How much will grade deflation in high school affect my chances?
I go to a pretty competitive private high school which follows the national curriculum in India. My grades in my freshman and sophomore year are good and I got 94% and 95% respectively. However, my grades in my junior year have dipped and that is because of the grade deflation. The average percentage for the last 10 years in my school for the junior year has been 57% and that is due to the vast syllabus and incredibly tough question papers.
This year, I scored 84% but it is still low when compared to my grades from other years. I do have a 1540 SAT and really good ecs (2 are international competitions that I have won).
How would my junior year affect my application? Will the admissions officers take grade deflation into account?
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3 answers
I actually go to a private school in India that follows the national curriculum too. When I expressed my concerns about the grade deflation in 11th grade to my college counsellor, she did mention that admissions officers in the United States know this about the Indian curriculum. She (my counsellor) said that the officers call it the 'W curve' signifying the grade deflation that befalls students in their junior year in India and will take it into account while evaluating an application.
I have attended a few college fairs (virtual ones) as well, in which I have asked colleges about this deflation and about how they evaluate an applicant with this setback of deflation. Quite a lot of them replied saying that they practice something known as "GPA recalculation" which one can fairly assume is done by taking these deflations into account.
Your grades, ECs, SAT scores and letters of recommendation come together to show officers your personality as a whole. Don't let this deflation wear you down! You can still show a mighty strong application to admissions officers although you should be warned that absolutely nothing will ever FULLY guarantee an application into a university especially if it's one of the really really competitive ones.
Hope I have answered your question and good luck with your application!
Great question! Don't look at the average score for the last 10 years. That is very inaccurate. Colleges aren't going to look at the last 10 years. They will most likely look at the last 2-3 years. See for yourself how your 84% compares to other juniors attending the same school. Are you in the top 10% of your school with the 84%? If you are, then that is great! When colleges see your application and see that your grades went from 95-94% to 84%, they will do some research on their own. They will try to find out why your grades dropped that much. You should also try to mention somewhere in your application that junior year was challenging for whatever reason it may be. A 1540 on the SAT will most definitely cover up for the drop in grades, if the colleges aren't willing to understand your situation.
Hopefully this helps! Good Luck!
Colleges do not care about the avetage % for the last 10 years. Colleges only look at you hischool performance. Deflated grades are a problem, India or not.
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Oh I did not know about the 'W curve'. Thanks for informing me about it! You definitely have answered my question. Thanks for the help and good luck with your application as well!