What gpa is considered low for T10/T25 Schools?

Answered

As a non-hooked applicant either White or Asian (over-represented minority), I would say that anything below a 3.9 is low for a T10 school unless you have a lot of AP/IB courses. And anything below 3.8 is low for a T25 School. For a T40-T50 school, you want to stay above a 3.7 if possible.

These are ballpark rules, not exceptions. There are certainly non-hooked people who get into great schools with different GPAs. They usually have some unique attributes that make up for the lower GPA. Something things that can help a low GPA are the following

1. Impressive course rigor. Lots of APs / IB diploma / DE enrollment

2. Intellectual vitality/curiosity outside of school like work experience, internships, college courses, independent or supervised research, published works, and summer programs on scholarship.

3. High SAT or ACT test scores. For example 1500+ SAT, 34+ SAT

4. High AP or IB test scores. For example, a lot of "5"s on APs or "6/7"s on IBs

5. Winning an International or National competition for something academic like writing, math, or science will be helpful.

ECs not so much unless they fall into the category of Intellectual Vitality/Intellectual Curiosity. Being the President or Officer of a student body council or club is not going make-up for a lower GPA. Neither is volunteering or community service. Neither is playing an instrument, singing, dancing, theater, or playing sports. Neither is fund-raising or starting a business or non-profit.

Hope this is useful to you.