[crystaleeee]

Well, I am a pretty decent student and get decent grades but I'm not spectacular or anything. We don't have class rankings in our school but have percentiles and i think i'm within the 25th percentile. I'm a junior and I've taken the SAT's once and got 1920 on them. I plan on taking them again june and take the Korean and History SATII the following year. The problem is that lately I've been thinking about college...A LOT and i really want to go to Northwestern University/ Georgetown which I know is wayy out of my league. I already have my safety schools and regular schools that are within reach that i'm applying for so it's not as if I'm only saying i have to go to those schools. But, I want to go there..I slacked off freshmen and sophomore year and that's why my grades aren't as high which accounts for my percentile. But they did improve a lot this year and hopefully stay that way next year. Is it even possible to get into those schools or should i give up now? I am heavily involved with Tennis, Music organizations, church etc... are those still negligible because truthfully, those won't counteract my percentile. If you have any knowledge or any experience being in a situation like mine please comment/pm me! Thank you.

[V12Juice]

Don't give up but, Carnegie Mellon and Northwestern look heavily upon your GPA. My cousin who attends CMU had a 4.5 cumulative GPA, and my bud who goes to Northwestern had a 4.3 but got 800 on SATII Chemistry and passed all his science APs with 5s.

[<3goesDOKIDOKI]

usually gtown and northwestern take the top 10% of the class.
so grades would be pretty important...
work hard and do everything that you can to improve yourself.
work on your grades and recommendations

maybe doing a little more research on the schools?
because neither georgetown or northwestern is an ivy league.

[Hax]

Short answer is yes. Even for non IVY, grades matter a lot. Grades are becoming the min in terms of college admissions. If you don't meet it, it becomes a hard battle to get in.

[crystaleeee]

I guess..i mean there's always that chance. But I realize that in reality my chances are slim but I hope that maybe I can get in...if not I'll go somewhere more closer to home (Jersey) because I'm planning on going to other schools. I know i can go to other schools, but it's just that I really wanted to go here....sigh. I guess i could always transfer if i still want to go there. Thank you for your comment by the way

[Daikirai]

Well, I am a pretty decent student and get decent grades but I'm not spectacular or anything. We don't have class rankings in our school but have percentiles and i think i'm within the 25th percentile. I'm a junior and I've taken the SAT's once and got 1920

Keep your grades up and make even HIGHER grades, try getting into the top 5%.
Boost up your SAT grades too. Aim for 2100 and above.

Of course you need good grades to get into ivy.

[Phaze5ive]

It depends. Grades aren't the only factor for getting into Ivy League schools. Let me ask you this, how "influential" is your family?

[kiyomiX]

Let's just put it this way...
the average gpa for the incoming class of freshmen at UCD is a 4.0.
and UCD is far from being "Ivy League Status".
so yeah.

[Jin91]

hmm grades ARE important but they aren't everything. especially this year. I know plenty of students who got into really good schools who had pretty good grades but not stellar or anything. of course, they had other factors that helped them like extracurriculars, summer programs, etc... Your improvement will help, and try to maintain or improve even more in your senior year. You also want to do pretty well on your SATs. they're annoying but STUDY.
Even as a senior, I don't know exactly what colleges look for, but definitely do NOT give up!

[siyeon]

Like everyone else said, grades are not EVERYthing but they are pretty important.
Your SAT scores are pretty good, so if you take them again, maybe you'll get in the 2000-range.
I don't know if you are in the Georgetown/NW range, but you never know. If they are your dream schools, start getting your grades up NOW and take some more APs.
YES, they look at your extracurriculars, especially if you are really stellar in one area.
My friend got into UGA with a 3.2 GPA, no APs, and only a few leadership positions because she is like, BEAST at the violin, and got practically all the awards in the state for competitions and stuff.

So, you never know. I say, if you can, just try to take as many APs as possible and get your ranking up.
Good luck

[Yuenie]

GPA and grades are really important, but so are your activities if they show you really have an interest/passion in a certain field. Not so 'OMG AMAZING!!!1!' grades that are all along the A+ range can be made up for by significant extracurriculars. Although extracurriculars can't really save you if you get straight B's and sprinkles of C's or anything if you're looking toward a competitive school. All in all, GPA and grades are just the first stepping stone of college admissions to looking at your application. Extracurriculars come second. The thing with competitive schools is that every applicant has about the same 4.0 GPA and that's why extracurriculars become such a high priority; more so than other normal colleges. Your extracurriculars give an idea to admissions what kind of person you are and what you're interested in doing.

Is there any specific major or field you're interested in studying at Northwestern or Georgetown? For example, if you were interested in medicine, you should take some summer programs or internships in the medical field so you can show it on your resume and let the school know you are truly interested in that field. And I think you should still just apply to NW/GT just to give it a chance. You never know what the admissions might see in you and they might accept you. :]

[ssulja]

Let's just put it this way...
the average gpa for the incoming class of freshmen at UCD is a 4.0.
and UCD is far from being "Ivy League Status".
so yeah.

Well... no. That's not really a good stat to list especially for UC's. They reweight every grade according to their own system, which isn't out of the traditional 4.0...

To answer the question, for any of the Top schools, GPA/SAT/ACT is just an indicator of how much you've worked academically during your school year. It's not necessarily the best measurement of if you will get in though. You should be at the very least, the average of what they take in. But Ivy leagues are such crap shoots that you need outstanding extra curriculars to really have a chance.

[Hax]

Everyone says that GPA isnt the only thing to consider and thats because GPA has become a sort of standard. Everyone basically has a super high GPA so you really do NEED a high GPA to realistically get into a top school. Sure it isn't the only thing they measure, but a high GPA is almost required and expected.

