<p>Okay, so I've worked my butt off Junior Year. Literally, like never before.</p>
<p>I'm getting worried with this whole GPA deal. Right now my unweighted GPA is a 4.05, it could drop though to anywhere as low as 3.95 by the end of the year. I'm praying it doesn't go under 4. Anyway, I go to a very academically tough school. Although I am not ranked number one in terms of GPA, I have taken the highest rigor at my school compared to anyone. I have 6 APs during Junior Year. This may not seem like a lot to others, but at my school a private school its hugeeee. However, its really starting to get me nervous, because like kids who have the very highest unweighted GPA have GPAs like 4.1 or 4.2 but they are only taking 2 or 3 APs this year.
What will be more impressive to one of the top ranking schools (i.e. Princeton, etc). Someone who is valedictorian with 2 or 3 APs her junior year. Or someone who has taken 6 APs (rigorous load, and never had a study hall) and maintained somewhere just about a 4.0 GPA (I cannot guarantee).</p>
<p>Remember this is all unweighted. If things were weighted, I would probably have the highest in the school, but then again we don't weight.</p>
<p>While visiting Harvard, I talked to their admissions staff and I had the same question. They informd me that "while your GPA is really really important, they would much rather see a rigourous work schedule and 'good' grades than an easy work schedule and 'excellent' grades." I asked why this was and the lady replied by telling me that "Harvard (much like these othe schools) want to see a student who will push themselves rather than take the classes that will insure the great grades." I was in the same boat as you and I decided to take the AP classes and graduate with a possibly lower GPA. My school doesn't weight either, I'm graduating with a 4.0, and 12 AP classes under my belt. I would suggest you go the same route. It is indeed to your advantage. Just to make you feel a little better about the situation: I got into my top five schools. (three of which were Ivy Leagues). :)</p>
<p>I took 9 APs so far, and I have been accepted to both Dartmouth and Swarthmore College. IMO, I think the rigor and GPA are equal. They prefer to see that you did well in your classes than whether you took the hardest classes possible and did bad in them.</p>
<p>Here was a little quote from the NYU website. "Many students will ask us what is more important, taking hard classes and getting an B or taking an easier class and getting an A. Our answer to them is neither, we want to see you take the harder class and get an A. NYU is very competitive and we will only take the best candidates"</p>
<p>
[quote]
what about schools that only let you take one ap sophomore year..
[/quote]
Don't worry, they'll evaluate you in the context of your school and its policies. The fact that your school does not allow you to load up on APs before junior year will not be help against you (I mean, what are you supposed to do, demand the admin change the rules for you?)</p>
<p>I got two B's during the first semester of my Junior year because a) I elected to participate in a three-week exchange trip and b) I was taking AP Lit a year early and AP Calc BC from an impossible instructor. I've regretted working hard in both classes to pull both up to ~88% instead of focusing on the lit, but honestly I think the experience was very good for me. And I got into a lot of really excellent LAC's, including my favorite, Swarthmore, so I'm very happy.</p>
<p>Colleges know that the difference between an 89% and a 91% isn't necessarily calculable. I think the rest of your application means a lot more, if you let it.</p>
<p>all i know about class rigor vs. gpa is that I was told class rigor was more important. I made it more important and I got into Harvard and Yale. of course, that is not to say that my grades weren't very good, as well, but I could have made many more A+'s rather than just A's and A-'s if I would have taken the easier courses. I'm sure it varies to some degree with every school, though.
also, about the AP's: yes, I took AP's as both a freshman and sophomore. The school normally doesn't allow freshmen to do this but I felt that I wouldn't be challenged in the honors classes they were offering. so they made an exception.</p>
<p>The problem with only have one AP sophomore year was that I couldnt gauge my ability, and now this year I'm taking more than I could handle. Damn school system is flawed</p>