<ol>
<li><p>Consider how many 4.0 are probably in the mix.</p></li>
<li><p>SOMEBODY is bringing it down to 3.89.</p></li>
<li><p>It may as well be you, ansar!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>after reading all this i am having a stomach ache </p>
<p>I am an international student, am school doesnot have gpa,instead they use grades i used a rough conversion i got around 3.8-4.0.</p>
<p>My Ec activities are not too much. Do i really Stand a chance ???
i am currently studing for SAT so i havent got scores yet</p>
<p>"Sometimes that makes me think it’s pointless applying with my 3.6… "</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as you. And I’m still talking about my Weighted</p>
<p>I would assume that my chances of getting into my dream school are very slim, to none, but I still don’t mind asking a few questions :)</p>
<p>For the first year and a half of high school, I consider myself as in a coma… academically. Not entirely sure what was going on that first year and a half, was suspended, twice 
my freshman year. Not a good year for me. Halfway through my sophmore year I picked it up a bit, but the damage had been done and I passed a few classes with a C- Average, and some with an A- Average. Junior year I improved my grades greatly, averaging out at a B+ average for most of my classes. Currently in my senior year, taking my first AP Class, a bit behind I know. My current GPA on a 4.0 scale is an unfortunate 2.38, and that is what my colleges will see. My dream was to get into MIT but I doubt that will happen now thanks to my lapse in judgement.</p>
<p>Are there any other things that may help me get into the school? Other than SAT scores, I’m not so good at test taking ;). I am going for my second run at the SAT’s in December though, hoping to improve. But by helping me get in I mean, extracurricular activities, community service/volunteer jobs, etc? Or maybe the idea that I did my best to improve my grades :)</p>
<p>Thanks for reading.</p>
<p>3.95 weighed?? taken into account that i took like 10 AP courses throughout??</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That is absolutely the wrong way to think about it. Do the activities you like and want - MIT takes all types of passion. But not so much with the laundry-list-just-to-get-in.</p>
<p>I will have a GPA of about 3.5 when I graduate if everything goes as planned. Most of my bad grades were in my freshman year with a few B’s and C’s this year (junior year). I realize that this is horrible but would a school such as MIT be willing to accept me if I excelled on everything else like the SAT and extracurricular activities. I really want to go so I would be willing to put in the effort if there is a way.</p>
<p>Quick question, I know a 3.7 gpa is low for MIT, but is there any place in the application I can explain that it is only this bad because of 9th grade? Also, how much will it hurt me in the admission process?</p>
<p>^They get your transcript, and they’re going to see that. You don’t have to tell them.</p>
<p>@doberhound1: No, you don’t have to. But yes, you should explain WHY you did badly in the 9th grade, if you have a good reason; otherwise just tell them how you have tried to study so far. If you do nothing, the only thing MIT sees is your grades.
@saxman66: No try, no chance 
Look at my reply for doberhound1.</p>
<p>Thanks, would not caring and college seeming so far away and unimportant be a good explanation for that (it’s true by the way)? Or should I leave it unexplained?</p>
<p>No, absolutely not (for both questions :D).
But I think it will help if you explain the trend of improvement (how and why you changed from not caring to caring or even caring this much).</p>
<p>oh, ok. thanks for your advice.</p>
<p>I am thinking of sending application to MIT, in my country we have grades from 1 to 6. But it is really hard to get 6 (to get it from maths you have to start in Olympiads and so on). Really good students in high school have GPA around 5.0, sometimes little more (like 5.1). I can see it’s much different than in US…</p>
<p>Does MIT counts that getting high average in some countries is much harder than in US, and it’s not really comparable?</p>
<p>if you have a 3.99 UW you are SCREWED</p>
<p>@Pierewoj: I’m quite surprised when there has been no reply to your post yet. Well if you do a little research on MIT, you will see most people in this forum assure that MIT looks at your application in your context: as long as you have done well in high school, even a 3/6 GPA won’t screw up your chance.</p>
<p>@MeSsIaH: You mean 3.99/100? :D</p>
<p>How is the campus? how is the enviroment lifestyle?</p>
<p>when i first went to high school i was stupid and didn’t think about my future and therefor got terrible grades some being D’s. I was wondering if there is a way to recover from it, or if it matters at all. by my second year i was able to keep my grades at A’s and B’s and will keep them that way throughout. I am wanting to go to MIT in order to further my programming skills.</p>
<p>i got a 3.65 and got in early. your grades are important but so are other things</p>
<p>^That’s because you’re the #1 track runner in your state. :)</p>
<p>@technodot: If you want to get into MIT as a non-hooked applicant, you really should aim for all A’s. Admission is so competitive these days that not having a solid GPA will put you at a disadvantage.</p>