<p>GPA would still be the number one most important thing they consider, no?</p>
<p>If you look up each school on collegeboard, it tells you how much weight they give everything. Yes, GPA is a biggie, but everything is relative.</p>
<p>i do get good test scores, its my gpa that’s bad goshhhhhh.
this got intense. i kinda forgot about it, haha</p>
<p>I heard your actual GPA is pointless to college admissions officers (because schools grade differently and have different levels of difficulty). Unless your school doesn’t rank they look more at your class rank & transcript.</p>
<p>Yeah thefranchize9 ive been wondering the same thing about forgiveness for minorities.</p>
<p>I scored double 800s on my SAT IIs (WH and US) score 5s on Human Geography, US, World History, and English Composition, and scored a 4 on European History.</p>
<p>My scores and thefranchize9’s easily put us at the top of the African American/minority pool, but our gpas are far lower than our testing indicates they should be (mine is less than a 3.5).</p>
<p>I realize that colleges often will forgive testing for minorities in exchange for class rank/gpa, but does anyone know if they will do the opposite for testing especially considering minority test scores are very low compared to asians and whites on average?</p>
<p>GPA and class rigor are usually the most important factors in admissions decisions. The college board does specify what factors are more or less important, but I’ve talked to admissions officers and they have said GPA in conjunction with Class Rigor are the most important factors. Test scores are important, but not to the extent GPA is.</p>
<p>kosloff2032, when you speak of “top of the pool”, are you referring to SAT II’s or the reasoning portion? I have never seen percentile scores for SAT II’s, have you? Based on CC kids, I think the SAT reasoning tests are we’re the real percentile differences and leeway lies. This could be simply because of who decides to take the SAT II’s. I think hard working African American kids in the right schools can go toe to toe on the Sat II’s and AP’s, and that should SURELY outweigh a lowish GPA.</p>
<p>It’s important to note that colleges look at your GPA in context to your high school, so even though you may have a (relatively) low GPA, you may come from a very competitive school that has a lot of grade deflation. So this is where rank/percentile can play an important role.</p>
<p>Yes but if a school does not rank? Where else will an adcom turn? Surely to essays and recs no? I’ve heard, however, that they calculate a class rank for you if ur school doesn’t rank. Has anyone seen this happen?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that your high school will at that point give a decile or something like that instead. This is a much more of a general category of where you fall instead of an actual rank.</p>
<p>Look at Actual Results… I would probably consider myself an equal to black Yale admits in terms of extracurriculars and other softs, but unlike most, who were kids with 4.0s but weaker testing, I was tilted in favor of a stronger SAT (2290) but a weaker (for Yale, of course :D) GPA (3.85) and I was waitlisted. The same thing happened to me and another Hispanic female with high SAT/lower Gpa with WashU, where we were both waitlisted.</p>
<p>^I have almost the exact same stats as you and am applying to Yale (2300 SAT, 3.84 GPA), so would you mind telling me what your class rank is (or rather, was, since it sounds like you’ll be starting your freshman year in September)? You’re probably the most similar, stats wise, applicant to me I’ve encountered on here, so I’m curious.</p>
<p>My 3.85 put me safely in the top 5% at app time.</p>
<p>If you and I are extremely similar in the eyes of admissions, then you should know that you have an extremely high chance of being admitted. After a 3 year upward trend, my grades fell considerably in the first semester of senior year- but I still made it into the final 50 spots on the waitlist (note: last year, because the yield was high and they knew they would only select a hadful of students from the waitlist, Yale cut a lot of candidates off and left 50 students on the list for consideration.) When I called my admissions officer in May, she stressed that they needed to see my second semester grades before making a final decision- however, my grades were even worse in the spring, so I didn’t make it. I’m thrilled to be at Brown and realize that in many ways it’s a better fit for me personally, but I can’t help regretting the choices I made last year (because I came <em>so</em> close!) Don’t make my mistake. Make sure your academic and extracurricular performance stays strong. Good luck!</p>
<p>^
Missy, I don’t see how your combination of GPA, class rank and SAT scores would make UGA, Fordham (my alma mater) and Agnes Scott “reaches.” Those would be “safeties” for you. Emory would be a reach because of the SAT, but not the others. You are undervaluing yourself.</p>
<p>millancad and the.pfenix, i must say you guys are amazing. 
Here’s hoping I get into Yale too, but it’s interesting how so many of us (blacks) want to go to yale…</p>
<p>^ Why thank you, franchize.</p>
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<p>Thanks! I’m also safely within the top 5% (I was in it with a 3.8 last year, so I’m sure I’m even more safely within it now) so it seems we’re even more similar.
My grades this year, with the possible exception of Physics C and my college post-Calc BC classes, will almost certainly be all A’s, so I think I can keep everything on the up.
I’m glad you’re happy at Brown. Two guys I know go there, and they seemed t be overjoyed with their acceptances. They weren’t the greatest of guys, but Brown as a whole sounds very dissimilar to them, so I hope it’s everything you think it is.</p>