<p>Why does everyone on these boards, and it seems most every one in general, have such beyond impressive stats? I feel so depressed coming on here and seeing kids with 3.7+ getting rejected to schools I'd want to attend. I'm a junior, but my gpa probably won't be that great -- probably like a B or B+ overall -- and I'm considered to be one of the smarter kids in my grade. I'm from NY, and I'm one of the only people in my math class doing well in math B and in chemistry soo many people are flunking it. Whatever, my point is that I don't understand how kids from other schools do so incredibly well. It's extremely depressing, I'm starting to think the only school I can get into is SUNY Albany or something. lol. I don't know, I just get discouraged by these boards.</p>
<p>when I first joined this site, I'd come here once a month because I'd get so discouraged by all the top scores here...</p>
<p>I then turned that discouragement into a competition sort of thing, and found that if I applied myself; I could get the same scores. Basically this website and a friend of mine encourged me to raise my GPA, from a 2.9 HS average, to a 4.0 in college. Probably going to hold that for next semester too</p>
<p>See it as a positive thing!</p>
<p>Relax. I know how you feel.. I only have about 3.4ish GPA, and it freaks me out to see kids freaking out about their 3.85s. You are well above average, and most schools would be happy to have you. People on here are insane, trust me. Just breathe, everything will work itself out in the end.</p>
<p>yeah, I've come to realize that most people here are the cream of the crop and rightfully so; like ^ said, you don't need to worry so much ;p</p>
<p>and it depends on the school. At our grade inlfated school if you have a 3.75, its below 25%. I've a 3.93 and I'm only top 10% (but top 2% for weighted)</p>
<p>Yeah - competition used effectively is a nice and powerful tool.</p>
<p>thanks everyone, yeah i think the forum did inspire me some lol. i have all A/A- in my academic core classes this semester, so i think it may have helped =)</p>
<p>Yea, this forum totally helps me apply myself more. Plus, it's making me want to do more with my education in college...and look for the possibilities.</p>
<p>Applying to college is the first time many get to see how they compare to the real world as opposed to their community.</p>
<p>relax, some do have really high gpa, others don't. The ones who post their grades up are the ones with high gpa (or liars). I am never discouraged, b/c their gpa's aren't that high as mine :D
j/k</p>
<p>hey man...these people are the cream of the crop...the most excellent...these gpas do not represent the whole applying to top colleges...relax</p>
<p>GPA can be calculated in MANY MANY different ways. I'm willing to bet most of the sky-high GPAs on this site are weighted - meaning they are boosted if the grade was in an honors or AP class. Problem is, different people/schools weight honors/AP different ways. </p>
<p>Example - my S's hs says to add .5 to an Honors class and 1.0 to an AP (so for example, a B in honors is 3.5 and in AP is 4. An A in honors is 4.5 and in AP would be a 5.0). BUT... I have seen several posters here who say their school adds 1.0 for honors.</p>
<p>So don't believe all those sky-high GPA's, my guess is that if they were UNweighted - a straight 4.0 for A regardless of class level - they'd be lower.</p>
<p>It is unnerving - that's why I rarely look at any of the chances threads! :D Nothing's worse than seeing someone say, "Oh, my GPA really blows - it's only a 3.7" and then seeing them list the most amazing citizen-of-the-year ECs. What matters is your application, and the breakdown in the chances threads won't account for all your individual strengths (and weaknesses), so it's really a biased representation of your and their profiles. But yes, most of the people on here are the cream of the crop, as above posters have stated.</p>
<p>Don't beat yourself up. You say you're doin really well compared to your peers. Your school is probably really tough, and admissions will know that and take that into account. Class rank is probably a more accurate indicator than GPA.
GPA is generally regarded as the most important factor, but it depends on what kind of college you apply. Smaller, liberal arts colleges will place more weight on your ECs and Essay -- the personal you.
Realize that most people on this site are the elite hardcore nerds and overachievers. Even if you aren't as good as these peopple, you're still well above the average student.</p>
<p>OP, reading these boards would discourage almost anyone! But keep in mind there are over 2000 4-year schools in this country, and outside of perhaps 150 the rest accept the majority of their applicants. That means you have plenty of good choices, unless you think the herd is right and the only schools worth going to are the ones most in demand.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, too, that gpa is not the only factor used in admissions at selective colleges. They look at scores, essays, recs, ECs. As a junior you still have time to work on ECs, keep working hard in class with a positive attitude so that teachers will want to write the kind of recs you deserve, hit the workbooks to prepare for the SATs, etc.</p>
<p>Lastly, how is it you picked those schools you'd like to attend? A lot of kids are seduced by glamor and prestige; sure it'd be fun to tell everyone you're at Yale, but is that really what matters in picking the right college? There are good schools out there in all ranges of selectivity, but it takes a little courage to go against the crowd. Too many kids are like sheep and the colleges they want to go to are the same as the ones every one else wants, and basically that's the only reason they want them. I'm not saying that you shouldn't aspire to a selective college or apply to them, I'm saying that you should at the base figure out what's important to you in a college education (size of classes, advising, location, cost, type of kids it attracts, etc) and then find colleges that supply that. Some may be selective, but many will not.</p>
<p>You don't have to do this all on your own. There are lots of books out there that give a roadmap for the process. Two books I strongly recommend are "Admission Matters" which goes over the whole process, and then "Colleges That Change Lives" by Pope. The latter is biased towards LACs, and while I don't agree with everything he says the book raises some important issues you should think about in evaluating colleges.</p>
<p>I don't have any advice for you, but I can completely relate. I only have a 3.4 weighted and I'm pretty intimidated by some kids that are afraid about not getting into a good school with their 3.7's. </p>
<p>I don't know- what helped reassure me is to apply to rolling schools so that I knew early if I got in or not. I actually not only got accepted, but I got scholarship offers from both schools. A 3.4 is nothing to be sad over. ^_^ I'm slowly learning that too.</p>
<p>But I am hoping to do a bit better in college.</p>
<p>First off, some people lie on these boards. Not all of them, but some of them do. You have to take people's self-reported profiles with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>Second, you have no idea what their whole application looks like. It's pretty hard to accurately measure yourself against someone else when you only know a sliver of information about them. You may not be as disadvantaged academically as they're leading you to believe.</p>
<p>Third, this place is a little skewed. It seems to attract a certain type of student who is especailly concerned about admissions to elite universities. These people are not representative of the college-going population, or ever of the people who are applying at the colleges popular on CC.</p>
<p>Fourth, it doesn't matter if you don't have the same impressive stats as people here. You don't have to be a superstar applicant to have a positive college experience--or to be admitted to a place where you can thrive. Every year hundreds of thousands of kids apply to colleges, get admitted to colleges, and enroll--and at places that are great fits. Whatever you are looking for, you can probably find it, whether or not you're competitive with the top students for those few places in the most elite universities in the country.</p>
<p>this board used to depress me...until i realized that half the ppl are lying and the other half are simply over achievers....can't help that. but really, it is kinda hard to ask chances questions and trying to post my measly 3.2 gpa and 1950 SAT scores....of course i guess my EC's outdo 75% of the ppl on here so i got them there.. but it is a bit depressing..lol</p>
<p>Don't sweat it. I'm top 26% of my class and have a 28 ACT. I'm about as average as they come. There are a few of us around.</p>
<p>haha yea i feel the same way, after looking back at the last 3 years it seems almost impossible to come out with a 3.9 or somthing.</p>
<p>I think it really depends on the school you attend, the higest GPA in my grade is no higher than a 3.7, and the average must be around 2.7 or 2.8</p>