Hi! I moved to the US in 8th grade second sem but started 9th grade second sem instead. Since I started in the middle of the year and skipped a year too I couldn’t take any weighted classes (mostly weren’t available, counselor didn’t care enough to recommend). Sophomore year I learnt about GPA weight in the US so I took whatever was available. Junior year I’m taking all APs and the highest classes available. Now I’ve had all A’s and A pluses but my freshman gpa is a 4.33 (no weighted classes), sophomore year GPA was 4.7 (few weighted, few make up classes for starting in the middle), junior year I have a 5.03 for the semester but my total highschool GPA averaged out is 4.54. Will this lower my chances of being accepted? When I first came here I was placed in algebra 1 and stuff and my counselor doesn’t speak English (she’s the counselor for Hispanic students even tho I’m Asian) so she never informed me about high level classes. My math teacher recommend me to skip the easy math classes and I ended up in precalc sophomore year. I also took AP physics 1 and Spanish 1 at the same time, Spanish 2 and AP physics C at the same time etc. so there’s classes bringing my gpa down just because they’re not weighed and I wasn’t offered those classes in my life before highschool. I could’ve just not skipped a year and started highschool when I was supposed to and I’d be the valedictorian by now but mathematically it’s really hard for me to get to a 4.8+ even though my semester GPA is really good and I have the highest grades in most of my classes. Should I talk to another counselor about this or will I sound like a total brat?
(Sorry if I made any mistakes I’m still learning English. Thanks for reading.)
Colleges will look at your transcript and see the grades in the courses you took. If you have good grades in advanced courses over the last 2+ years, freshman year issues won’t be a concern.
Do you want to “talk to another counselor about this” to get them to change GPA calculations and award you valedictorian that you didn’t earn through the defined rules? No, that would not be a good idea, IMO.
Colleges are not going to reject you because your GPA is a 4.51 or a 4.43 or a 4.69. It’s the general trend that they look for, and if you’re in the top percentiles for your school, you’ll be fine. If you think that becoming valedictorian is a golden ticket to get into the top university of your dreams, you’re unfortunately wrong.
@RichInPitt I can still be the valedictorian if I continue to have A pluses like last semester and my really high junior/senior GPA will make my total gpa high (even though it isn’t really my fault that my freshman Gpa is comparatively low). I feel like being Val/sal is a common hook for t20 (even tho my highschool teachers and students would be really surprised to see me be the Val because no one knows me). I guess I’ll just work on the other parts of my application. Thanks for your comment.
Most high schools don’t even name vals &sals until the spring of senior year which is too late to matter for college applications. Val and sal are not hooks for t20s. Where did you get that idea? A hook is something like being a recruited athlete or having rich or famous parents. Val and sal are not hooks.
You’re worrying too much. Your story isn’t typical. You don’t have to compete at being typical. You have shown tremendous adaptability and talent by mastering a new language and culture and reaching a high level of achievement very rapidly. Colleges will see and appreciate that - after all, aren’t they looking for students whose records predict that they will rise to the new challenges of college and excel there? Your story and credentials show that. Built on that, look forward, and stop worrying about being competitive with typical. Sure, you probably won’t get in everywhere you apply - but if a college doesn’t appreciate what you bring to the table, then it’s not the right fit. Do you, keep building on your strengths, and someplace great will be the right fit. But working yourself into a neurotic lather about things you can’t control and don’t need to… it’s not a good look or a good use of brain space. Own your story and your trajectory, and don’t waste energy trying to backfill something that isn’t a true weakness in the first place.