<p>Reason I'm asking is because the Vanderbilt common data set for 2013-2014 lists the average GPA of admitted freshmen as 3.76. That's around what i have but i still feel so discouraged seeing all you people on CC with ridiculous stats. It seems like unless i have a 4.00 i have no shot.</p>
<p>I don’t know why the common data set would be inaccurate. Also understand that many athletes (albeit they are smarter than most athletes) probably have below that, so the average is actually a few hundredths higher than that.
Also, I would think that once you have above a 3.7 GPA it doesn’t really matter what exactly your GPA is… obviously a 4.0 would look better but is irrelevant as far as your ECs/essays go which truly complete your application.
CC is full of 4.00 kids who have nowhere else to go to brag about their stats. Ignore them. </p>
<p>It’s almost impossible to compare GPA’s outside of the same school. There are almost as many GPA calculations as there are high schools. Most people erroneously assume that the GPA calculation is standardized.</p>
<p>Some colleges admissions dept.'s formulate their own GPA calculations and then convert what is submitted by applicants to be able compare. I question what calculation is used and submitted to the Common Data Set? </p>
<p>I agree the stats here on CC are really top notch but you have to remember that this an extremely small sampling of applicants.</p>
<p>It is very accurate, schools get in trouble if they are found out to have lied/misled in the CDS. It does happen occasionally, but 3.76 sound perfectly right for Vanderbilt to me. The general cutoff for top schools (higher ranked than VB) if you are unhooked is around 3.7 UW – once you reach that bar, better to focus your efforts on other things (test scores and ECs). They figure with a 3.7 you can do the work, now what else do you have to offer?</p>
<p>If you want to compare your HS grades to the “typical” admitted student, look at your rank in class: you’ll see from the stats that almost all who are accepted are in the top 10% of their HS class. (Even if your school doesn’t rank, you should be able to find a GPA histogram, or ask your counselor.)</p>
<p>Schools get in trouble? The quantitative comes from their instutional research and should be on target. I’m sure the bit about what they consider very important, important, etc, is up for debate. </p>
<p>Rank is only from those hs that do rank- and so many don’t now.</p>