Will going to a rigorous prep school hurt my chances

Hi, so I go to a really competitive prep school in NorCal, and have a 1490 SAT, but only a 4.1 GPA cumulative given the difficulty of my school. Will this hurt me during the admissions process. I see people with 4.8s getting 1300s on the SAT. Also, my school limits the AP classes you can take so by the time I graduate I will have only done 5

Don’t worry about this just yet. Go have a nice long talk with the college-placement team at your school, and get THEIR advice on what you should do. They are the experts on your situation.

Colleges will be well aware of your rigorous prep school. And in any event, a copy of the school profile is sent with each transcript so your HS record will be reviewed in the proper context. Your HS should have a strong guidance dept. so utilize them.

And don’t worry about the APs. If you have taken the a rigorous courseload at your HS you are fine. FWIW many prep schools and even our public HS have eliminated APs entirely and it has had zero impact on college admissions.

Thanks! I’ll go talk to my counselor tomorrow

Make the most of your time and opportunities at the prep school. Do not mistake college for the end-all and be-all of life.

I went to a public magnet and later an Ivy-equivalent and both the network and education at my magnet HS was as good as or better than that of a top 15 uni.