Hi, I’m a sophomore this year with about a 3.77 gpa, but with an easier schedule next year(not easy, just easier), I think I can get a 4.0 both semesters, raising it to about a 3.84. Along with this, I am the lead programmer for the robotics team, I am going to do an internship under a college professor(and co-author a research paper hopefully), take community college classes, run track, and plan on getting either a job or another internship junior year. I also have a lot of side projects that I’ve done. My main concern is my gpa, because for ivy league schools, I’ve noticed the average unweighted gpa is about 3.94. Do you guys think i’m competitive enough for ivy league schools?
GPA is important but what they really look at is your ACT. If you get a killer ACT and an ok GPA, you’ll be fine.
I would exactly agree with mamanda. I believe that your GPA is one of the most important parts of admissions. Still, it is important to get a good ACT score, but I wouldn’t say that it triumphs GPA. Also, it’s good to be taking rigorous courses junior year. So even though you can get a really good GPA, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself because that’s what colleges will consider too.
GPA matters a lot, so does strength of schedule. I 3.7 is not going to wow them, but you never know. You may have that little extra something that someone on the Admissions Committee is looking for. Best of luck. Be deliberate about picking your safety.
I had a 3.78 U/W with a 34 ACT and am going to be attending Cornell University in the fall, so yes you can be accepted with a non-perfect GPA
GPA shows how you actually do in your coursework. Rigor matters when you’re taking on a college with a high bar in their classes and a high level of other applicants they can choose among.
But what really matters is the cores. Most important are those related to your possible major. Kids usually just share the GPA number, but if it’s gym or some minor elective that pulled it down, that’s entirely different.
For an idea how competitive this is- and a hint how important “holistic” is: https://admission.princeton.edu/applyingforadmission/admission-statistics