<p>I really, really want to go to Penn, and am planning on applying early next year. If I have really good test scores and extracurriculars, and apply early to Penn, will a weighted GPA of 3.9 really hurt my chances? I'll have eleven AP courses and will have only taken one non honors/ap core course in 4 years. But my grades are 50/50 between As and Bs, which has brought my gpa down. Is that gpa a kiss of death?</p>
<p>It’s certainly below average, but your rigor looks good. Is your school relatively competitive, or easy? A 3.9 at one school could be a 4.5 at another. It is definitely not a kiss of death however. I go to a very competitive school (top 5 public in my state) and in the past 4 years one student got in with a 3.8, and a few got in with 3.9ish GPAs. Good luck when you apply!</p>
<p>it’s a pretty competitive school, top 50 in the nation and #8 in the state. I’m definitely in the top of my class, though the school does not rank. I know alot of people with much higher GPA’s than mine.</p>
<p>That should be fine then. My friend had the same GPA as you in my school, then he moved across the country and got a 4.7 his first semester at his new school. This goes to show that GPA is so different from school to school that by just stating it on CC I can’t tell if it’s good or bad. With a school like that, though, I’m sure a 3.9 is fine.</p>
<p>“I know alot of people with much higher GPA’s than mine.” That will pose a problem. When you apply to Penn and any other top university, they DO compare your grades/GPA to that of the other applicants from your school. This is an easy way to keep it in “the context of your school”. Of course, your application is also filled with recommendations, essays, activities, etc. BUT, that being said, a straight-A, all AP/honors student MAY beat you out for admissions if the rest of their package is equally as strong as yours (that is, their recs, essays, activities are just as “good” as yours), and they show a great fit to Penn. </p>
<p>Three kids applied from my school; only I got in. I felt my fellow competitors had strong essays, easily had empowering recommendations, etc. But my GPA was around 0.2 higher than theirs----my competitors had either too few APs or too many B’s!</p>
<p>but my school does not rank. will penn have any way of knowing how I compare, besides other applicants?</p>
<p>^ Page 2 of the School Report of the Common App, completed by your school counselor, asks for such comparisons:</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/DownloadForms/2012/2012SchoolReport_download.pdf[/url]”>https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/DownloadForms/2012/2012SchoolReport_download.pdf</a></p>
<p>And your transcript also comes with a school profile, which usually lists the top GPA (the valedictorian’s GPA) as well as the “decile GPAs” (ex. the cut-off GPA for the top 10%, top 20%, etc.). Remember, these people are PROFESSIONALS—they do this for a living, for a reason! You can’t “cheat” your grades, the system, or the data at hand.</p>
<p>Curious if one could get into Wharton without stellar ECs… just strong numbers and average/decent ECs… I’m thinking it’s probably a long shot due to the number of qualified applicants and high selectivity</p>
<p>all very interesting, hopefully I can pull my grades up towards June and get as many As as I can</p>