Hey guys. SO… I’m kinda scared because my freshman year GPA was a 4.14, weighted. I’m pretty sure my school only reports 1 final grade from each of the courses. But compared to other students, my weighted GPA is below average. Most students in my classes had a 4.3-4.4 at the end of their freshman year. The reason for this is because I got a B+ in a standard class: Gym.
I guess, as a someone who wants to be a pediatric surgeon, and attend pretty competitive schools (17-25% acceptance rates) do I need a reality check?
Lets say I get all As (I know it’s difficult, but I’m willing to sacrifice my social life and sleep for it) for my final grades, Sopho (taking 1 AP and one class with an AP weight), and Junior year (aiming for 5 APs). Is it possible for my GPA to then become 4.3-4.5? That’s the average GPA for the admitted applicant profile for my top choice schools. I’ve searched up countless threads of this but I never found an answer I understood… I just want a yes or no, what’s the best case I could do.
To be a surgeon, first you have to get a residency. To get a residency, you have to finish medical school. To get into medical school, you have to have a good college GPA and MCAT scores. None of this has anything to do with your HS GPA. Going to the tippiest toppiest school is not a great strategy for pre-med…you want to have an affordable school that you can get a good GPA in that prepares you for MCAT.
So in HS, you shoudl challenge yourself (but not over do it), volunteer at hospiitals to make sure you like medicine and not worry about B+ in gym. OverWorry about your GPA when you are in college.
If you really want, I’m sure you will. I’m a Junior and this year I am taking only 1 AP Course, AP SPANISH LANGUAGE, I have a 4.52 GPA. Please, really think twice before taking those 5 APs during your Junior year.
While I’m not familiar with your school, I doubt very much that 4.14 is below average. Are you sure that 50% of the kids in your school are doing better than you. If so, your school must have amazing grade inflation. Seriously, stop stressing about this and just do your best.
I get that 5 may seem a lot, but my school does class rank, and 5 is on the middle-lower side of APs that most juniors take. I know its crazy but it’s a really competitive school w/ some really smart kids. Thank you for your response though, it has helped put things into perspective
Because, assuming you take 6 classes per year, sophomore year 1 with a 5.0 AP weight and 3 with a 4.5 honors weight (and get all A’s) your Sophomore year GPA would be a 4.41.
Junior year 5 5.0 APs and one regular with all As would be a 4.83.
So, your 9th-11th GPA would be a 4.46 in this scenario assuming you take the same number of credits each year. The B+ doesnt matter in the grand scheme of things and colleges look at freshman yesr the least.
GPA calculations are usually a simple average of all your grades on a 4.0 scale (and in the weighted case, like yours, a bump for AP/honors.) My calcualtion probabably doesnt match your school policy and your situation exactally, but figure it out and do it based on your actual data yourself. If you can’t calulate an average you’re going to have much bigger problems than a B+ in gym.