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I am currently a sophomore and I plan on going to West Point. My SAT is a 1480, which I will make higher (probably 1580), so that's fine. However, my GPA is extremely low as a result of my school's grading system, which makes an A a 3.8. As a result, my GPA is a 3.92 and will probably drop to a 3.9 at the end of Junior Year. I also plan on taking 13 AP classes total by the end of senior year. Is this too little?
Based on what they (West Point) says, "With a GPA of 3.9, West Point requires you to be at the top of your class. You'll need nearly straight A's in all your classes to compete with other applicants. You should also have taken plenty of AP or IB classes to show your ability to excel in academic challenge and potential for rigorous courses" and whatnot.
However, I've never gotten lower than an A and I do have straight A's in all my classes. However, my GPA doesn't reflect this fact. Will West Point consider the grading scale difference? Do they and other colleges recalculate this GPA to their standards? Let me know. Thank you!
I'm quite confident with my extracurricular activities. I am going to be the captain of the swimming, cross county and probably track team next year too. I am also an Eagle Scout and have a position in SHS. I also plan on getting a job and interning for a Congress member. However, is this enough? Please let me know. Thank you!
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4 answers
I think that your GPA, SAT score, course rigor, and extracurriculars are quite competitive for West Point. Your GPA in particular is not something to worry about, since West Point will recalculate it to their own scale as any college would. They will also receive a letter from your guidance counselor that will explain how your school's grading system works.
The only improvement I would recommend is to gain more military extracurricular experience. JROTC is a great program to join if your school has it. If not, I'd argue that becoming a sea cadet (USNSCC) would be even better. It's a program run by the Navy where cadets meet at a local military on one weekend per month. Cadets wear uniforms, do PT, practice drill movements, and receive classroom instruction in military topics. After cadets complete a 2-week boot camp, they can do advanced trainings at bases across the country. Some examples include submarine training, Navy Seal training, explosive ordinance disposal training, medical training, and many more programs. Hope this helps!
You already qualify for Westpoint and probably are in the top 20% of applicants already so I wouldn't worry about this at all!
Your SAT is in top 75% probably in the 85% percentile
Your Rank is in the top Quintile which matters just as must as GPA
And 13 APs is overdoing it for Westpoint. I doubt that most admits have more than 8 or 10.
I like the Varsity swim captain and Track and XC, thats a huge plus for Westpoint
I like the Eagle Scout
Honestly I think you should try to have some fun Senior year and try something outside of your comfort zone like Theatre, or Debate team or something else.
https://www.westpoint.edu/admissions/class-profile
I have questions:
1.) Why apply to Westpoint? Are you from a military family? Are you planning to apply to Annapolis, Colorado Springs as well?
2.) Do you currently attend a private military prep school? Why is a structured 4 years of college with uniforms and all the rules and all the future costs of service attractive to you?
I'm just curious as are a lot of other CV students.
Thank you.
you shouldn't push yourself for the sake of applying to college. rather, you should focus on displaying that effort everywhere possible. Even if you're no. 1 of your class, dashing with ECs, but fail to show your passion through, what's the point?
You say you're confident about ecs, ok. But considering the factors, you have a decent placement. On the contrary, my school has relatively low facilities to offer, even in case of advanced courses. The officers really want to know you as a person tbh. you wanna take on a job, fine. do some more ecs, fine. push your grades, fine. But if you fail to display these in your essays or wherever, it's all wasted.
I hope I'm clear. Don't do just for the sake of the colleges, you can take your time and methodically process those to your needs. Then, let the officers know how or what your passion means to you.
Yes, the vast majority of colleges use a recalculated GPA based on individual class grades as they appear on your transcript due to the lack of standardization in weighting and scaling. If you have access to your unofficial transcript, it's worth seeing exactly what information it provides to colleges. As far as West Point goes, though, your course rigor and grades along with class rank (if provided) will have far more of an impact than your listed GPA.
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I recently reached out to a admissions officer, who says that they don’t "recalculate your schools GPA". Would they take the rigor of my school's GPA scale into consideration? Also, how would special awards be verified by admissions officers?