<p>what gpa will they consider uncompetitive and pretty much take your application out of the pool? does a b in a math or science really take you down? even if you have shown improvement? or that you really know the subject by taking extra classes etc?</p>
<p>Well... most admits have high GPAs (according to the Common</a> Data Set, average admitted student GPA last year was a 3.89). </p>
<p>But I don't think a single B is going to absolutely kill your application -- I know for a fact that I got a B+ on the final in Geometry freshman year of high school (that's right, Geometry. Not Honors Geometry.)... I guess that would have only brought my final grade to an A-. In regular Geometry.</p>
<p>My entry-mate Steph '06 chimes in that she got a B in chemistry her sophomore year of high school.</p>
<p>So I think the rule of thumb is that for most of us, we might have gotten a B or so, but it's memorable -- so we definitely didn't get several. :)</p>
<p>so what if I got something like
B+ french III sophomore year
perhaps B+ AP Chem junior year?</p>
<p>french won't hurt at all
chem, ehh....., but its AP</p>
<p>Sigh. I should not have been so explicit.</p>
<p>I'll amend: I don't think a single B is going to absolutely kill your application, even for high values of "a single". :-P</p>
<p>Context, people. Context. Say it with me.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Context, people. Context. Say it with me.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Exactly! It's all about context.</p>
<p>I understand that when MIT says context, they consider the applicant's high school and history. Just curious, does MIT have some kind of "GPA calculator" that recalculates each applicant's GPA? I know some schools do.</p>
<p>We don't recalculate GPA's, but we do make sure we have a good sense of every school so we can evaluate any given GPA appropriately.</p>
<p>How does MIT know if there is grade-inflation at the school? ie. do they back up school grades with AP scores?</p>
<p>Argh! I hate the context response! </p>
<p>I second callthecops2's question. How can MIT know about grade-inflation. Do they use class rank, somehow? For example, my GPA is 3.84UW, while my class rank is 2/580. I guess that gives them a general idea that my school isn't really very inflated.</p>
<p>Anyway, just curious... How would you evaluate Oak Ridge HS, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762 :-)? Just to get a general idea, how important is it that no student from my HS has been accepted into MIT? Does that mean that my school isn't rigorous or advanced?</p>
<p>You'll hate this answer, but the truth is simply that we do the best we can with the information we're given. Sometimes students and/or teachers/GC's will let us know if there is grade inflation at a school. Sometimes they won't. We will indeed look at class rank (if a school ranks; many don't) as well as the school profile and any context the GC provides. But is it a perfect, airtight system? No. No college can claim that.</p>
<p>Sorry to hastle you Ben Jones! MIT's evaluation process is clearly well thought out, as its current student body demonstrates.</p>
<p>No hassle at all! :-)</p>
<p>molliebatmit, do you know whether the 3.89 is unweighted (the website doesn't clarify)?</p>
<p>Anyone know whether it's unwighted or weighted. It seems MIT doesn't recalculate GPAs. So, is it safe to assume weighted? Doesn't 3.89 seem low for weighted?</p>
<p>"There are lies, damned lies, and statistics" - Mark Twain</p>
<p>3.89 can mean different things for who knows how many high schools.</p>
<p>oh crap... my school doesn't rank, or give uw gpa, to add to that i have 7 or 8 b's...</p>
<p>ahhh, unofficially i'm 22/420, so that wouldn't be so bad, if they only gave the damn info :(</p>
<p>How would a slightly lower UW GPA this year than in Frosh/Soph years (probably A-/B+ average for Junior Year) fare for MIT if I'm taking 6 AP classes this year & THAT IS IT?</p>
<p>what... like 3.6? if it's all ap's then that's not bad</p>
<p>Wow, I'll be darned if this ever stops happening.</p>
<p>Can a table with three legs still stand? Yes. It's been said before, and just because of the nature of MIT applicants, it will be said again.</p>
<p>3.89 does seem low, but MIT knows who they want, I'm sure.</p>