I am a concerned junior who is wondering whether a “mediocre” GPA at a very difficult HS along with great SAT scores will hinder admissions. For reference, I’m probably running a 91 average at my school, with 3 APs (AP World (5), APUSH, and AP Spanish) this year, along with IB English HL. At my school, which doesn’t rank, a 95 weighted puts you into the top 6-10% (we have a ceremony every year for people above that average, and about 25-40 kids out of 350-370 get invited per grade). Therefore, I’d say that I’m probably in the top 20% at least, and I have 3 college courses + accelerated math out of my core subjects. Anyway, most of the people in my classes who are running 94-96 averages are subsequently getting killed. Pretty much everyone is scraping for a high B in most APs at this point, myself included. It isn’t uncommon for people to get 32-35 on their ACT while getting well under a 4.0. For myself, I’m gunning for a 1500/34. If my scores are there, but my GPA isn’t a 4.0, will colleges think “smart, lazy kid”, or take into account my rigorous course load. solid test scores and stellar LORs against my supposedly mediocre GPA?
My son was similar. His college counselor looked at at his list of schools and told us which ones would be bothered and which ones would not. And she was dead right. So the as answer is it depends on the college. Also, your GPA is not low and it will be seen in the context of your high school. Just keep working!
Of course it’s going to “hurt” you, if what you mean is lower your chances of admission to highly-selective colleges. That doesn’t mean you won’t have a chance; if test scores of 1500/34, you will have plenty of choices, just not as many as if you’d taken better care of your GPA.
First thing! Gifted kid burnout conveys something about you that may lead others to think you have declining academic motivation and productivity. You have more to offer than burned out.
Hard to know without understanding how the colleges view your high school. There are high schools out there where the curriculum is understood to be significantly more difficult and the competition greater than normal high schools. That often happens at magnet type schools where every one of the student body would normally be in the top 10% of a normal high school.
Is your school one that colleges would regard as more rigorous than most? Of the 350-370 graduates each year, how many of those normally get admitted to top 20 schools?
Speak to your college counselor about the specifics of your school. You will soon likely have access to Naviance, and that will give you a rough idea about the average scores and GPAs of accepted students. Don’t worry too much until you get a fair comparison–it matters more how you are doing in the context of your own school.
As a reference point, at one of my children’s schools, the average GPA to one of the Ivies was 3.68 (avg ACT 35) and the acceptance rate over the last 5 years was 30%. This doesn’t account for legacies, etc but the sample size was large enough to offset that a bit (and that’s where talking to your counselor comes in, to see if that is realistic for YOU.)
One of my kids had that type of GPA, but she also had great test scores (2380 SAT out of 2400, 2 800 subject tests), interesting ECs with a pretty good level of accomplishment, and recs that definitely talked about her intellectual bent. She had excellent results – got in everyplace on her carefully targeted list (including UChicago, Swarthmore, Harvey Mudd, Carleton, and other lower ranked schools with good merit aid). I think she came across as a kid who did things because they interested her, not out of duty. She came across as capable of doing the work at the college, but also as unafraid to strike out on an intellectual path different from her peers. It was catnip to the schools, honestly. Oh, and her school only offers a few APs. She took all the honors classes offered.
Ask your GC about your class rank and Naviance data. There is not standard scale in GPA. All it matter is how do you compare with former students accepted by the schools you are going to apply.
I have no intrinsic motivation. I only do well so no one freaks out and stages an intervention for me. I genuinely hate all my subjects, the work that comes along with it, and the environment at my school. The only reason I do okay is because I have discipline, not motivation.
Since you hate your classes and schoolwork in general, what’s your objective?
It sounds as if you’re concerned about college admissions, and that you’d like to attend a good school. But what’s the point of signing up for four (or more) years of misery?
Do you have any personal educational goals or are you just trying to meet parental or societal expectations?
Just trying to meet everyone’s expectations and not go into crippling debt. I personally do not care where I go. I wouldn’t go to an Ivy-caliber school if it was even $30,000 a year. People around me just have this ridiculous notion that I am intelligent, capable, a wonderful person and have gone through so much… there are tens of thousands of brilliant students who don’t even have the opportunity to attend a university because they are living in poverty and have to work and help support their family. It doesn’t matter to me. If I had to choose, I wouldn’t try in school at all. It’s just less energy to do this pointless work that doesn’t apply to real life than not doing it, complaining about it, and subsequently have my parents and teachers scheduling frantic meetings and interventions to interrogate me on how I could possibly neglect my all-too-important studies. My main focus in college is to make up for my atrocious social life in high school. I don’t really see why you think college would be miserable… high school is rock bottom.
Thank you intparent for some hope! My extracurriculars are probably pretty good (founded a club, captain of academic team, going to run a club next year, interning at a legislator’s office this summer), and even though I’m not gunning for a 1600, the fact that I’m in the 34/1500 range and that your kid got into lower ranked schools with significant merit is a huge relief to me.
Do you hate all of your classes as academic subjects, or do you hate the high school environment itself? Are there diffent subjects you could take, or a different school you could transfer to? For example is there a decent tech ed program in your school district? One of Happykid’s brilliant-but-burnt-out high school pals did a tech ed program half-days and was much happier.
How much money do your parents have for your college education? Do they care where you study or what you major in? If there might be issues with money, then go read through the thread on automatic full ride scholarships at the top of the financial aid page. You might find motivation for high school if you can find one or two places that will guarantee you admission for basically free if you meet the stats required.
I wish I could transfer. I’m going to a community college honors program next year though, so my fingers are crossed that it will work out. And I don’t particularly enjoy my academic subjects, but high school is an awful environment for me. We actually have a tech program at my school. I don’t love STEM though, and that would basically jeopardize my ability to take AP or IB courses. My parents are a the textbook upper-middle-class case of making a ton of money but not being able to shell out even $40k a year for college. However, I have a twin brother, so even though my parents make over six figures each, our federal EFC is something like $21k a year according to the College Board. I do not care where I study, but I definitely want to major in something involving political science and public policy, and also maybe Economics so that I don’t have to work at a minimum-wage job when I’m 30. And the honors college at Alabama would bring our net price down to 17k a year, which is incredible. Great weather, great parties, great football and great academics. Honestly, Roll Tide at this point.
@giftedkidburnout My son is basically in the same situation. GPA around 3.6 UW/4.3 W and around 15% rank (though his school doesn’t rank formally). 35 ACT. 1560 SAT. Likely National Merit Finalist. Strong SAT IIs. Intense, rigorous private prep school with something like 20 AP courses offered and IB diploma. Kids take an ungodly amount of AP/IB courses. Just ridiculous, in my opinion. My kid is like @intparent 's whose kid is one “who did things because they interested her, not out of duty.” We have yet to hear from his colleges (except for a safety: accepted thank goodness). I’ll try to update when we do.
I think in a situation like this, your GC has to be proactive with the admissions reps (if they don’t know your school well) to explain the environment at your school. I used to review applications for the college I work for and my son’s GPA would PALE in comparison to many GPAs I saw then. But many of those 4.0s were from schools in my college’s town and I knew them well. They were not even in the same ballpark. Not even in the parking lot of my son’s school. I like to think that admissions reps can discern the difference.