Weak GPA

Hi, thank you for asking your question! There are a few things that I would like to clarify that will hopefully answer a lot of your questions:

First, when it comes to selective school admissions (such as the top 40 schools in the US), our recommendation is to at least have a 3.75+ cumulative weighted GPA. Specifically in AP/IB HL courses have a 3.75+, Honors/IB SL/Dual-enrollment a 3.85+, and in CP courses a 4.0. So the bar is set high but I believe this is achievable and many competitive students for selective schools will have similar numbers.

Secondly, every high school has their own weighting system. So admissions officers at Universities will be re-weighting your GPA and also have access to the average GPA and average course rigor at your high school. What you want to aim for is having the "most demanding curriculum" compared to the coursework available to you and higher than the average GPA at your school. Now take this with a grain of salt, you don't need to have every AP class available in your schedule but try to aim for at least 7 APs, or what we see as the average course load for most competitive students to Ivy League schools.

Third, college admissions officers care about the idea of an upwards trend. So if your GPA and course rigor are increasing over the four years of high school in a positive way then this paints you as a student who is willing to take on more challenges AND is succeeding at it. The cumulative GPA (if above a 3.75 for selective schools) does not matter as much as the upwards trend does. Aim for the upwards trend.

Fourth, the information that you mentioned are classified as "hooks" and "spikes" in your application that can make a HUGE difference in your application if you position them correctly in your application. To learn more about these I would highly recommend that you read this blog post.

Hook: https://blog.collegevine.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-hooked-applicant/

Spike: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-find-your-college-application-spike/

Spike livestream: https://www.collegevine.com/livestreams/4067/finding-your-spike-with-elias

Hope this helps!

With a 3.4 UW, this means that the highest GPA you can get by junior year is a 3.8. While this is high, it is around the bottom 25% of all students at T30s however, it won't count you out. I think that if you can play football to a D2-D3 level and boost your extracurriculars, you definitely have a shot at the T30s. You are only a freshman meaning that you have time so don't worry too much! Also remember to take a good amount of AP's to show colleges that you are able to handle tough coursework