There are exceptions when people with lower GPAs get in but the majority and average person admitted to a top school will have a killer GPA which means you NEED it.

[SurpriseSex]

Since when were Georgetown and Northwestern top schools? Ivy League? ..........no.
Ivy League includes schools such as Princeton, Cornell, Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia and UPenn. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League
Elite schools. Georgetown and Northwestern.....not so much.
Regardless, Georgetown and Northwestern are no pushover schools, they are no UC Davis. Of course you need good grades to get into these schools. Do you think they just accept anyone? You seem to have a pretty high regard for them, that means they are pretty good, right? What makes a school pretty good? ACADEMICS. GOOD ONES. Asking if you need good grades to go to a good school is like asking if you need water to live. It's a given.
Unless you're Black or Native American.

[ssulja]

Since when were Georgetown and Northwestern top schools? Ivy League? ..........no.
Ivy League includes schools such as Princeton, Cornell, Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia and UPenn. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League
Elite schools. Georgetown and Northwestern.....not so much.
Regardless, Georgetown and Northwestern are no pushover schools, they are no UC Davis. Of course you need good grades to get into these schools. Do you think they just accept anyone? You seem to have a pretty high regard for them, that means they are pretty good, right? What makes a school pretty good? ACADEMICS. GOOD ONES. Asking if you need good grades to go to a good school is like asking if you need water to live. It's a given.
Unless you're Black or Native American.

That's not really fair either. Race does have a big factor, yes. And yes, it's arguable that race can give enough of an edge to let someone who's not as qualified get in. But that's really demeaning to someone else's efforts if you are Black, or Native American.

If you use the most popular (but by no means the best), college rankings system.

Northwestern is ranked #12. Above Ivy Leagues like Cornell and Brown.
Georgetown is ranked #23, near places like UCB and UCLA.

I think that's pretty elite.

A good school also doesn't necessarily mean only good academics. Some of the best schools offer opportunities that you would otherwise have to fight for. Academics is only one part of a school's appeal.

[Jin91]

Since when were Georgetown and Northwestern top schools? Ivy League? ..........no.
Ivy League includes schools such as Princeton, Cornell, Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia and UPenn. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League
Elite schools. Georgetown and Northwestern.....not so much.
Regardless, Georgetown and Northwestern are no pushover schools, they are no UC Davis. Of course you need good grades to get into these schools. Do you think they just accept anyone? You seem to have a pretty high regard for them, that means they are pretty good, right? What makes a school pretty good? ACADEMICS. GOOD ONES. Asking if you need good grades to go to a good school is like asking if you need water to live. It's a given.
Unless you're Black or Native American.

umm not top schools? just because they're not ivy league doesn't mean they're not top notch. Ivies aren't everything. like ssulja said, they're both in the top 30 or something, which I think is highly ranked...
and actually, I just agree with everything ssulja said.

[Lionheart]

My friend got into Harvard University (she currently attends now), Stanford University, and other prestigious schools with a 3.75. She is Southeast Asian so don't even try to assume the Affirmative Action thing.

However, since she was young, she regularly traveled back to her country (Sri Lanka) to do charity work. After the tsunami hit Asia, she was there with recovery teams and building houses. She's also distributed reading glasses to rural villages in her country.

Unlike most people, she didn't start doing community service in high school to get into an elite college-- she got into an elite college so she can do community service. If you are extraordinary, not necessarily Albert Einstein genius, and you believe strongly about a cause then you have as good a shot as anyone.

My school is UCLA and I didn't have a high GPA, but I got in because of something really different about me. That, and my essays were panty dropping amazing.

[ssulja]

Unlike most people, she didn't start doing community service in high school to get into an elite college-- she got into an elite college so she can do community service.

I think this is seriously the most important post, and thing about college admissions. Go where you feel like your goals can be accomplished. If you don't know what your goals are, then go to a place where you can actively search for them.

[daehanminguk1345]

Well, you said your grades are decent, right? Ivy leagues might not take you but that doesn't limit you from getting into a great college with high quality education. Plus, and this is just me, I think Ivy Leagues are so over-rated. You can go to a state college and still receive the same education for less money. Besides, if you just work hard at the college you originally attend, you always have the option to transfer to an Ivy League.

It's kind of like how some of my friends went to community college because their grades weren't so hot, but honestly, community college isn't the end of the world. In fact, if you just study hard enough and get the grades, it could be the beginning - you can easily transfer out.

I'm not saying you'll be going to community college, but just as an example. Why not try out a good but low-cost college, work hard, and transfer to another school?

[`_snowpea]

Keep in mind that colleges are REALLY good at sniffing out people who apply just for the "name" or "prestige" of the school. I really like what Lionheart says; you have to show that you have a true passion for something. Granted, GPA is an important part of the admissions process (it's almost expected), but I think that extra curriculars are the most crucial point since they display your leadership positions and the initiative you take to demonstrate your interests.

To be honest, a few clubs/acitivities are not gonna cut it. There are thousands of other applicants who are as qualified as or even more so than you are. What you need to have is something that will make you stand out among the crowd, so that the admissions officer will spare a second glance at your application.

It's almost important to remember that getting into an Ivy isn't everything. (Besides, it's just a football league ) I know, I felt the same way you did. But there are many other universities out there that have so many different opportunities; you just need to find the college with the right fit for you. You'd be surprised at how many other prestigious schools there are.

For now, try participating in new activities that interest you! And find as many leadership positions as you can. Keep the grades up, and bump up the SAT score as well (try shooting for above a 2100). It's a tough process, but will be extremely rewarding in the end. Good luck!