I’m currently a junior in a medium-sized public high school, and I am concerned about maintaining my 4.0 GPA because I really want to be a competitive contender for admission into the Wharton School of Business.
I know that every university always deflects GPA questions by saying that it depends on the person, but I am an Asian female in a household with a decent income (estimated around 75k+). I am extremely worried that I will be finishing AP Calculus and Honors English with A-s, which would bring down my unweighted GPA to around 3.96. I am taking 5 AP classes this year, which is the most my school allows a student to take every year, and I am 4th in my State for Speech and Debate, along with various other extracurricular activities.
With my ethnicity in mind, is it possible for me to have two A minuses and still be eligible for Wharton?
Yes, you’ll still be “eligible.” In fact, the large majority of accepted students did not have a 4.0 unweighted GPA in high school. The admissions committee is not looking solely for students with 4.0’s and throwing every other application in the garbage. Rather, they are looking for well-rounded applicants who could be a good fit at the university and in Wharton.
Yea you fine. It’s pretty easy to lose perspective in HS–I got one A- in HS before applying and legitimately told the teacher that he was ruining my future -_- . Let me assure you that it is very silly to worry about a 3.96 UW and that it will not hinder your admission chances.
4.0 vs 3.96 will make no difference. Worry about other parts of your application. If it offers any consolation, UPenn most likely recalculates your GPA. Many highschools (every public one in California I believe) are on the ABCD system where an A-, A, A+ are all = 4.
Your fretting about you’re A minuses is more than silly. At this point your rec letters and your pers essay will make or break you (along with hopefully, solid ACT or SAT scores). If you truly believe that a 0.04 GPA difference will sink you, then your analytical skills are rather poor. However, best of luck to you – I get that it’s a nerve-wracking experience. Congrats: your GPA (in a tough curriculum) is nothing to be concerned about.
@T26E4 What would you say is low enough (in a competitive curriculum of 12-15 APs over the course of high school) to become a concern? Unweighted four point scale that is.