<p>If you have great EC's, volunteerism, summer activites, test scores, essays & rec's but a 3.4 GPA freshman yr w/ 2 Honors, 3.7 soph w/ all H's, & 4.0's for jr and sr year, total of 7 or 8 AP's, are your chances shot? If you have a GPA below 3.8, are you out of the running for competitive schools?</p>
<p>*This is at a public school in CT of about 2,000.. not super competitive and w/ lots of resources and great teachers, but fairly competitive in the high level classes, sucky teachers, and tons of work.</p>
<p>Out of the running for what?</p>
<p>sorry, I edited it.</p>
<p>Depends on your test scores.</p>
<p>Soo if my test scores are up to par with Ivy League standards, would my freshman and sophomre yr GPA’s be less significant?.. I want to know if I should stop trying and give up on Yale/Princeton/Brown</p>
<p>Your GPA looks fine, but keep in mind that “Ivy League” standards on SAT/ACT are pretty high. Why fixate on the Ivy League…there are a dozen other schools just as good.</p>
<p>SAT target is 1500+/1600 2200+/2400</p>
<p>Really? I think I’d have a 3.7 UW GPA, if I’m not mistaken… 
Oh, I know but I’m only a sophomore and I’m finally realizing how much work I need to put in to get what I want - and I’m willing to work as hard as I need to. I just feel that Brown and Yale, in particular, are amazing in terms of their specialization in areas which I’m interested in, their liberal, artsy feel, beautiful campuses & are both close to great cities.</p>
<p>Dude your GPA is a little below a 3.8, so what? Go on google and search: <strong>(enter college here)</strong> freshman profile. it will show you their accepted students from this year, the % accepted with the GPA between 2.99 and below, 3.0-3.25, 3.26-3.5, 3.51-3.75, 3.76 and ^. If your GPA is in the top tier at the school, which is almost ALWAYS 3.75 and above, you have a good chance at getting in.</p>
<p>Also, as someone said, your test scores have a huge impact. I got into BU, Northeastern, Pitt, UT-Austin, UWMadison, and UIllinois, almost completely because of my ACT score: a 33. My GPA wasn’t bad, it was a cumulative of 3.62. Trust me, your not out of the running for top tier schools.</p>
<p>percentage admitted w/ 3.5 - 3.7 for Ivy Leagues is, I think, about 7%. Thanks btotheg, those are good schools, but not nearly as competitive as the ones I mentioned, so I think it’s different :/</p>
<p>your gpa is fine. the only problem may be that it seems like you were not taking the highest level classes offered at your school. you show an upward trend which is good and princeton, which you metioned above, doesn’t even look at freshman year grades, so with that school your gpa would be about a 3.85-3.9 which is nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>Hey coolblues, thanks for the comment, but why does it seem that I’m not taking the highest level classes? I’ve taken the highest so far w/ the exception of 3 in my freshman yr (science, math & spanish) so I guess I’m a yr behind in math & science atm (most sophomores actually are)… but I’m planning on taking Alg 2 & Chem over the summer to be ahead again. I’m planning on taking 3 or 4 AP’s next yr and about 4, my senior yr. (AP’s are only available to juniors & seniors)</p>
<p>well to me it seemed like you were not taking the highest level classes offered because of the only 2 honors classes freshman year. Perhaps it was because i was comparing it to my high school where freshmen can take 5. But if in your school you are taking advantage of all of the toughest classes available, then there is no problem.</p>
<p>Oh, no, I meant that I only took 2 but freshmen can take 5 Honors courses. I didn’t know that being in all Honors was important when I was choosing my classes in 8th grade 
Will the fact that I missed out on 3 Honors courses as a freshman really be a problem? By the end of high school, I will have taken about 8 AP’s and about 11 Honors courses.</p>
<p>Fromcalwithlove: what do you mean by “GPA & SAT scores are okay”?</p>
<p>ctgirl: low GPA hurts. I was in the same boat as you: 3.65 UW GPA, 2300 SAT, applied to a bunch of ivies. Rejected from all of 'em. I got into some selective schools (Bowdoin, Carleton) and waitlisted at a bunch of selective schools (Amherst, Williams, Northwestern) . But the ivies rejected me across the board. You’d better be special in some other way - and I mean really special. Just being a well-rounded, smart kid with a low-ish GPA is not going to cut it. Sorry.</p>
<p>Hey Drought, thanks for your comment. I’ll have a 3.73 UW GPA & about a 4.80 W GPA. I think it’s pretty special that I’m starting a nonprofit, and have my own little business… maybe not. I’m really strong in writing, so I think that I’ll have a very solid essay. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Well, the upward trend will help. I actually had a downward trend and I was involved in few extracurriculars; on the other hand, I am (in my own biased and arrogant opinion) a strong writer. So it’s not like I was a perfect applicant with a substandard GPA. I was flawed in more ways than one. In regards to you: those extracurriculars sound pretty substantial, that overall GPA isn’t ideal, but it isn’t an eyesore either, the upward trend will help, and the essays will be a plus. I actually think you stand a pretty solid chance.</p>