There are a lot of confusing and mixed numbers and weighted and unweighted conversions that yield different results and applications are here and its stressful. Anyone think I have a chance at my top school (UVA In state)
Stats:
ACT: 33/36
GPA: 4.31 Weighted
Rank: top 15%
Extracurriculars and recommendations are top notch 9/10 -10/10 (read by many people).
I also have around 500 hours of community service and plenty of leadership in clubs
You need to list your unweighted GPA. The way high schools compute weighted GPA is so inconsistent that it is not possible to compare on a US-wide basis.
That’s the part that confuses me- I don’t think there is a easy converter, I attempted it, however, and it told me my Unweighted was a 3.67.
We don’t make decisions using GPA. There are students at your high school with the same GPA, but a very different set of courses and grades.
Read these two posts for more:
http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2015/03/i-dont-care-about-your-gpa.html
http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2017/01/uva-admissions-holistic-review-and-gpa.html
So generally speaking, students with higher class rigor and lower grades are preferred over students with high grades and low rigor?
@wahoo2000 I think you need to do what is best for you in choosing your classes. There is no black and white in this process. I would suggest taking the most rigourous schedule that you can take and do your best. Take classes that interest you. Do not try to take all of the APs b/c it “looks good”…you need to pursue what you are interested in and can handle. Colleges admissions officers will know your high school because usually (which is the case at UVA) there are regional admission officers that are familiar with your particular high school. If not, they will look at your high school’s profile which spells out alot of what is available to you in terms of courses, ECs and other items. If you would ask me, taking an AP and challenging yourself and getting a B…might be a better route than taking an easier level class and getting an A. Challenge and rigor is key…And of course, the rest of your application and how you present yourself through your ECs, recs and essays. It is a holistic process…don’t get caught up on GPA.
I just attended a UVA info session tonight in Philadelphia. The admissions officer corroborated what others have said here about inconsistent methods of calculating GPA across high schools. She said the #1 thing evaluated for academics is your high school transcript and how you perform in the classes offered by your high school. Not your GPA.
That’s reassuring. I got like 5 B’s though, so not looking too hopeful.
In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m an admission officer at UVA. 