When I was in public school in middle school I had an easy time getting a 4.0.
In 9th grade I transferred to an extremely rigorous private school but my GPA here is only a 3.61. Granted, I still am near the top of the class but I regret leaving public school since I don’t know if colleges will take into account the level of rigor my school has. Obviously GPA doesn’t determine the application completely, but as a freshman I am debating whether to go back to public school in a future year… it seems like my parents are paying 35k a year for a better education but a worse gateway into a good college.
I am expecting at least a 32 or 33 on my ACT as that is what my brother got and I have been a better student than him throughout my academic career. I also participate in both the chorus and play the trumpet for the school band. I am planning to join jazz band next year. I am a member of the all male acapella group of my school which is quite competitive to get into and plan on eventually becoming the leader my senior year. In addition, I write for the school news paper and think I will have a good chance at becoming the editor and chief of it my senior year.
As far as community service goes I am planning on going on a “Builders Beyond Borders” community service trip to Guatemala next year. I also am going to travel to Africa next summer with my father who is a doctor to help people over there (not entirely sure what my dad had in mind.)
So while lots of kids in my school go to fantastic schools including the Ivy’s all the time, my question is this: Is a 3.6 GPA at a rigorous private school going to hold me back when it comes to the college process when I could be getting a 4.0 in public school? I ask this because the vast majority of people I see getting into these top schools on College Confidential have such great grades it makes a 3.6 look extremely lackluster. Maybe it is different for a rigorous private school? I hope you guys can shed some light on this.
What is your class rank? You said you are near the top. If your 3.6 GPA is around the highest one could get at your school, I would not worry about it. Adcom would find out from your school profile and GC report. However, if you are from are very competitive school, the top few students would aim at near perfect ACT score.
3.6 is a bit low, but if your school ranks and you have a pretty good rank (to 10%), then I wouldn’t worry. Either way, it’s probably still a good idea to bring your GPA up to at least a 3.7-3.8.
Also, service trips abroad are probably not the best way to get all of your community service hours. If you really want to impress, you should do service regularly throughout high school. Those trips are viewed as a way for a rich kid to quickly rack up community service hours on an exotic vacation, while volunteering weekly or even creating a community service opportunity shows initiative and commitment.
Great advice so far, also really appreciate that thing about school community service trips not viewed well.
Any ideas for other community work? Like where can I volunteer weekly? Maybe a homeless shelter or a home for the elderly? As I said I’m a freshman in high school and just want to do everything I can now to help later in the college process.
Also would like to hear what any other input on where I should strengthen my application whether it be critiquing what I plan for the future that I said in my OP or a certain EC that would help me stand out.
I also have a question similar to this. I have a 3.6 UW gpa but a 4.78 W gpa. My rank is 19/696 so top 3%. How much will this hold me back granted i have high test scores and distinguishable ec’s. My school isn’t extremely competitive, but I did bad freshman year, but have gotten almost straight A’s since to bring my gpa and rank up. By college app time I may be ranked 10/696.
Many rigorous private schools keep accurate and more complete records on who got into what schools with what profile. The info is often more detailed than Naviance. But even a glance at the Naviance charts for your school will answer your question. Are non legacy, development, celebrity, unconnected kids getting into top colleges with your GPA and test scores? What quintile, dectile is your GPA for your school? Those are what will give you your answers.
As @billcsho noted, each high school sends a school profile along with the student grades. Ask your GC to show you a copy if you have never seen one. Arguably the profile is as important as your actual GPA, when compared to kids from other schools.
You might have a challenge if several top students from your own school apply to the same colleges you are.
Oh I’m so sorry @Rez654 . I thought you already had enough advice and I was just trying to keep the thread going without starting a new one. I didn’t realize it was considered rude, my apologies!
Yeah I go to a tough school where almost no one has a 3.8+ GPA and the kids that I know that got into Ivies all had around a 3.7-3.5 some even got into Stanford. Just score well on APs and ACT and adcom will know your school is tough