Thoughts on my GPA situation?

Applying to College
1

<p>I received some less than stellar grades in freshman and early sophomore year (a lot of B's, one C) and now my entire cumulative GPA is a 95.76%, which is about a 3.7 (but my school doesn't send in grades using the 4.0 scale).</p>

<p>Now by "bad" I'm speaking relative to the type of schools I want to apply to. My GPA is by no means bad in plain bad terms, but to put it into perspective, my school's average GPA for students accepted into a school like Cornell (which is where I'm applying ED for) is 99.63%, and just to give you some more perspective on how average my GPA is compared to the rest of my school, the average accepted GPA for Rutgers University, a safety for many, is 96.41, still higher than mine. </p>

<p>My test scores do salvage this in some ways, as I do have a 2270 SAT I score, and two SAT II scores in the mid-high 700s, as well as 5's and 4's on AP tests, but I read that GPA is more important than test scores in many instances, so I'm still at least a little bit, if not very, crippled. To throw more salt in the wound, Cornell doesn't "look" at SAT writing scores which is where I got an 800 in, making my SAT score on 1600 scale a 1470.</p>

<p>My grades have also seen an upward trend I guess you can say: In freshman and early sophomore year, my final report card grades for all my classes were around 90, 91, 92, 93, but after that year, my grades increased to about 97, 98, 99 throughout the rest of sophomore and junior, and I received a 102 on my latest report card for the last marking period of junior year. To add on, my course rigor is not exactly the most intense either. Though all my classes are honors courses and are weighted as such, besides my AP classes, I don't have one of those insane schedules some people post on here with 7 AP's and some more honors classes to boot.</p>

<p>How do I fare then for a school like Cornell, or even a school like NYU, from a statistical standpoint, and am I really crippled here?</p>

2

<p>A 95 is a 3.7? </p>

<p>Taken alone, a 95 is impressive. Taken within the context of your school it isn’t. It really kind of hints at rampant grade inflation. But your 1470 is solid. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Your decision will likely be based on the rest of your application. </p>

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<p>@neatoburrito Do you ask that thinking a 95 is too low or too high for a 3.7? Our school does not report grades on a 4.0 scale either way, so I don’t think it really matters</p>

<p>Every class in my school (besides performing arts and health) is honors level with the exception of AP courses and some other classes which are college level. This means all of our classes are weighted, and though there is a bit of grade inflation at my school as is the case with many high schools nowadays, it is not difficult to achieve a GPA in the high 90’s, taking into consideration that it is the weighted average (my school does not report unweighted averages). That is not to say slackers get grades in the high 90’s either, so I would say I’m right in the middle of the class as far as cumulative average is concerned. Like I said though, my recent report cards show my averages to be 99 and 102, grades that are definitely in the upper crust of my school, though there are a good amount of students who post grades like that as well and some even better.</p>

4

<p>Most would consider a 95 to be a 4.0. </p>

<p><a href=“How to Convert (Calculate) Your GPA to a 4.0 Scale – BigFuture”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;

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<p>@neatoburrito Unfortunately, at my school, a 98 is considered a 4.0.</p>

6

<p>Good luck! Crossing my fingers for you. There isn’t anything you can do now except finish out your senior year with a bang. I commend you for bringing up your grades so much. Talk to your guidance counselor and ask him/her to point out your ramp up in grades in their recommendation letter. I think that is important.</p>

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<p>@Momof2back2back Thanks.</p>

8

<p>I believe you are in good standing</p>