I know this is really general but this past junior year I got a B+ in AP Bio, B+ in Pre Calc, and A- in US. Should I be concerned cause my UW GPA dropped from a 3.87 to a 3.84. I really want to go to Duke but the average UW GPA from my school is a 3.91. Should I be really concerned about my GPA? I know there are several other factors involved but I’m too lazy to post all my EC’s and other scores (lol). I also have legacy at Duke and the superintendent is probably gonna call on my behalf since he has good connections at Duke which should help me. But will my GPA hurt me a lot? (ik this was vague)
The acceptance rate for Duke is well under 10% so it must be considered to be a reach for anyone. I’m not a fan of chancing in general, but it is impossible for anyone to reasonably chance based on GPA alone.
I’d recommend that you give up the idea of a “dream school” and focus on creating a solid college list that includes reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (find out your parents’ budget and run the net price calculator for each school) and that you would be happy to attend. The people I see who get hurt by the college admission process are the ones who focus on one or two hyper-competitive schools and then don’t get in. Expand your horizons and recognize that there are many wonderful schools out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life.
@happy1 thanks but do you think I should be really concerned about my GPA? once again I know this is a vague question and much more is based off of GPA but do you think my chances are hurt badly by this?
In reality, Duke is not looking for the average kid, measuring yourself against a school’s average when considering a tippy top school is unhelpful. Cast your net wider. Do you still have a 29 ACT?
Make sure you understand your matches.
Grade inflation much?
That’s what I was thinking, seems impossible. I’m thinking the OP meant weighted GPA. How could ANY school have an “average” GPA of 3.91 for its students?!?! That would mean in a class of 20, they give about 17 As and only 3 Bs (and that’s not even including A-s!). That would be absurd.
Having said that…
I think there are bigger fish to fry than a 0.03 drop in GPA. But if a B+ in Bio and Calc actually put you in the bottom 15% of those specific classes, then Duke obviously wouldn’t look positively on that (but I still don’t believe it).
@bluedog @Muad_dib most people at my school get all A’s & A+'s it’s really competitive it’s not inflated so yeah i’m probably screwed
Actually, that’s the very definition of grade inflation.
nope, i have a 34 and a 35 superscore
I agree with @happy1. I don’t think that you should worry about your GPA. However, you need to remember that Duke is not guaranteed, and you will need to apply to other schools that are safer in terms of admission. In many cases picking reach schools is relatively easy because they are famous and there are only a few to choose from. On the other hand, picking safety schools can require significant thought and possibly a few visits as well.
Also, be aware that calculus is very dependent upon precalculus and trigonometry. With a B in precalculus, you will need to put a bit of extra work in when you get to calculus.
When you say “the average UW GPA from my school is a 3.91”, do you mean that the average GPA for students from your high school that attend Duke is 3.91, or do you mean that the average for all students in your high school is 3.91? If the latter, then how is GPA computed at your high school?
@DadTwoGirls @happy1 I think there has been confusion. I meant from the students who have been ACCEPTED to Duke from my school, the average GPA has been a 3.91. I got this data from Duke’s naviance page for applications from my school. I don’t mean the whole entire school (sorry for the confusion).
@jennaa I understand and my comments stand.
Don’t worry about it. Focus on writing excellent essays and trust that you will land where you should be.
Best of luck!