Johnnie Said:

How will I raise my GPA?

We Answered:

Wow, thats not bad. Your school's weighting system is different from mine... we get a 5.0 for an A in an AP class, 4.25 for an A in an honors class, and a 4 in a normal class, so a 5.05 would be impossible for us, lol. (I have a 4.05 going into junior year btw, and im taking 4 ap classes) I wouldn't worry about percentage so much... I know people inside the college industry. For a high level college, (Duke, Carnegie Melon, MIT, Standford) it goes like this... They set a GPA and SAT bar which you much be over. If you are under the minimum gpa or SAT requirement, your resume is trashed immediatly. After that, they get more in depth. They evaluate extracurriculars, subject tests, and class rank. If you make the gpa and SAT standards and get cut, 99% of the time it wont be class rank. It will be your extracurriculars. Most rejected applicants get rejected without ever having thier rank looked at.

To get your gpa up, i recommend dropping some classes and taking more AP's. There are always some easy AP classes you can easily get a B+ or above in. Out of my 4 AP classes, one is AP Enviornment (joke of a class) and the other is AP Computer Sciences (Most kids get an A- or better). Try easy classes like those. Also, drop classes such as gym or electives that are not weighted. They will bring you down. And like i say to all people, dont worry so much about your gpa. Getting into a college is less than half the battle. I have the credentials and extracurriculars to get into Duke or USC or Carnegie Melon, but I may just opt for a state college, because i can always transer to a good graduate school. Anyways, good luck with that gpa.