </p>
<p>A 3.8 isn’t low if you have taken lots of college level stuff. If you are getting As in your APs (you must be) that speaks louder than your GPA does anyway. </p>
<p>The problem with Ivy’s is that just gets you in the game. All the applicants have what you posted. </p>
<p>^^ The OP previously posted
With 10 AP’s, the OP’s transcript has demonstrated course rigor and his translated GPA on a 1-100 scale is 95, so they are like most applicants to an ivy league school. What is going to make the OP stand out in the crowd of otherwise qualified applicants besides his course rigor, GPA and transcript? What makes the OP unique, special, different and worth taking over thousands of other students? From what they posted, no one can tell.</p>
<p>@gibby On college board, a 3.8 is a 92.5 on Princeton review, 3.8 is a 93, at Weslyan, a 92 is a 3.8. That is why I asked. So what is your GPA on a 100 scale?</p>
<p>I’ve actually never seen a 3.8 as a 95. 95% is usually, if not always, translated to 4.0</p>
<p>I’m just doing the math (3.8 divided by 4.0 times 100), as that was the way GPA’s were strictly calculated at my kid’s high school. The College Board’s website and the website’s you quoted assume that a student with a 93 and a 100 have the same GPA. If you’re a high school student, you know that’s NOT true – that it takes much more effort to get a 100 than a 93 – and I think Admissions Directors who examine countless kids from different high schools, and recalculate GPA’s to their own institutional formulas, feel the same way. </p>
<p>FWIW: Colleges DO NOT use the College Board’s way of calculating GPA’s. See: <a href=“http://www.possibilityu.com/how-calculate-your-“real”-high-school-gpa”>http://www.possibilityu.com/how-calculate-your-“real”-high-school-gpa</a></p>
<p>Your 3.8 and 2380 SAT’s will not hold you back from the Ivy League or any other top schools. The fact that you are an international applicant will be a roadblock. Good luck.</p>
<p>^ Colleges generally don’t translate a 4.0 GPA to a percentage. The CDS uses a 4.0 scale (as do most High Schools) so colleges use that. A 3.8 is basically 4 As and a B. And the 3.75 is the first break given by the CDS directions. If the colleges liked they could further subdivide the admitted population to give greater insight to the actual break points in the GPA. But GPA is only one of a number of things considered at highly competitive schools.</p>