Low GPAAnswered
Hi, I'm an international student.
My weighted GPA on a scale of 4.0 is 3.27. My average grade is B+.
I was very motivated with the colleges I wanted to apply to, like (UNC-Chapel Hill, Penn, Harvard, Georgetown) But now that I know my GPA, I feel like they are almost completely out of reach.
Is there still a possibility that I get into this type of university? My school is very very demanding and probably the best in my country. Would this make a difference?
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3 answers
Hi, I like your spirit and positivity, but the possibility of gaining acceptance into these 4 colleges will be very small.
I researched the GPAs of these colleges. Here are the breakdowns
UNC Chapel Hill - For weighted GPA, 1% have WGPA of 3.25-3.49%, 1% have 3.00-3.24, 0% for <3.0
Harvard - For Unweighted GPA, 1.67% of admits have UWGPA of 3.25-3.49, 0.42% 3.00-3.24, 0.08% 2.5-2.99
UPenn - For Unweighted GPA, 5% of admits have UWGPA of 3.24-3.49, 1% have UWGPA of 3.0-3.24, 0.00% have <3.0
Georgetown - For Unweighted GPA, 2.5% have UWGPA of 3.00-3.24, 1% have UWGPA of 2.5-2.99
So if your WGPA is 3.27 you have to adjust for your unweighted GPA using the last 3 of the stats.
You can verify this data and other university common data sets by searching on the term "common data set" after the college you are seeking info on.
So let's say you want the stats for UVA, search on UVA Common Data Set. You will want to pick the latest PDF file so that would be the 2019-2020 calendar year.
As one of the other respondents suggested, try to get very high standardized test scores and I'll add that getting a high IELTS or TOEFL score would help as well.
Best of luck in your college admissions search.
To be frank, your GPA is going to be a very heavy pull-down when it comes to your application process. However, colleges such as Harvard, Penn, and other very prestigious schools are more likely to take a chance on a student if they are very proficient in other areas. Things like sports or music or maybe a passion they've received awards for. But like I said, your GPA, no matter what school you go to, is a significant factor (if not the biggest) when it comes to admittance to almost every school.
Do you mean unweighted, but regardless I would say write a college essay which shows your interest in the school and also explain your low GPA. Have a good SAT score as well.
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Also I believe it was Yale Admission person who said this at a college fair. A “B” in a really rigorous course at the best school in the country beats an A 90% of the time from an average school. Everything is in context. And if you are from a country that has sparse representation at Harvard say Moldavia you would a bet shot than a British or Chinese student for example.