I was wondering whether I should use the “If there is anything that we should know about your school’s grading system, please use the space below” section of the MIT application to describe solely the unusual way my school grades some classes, or also to include other stuff.
For example, I was thinking using that section to include info on why I took certain classes, the fact that my school doesn’t do weighted GPAs, and the classes I took in middle school that count towards my high school GPA.
Should I include this info in this section or should I put it on the additional info section of the application?
Your HS will provide a school profile that describes the grading system. No need to explain that your HS doesn’t weight GPAs (many high schools do not weight GPAs so it is not at all unusual).
Admissions officers should also be able to see the middle school classes that count towards your HS GPA (confirm with your guidance counselor that they will show up on your transcript) so there is no reason to explain that either.
Honestly it sounds like you want to explain why your GPA is lower than you might wish it was – I don’t think that is a good look for an applicant.
Thanks. Do you think I should leave the explanations for why I took certain classes (I did study hall one semester instead of taking more classes) for the additional info section instead of this section?
I’m actually completely fine with my GPA; I just wanted to give admissions officers a complete view of what’s contributing to it.
All schools including MIT will recalculate your GPA to their own standards, so it doesn’t matter if your school weights GPA or not. In addition, MIT will not count any classes taken before high school. They really don’t care what you did in middle school.