Progression in course sequence vs. High School GPA

Applying to College
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Hey there!

This might be a long post, but please bear with me.

My real entrance into the American school system began in 7th grade. I had just moved to the USA (not my first time in the USA, I was born in the US and was brought up until the age of 6). I had just gotten into middle school and was completely unaware of how schooling worked. Now I’m a junior in High School.

Back in 7th grade, I had no clue about what the “accelerated program” was or what advanced classes in middle school were. I proceeded to take normal math and English classes. I walked into freshman year taking Algebra 1 CP. By this time, I was an aspiring student looking to get into a top-tier college. By then, I had figured out what I had missed. Many kids take Algebra 1 CP in 7th grade and Geometry H in 8th grade. They then, of course, take Algebra II CP freshman year and go on to take 2 years of AP Calculus (AB & BC, or just BC depending on the school, possibly other higher maths past BC too).

For this reason, not only was my progression in math courses delayed but my progression in science was also delayed. I then decided to double up on Geometry H (had to take CP due to lack of space in Honors classes) and Algebra II H my sophomore year. Along with this, I also took both Biology H and Chemistry H. Out of sheer luck, due to the pandemic, our school decided to offer summer classes in Math Analysis H (Precalculus H) and some other courses. I immediately signed up for Math Analysis H and took it over the summer. This set me up to take AP Calculus AB (our school requires AB before BC), and I am currently taking it. I also doubled up on AP Biology and AP Physics 1 and am doing well. Virtual school during the pandemic allowed me to take on one extra class due to the exclusion of labs for all science courses.

While I went far ahead with my math and science progression, my progression in English was normal, took honors English 1 & 2, and am currently taking AP English Language & Composition. I was super fluent in French and was able to take French 4 my freshman year and pass out of AP French my sophomore year. I have already taken the highest level of language possible, which enabled me to take double up in STEM classes that I’m interested in. In all this, I am not a huge fan of history and simply opted not to take Honors and AP history classes. I only wanted to take Honors and AP classes in courses I believed would support my field of study and general life skills (like English). History simply didn’t interest me.

Now, coming to the main point (lol), my GPA was hurt by the CP classes I was forced to take my freshman (all CP but English) and sophomore (fewer CP, but I still had CP classes). Our school uses a (uh, weird) 100-point GPA scoring scale. Your class grade is taken and multiplied by a weight, (1 for standard, 1.05 for CP, 1.10 for Honors, 1.15 for AP). This number is then multiplied by the credits you earn from that class, all those are summed up and divided by the total number of credits to give out a GPA on a 100-point scale. I won’t go into further detail, but the highest achievable GPA is around 110 - 112. My GPA is a 102 - 103, while most high GPAs are 104 - 105, and the best of the best have GPAs near the range of 106 - 108.

My question is, will having a very unique course progression (starting with Algebra 1 CP my freshman year, and going on to take AP Calculus AB junior year) compensate for my lower GPA because of the CP classes I was forced to take my freshman and sophomore year? Do colleges even look at course progression or just focus solely on GPA? I’ve maintained nothing less than an A- (A+'s in CP classes) in all my classes except foreign language (B+ in AP French).

Thanks for your thoughts in advance!

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You might have the ability to explain in an essay to schools that will care, but in general, GPA rules all. It’s the number one factor schools focus on unless you’re a million dollar donor, legacy, a president’s child, athlete, etc. That said, it doesn’t look bad. Choose an appropriate school list and know that the too popular selective programs are unlikely even for the 106-108 students. Good luck!

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It looks like you are comparing a weighted GPA to other people in your school. Most colleges don’t use weighted GPA supplied by the HS. You will be fine. You are more likely to be compared to other students in your region for top schools.

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Exactly- for the very reason you cite: there is too much variability in weighting systems. Our collegekids (who changed schools a lot due to moves) had some schools that weighted one way, some another and some not at all.

Like you, we moved to the US just as some of the collegekids hit US highschool. Their course choices were limited not just by the progression policies, but by the need to sync up timing (different course progressions). When college time came around & they gave info to their GC for the LoR they included a reminder to the GC that their course choices had been restricted because of adjusting to US curriculum, which created a space for the GC to note the scale of their accomplishment in doing so.

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Due to that variability, schools that will weight, typically use their own methodology. The UC/CSU system is a good example.

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This is interesting. I recently had a meet with my guidance counselor where she first talks to individual students about college admissions. She mentioned that she would write a recommendation herself, apart from two teacher recommendations as a part of my college application. Would this be something I could ask her to include in her recommendation? The fact that I moved in from a different place in the world and adapted to the school system to the best of my ability? A couple of teachers have commented on my rigorous high school progression and told me that I could turn it into a strength for my college application. To what extent is their advice viable? If it is, apart from asking my GC to mention, how else could I display this?

Anyone can answer this, I replied to collegemom3717 because I found the situation she mentioned very similar to mine, and her response gave me a good insight on the topic.

Thanks again!

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I couldn’t hurt. Your record is your record, but if someone can put a positive spin on it, that’ll help.

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That’s very good advice and yes your GC can do that.

Your unweighted GPA (what very selective colleges will use) is likely quite high if you only got A’s save for 2 A-'s and 1B+.

What it means: figure where the 105+ kids are applying and try to apply elsewhere for some of your reaches and matches since you’ll be compared to them. You can apply to some overlapping colleges, based on fit, but focus on colleges where the 95-103 kids apply… and colleges where none in your class apply (ie., top LACs 400+ miles away, flagships in non-contiguous states… :stuck_out_tongue: ).

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Absolutely- you can and should. If nobody has said this to you yet, here’s how recommendations (usually) work (and this applies not just to college, but for jobs and grad school).:

  1. Ask the person (teacher in this case) if they would be able to write a letter of reference for you. If they agree, thank them and tell them you will get them all the info in X time. Make sure that you get them the info with a LONG lead time!

  2. Prepare a ‘cheat sheet’ for each person writing you a rec (many schools have a form for you to do this with, but if not, do your own) that includes:

  • where you are applying

  • what you hope to study & what you are looking for from your college experience (& beyond, if appropriate)

  • specific things about you, and what they know about you. They see lots of students, and can easily forget that you did this or achieved that. Specifics make any LoR better. Include the things that you want them to remember (things that you did well in their class for example ) and things that you would like them to comment on (which means that you need to think about what those are in advance!). For your GC it should include your arrival story (edited down to 1-2 fact based sentences!), and the specific teachers who commented about your progression.

The whole thing should be SHORT - less than a page (and not a wall of text!- bullet points).

  1. Give the cheat sheet to the person, with all the info they need (including deadlines) and lots of thanks.

  2. Mind the deadlines- check your portal with at least a week before a hard deadline (or a school holiday, such as winter break, if the deadline falls during the break). If the LoR is still out, make contact (very politely) to confirm that everything is on track. (You don’t have to remind the GC though)

  3. When they have submitted the LoR, you MUST write them a thank you note! This matters more than you will believe until you are the one writing them :slight_smile:

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Thank you so much! I am just about to exit junior year and walk into senior year. This is some very valuable advice that I will definitely follow!