<p>Hey guys. First post here. Anyway, I guess I should explain my dilemma. I have a pretty awful GPA - 3.26. It's primarily a result of a bad Freshman year. I'm a junior now. I'm averaging about a 3.5 numerically gradewise this year, and it will probably stay that way. I've been looking at upper tier colleges in the NE- NYU, Vassar, Brandeis, Oberlin, Lehigh, BC, Hampshire, Trinity, Wesleyan, Ct college. However, these schools typically desire a much higher GPA- 3.6+. Yet, I did get really good SAT scores imo- 2120, and my extracurriculars are pretty outstanding. So the question I guess is, how badly will my GPA affect me. My profile is more or less on par with that of protypical students at these colleges, except for a glaring hole in my GPA. Should I calm down or stay worried?</p>
<p>hey not to burst ur bubble or anything but imo gpa is probably more important than sat scores. Having a high sat scores cud just show that u studied really hard that 1 time. I’ve seen kids who have low sat scores but high gpa’s get into colleges over kids with high sat scores, but low gpas. </p>
<p>However ur gpa is not that far off so in ur case ur good sat scores may help u close the gap</p>
<p>I think a good SAT DOESN’T make up for a bad GPA when it’s blatantly obvious the person didn’t try in high school. Like got a 2.5 GPA but got a 2100 on the SAT. But if you’re only a few points below the GPA level for that school, I don’t think it will make that much of a difference.</p>
<p>Explain why freshmen year was so bad on your essays. Many colleges understand that freshman year was a time of immaturity. Say your focus changed along the way or something.</p>
<p>Don’t many schools re-compute GPAs anyway…e.g. from weighted to unweighted ? If so, the GPA used by colleges may vary.</p>
<p>A good SAT score can’t make up for a bad GPA. But like MBJ said, many schools regrade your GPA so that everyone’s on the same level. Stanford has their own GPA scale, for example. They take out useless electives like PE, Art I, etc, basically classes you’re required to take. And then they don’t add AP points for your classes and just calculate based on your core classes.</p>
<p>I must beg to differ. If there is a legit reason why you had a rough 9th grade year, as did my son then explain it. My son wrote a heartfelt letter about why that year was a tough one, besides being a late bloomer,etc…just about everyone we spoke to from colleges, said this “ITS MORE ABOUT THE TRENDS, IF ITS AN UPWARD SWING, THEY LOVE TO SEE THAT”. The opposite is true as well, if a 9th grader was very strong but progressively went downhill then they hate that!
ALSO VERY IMPORTANT, THEY SAID ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO DID DO BAD EARLY ON…ARE YOU TAKING THE MOST CHALLENGING COURSES IN YOUR SENIOR YEAR POSSIBLE?
And last, SAT’s they ALL said can be a good indicator of this student’s abilities in college. Plus they often will disregard 9th grade, or reconfigure a GPA without it. Good luck!</p>
<p>Is it considered a downward trend if you got all A’s freshman year but a few B+s mixed with As soph/junior year, just because you began taking some harder courses (honors trig, ap physics, etc.)</p>
<p>No… but it does show that you can’t handle upper level work as well.</p>
<p>Wow, take off the caps. ^_^‘’ But I think they meant when someone doesn’t have a legit reason for going down. Of course they’ll consider if you’re taking harder courses or if you had some health or family problem. But ultimately, the GPA counts a lot more than SAT scores.</p>
<p>Keep your grades up. You still have a chance at those schools. Colleges, particularly LACs like the ones you’re considering, are having a hard time attracting male students. Colleges also know that males typically develop later than do females, so colleges are more forgiving of low freshmen year grades in males than in females. You might want to send an additional essay or send a letter explaining your freshman year low grades, but don’t make those the focus of your required essays. Instead, use those essays to focus on your strengths.</p>