The GPA

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Randomcitizen16

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Im definitely not looking at this as a "chance me" at all, but I was wondering if there have been occurrences of people with high test scores and low GPAs getting into West Point. I am current senior, but I have a 3.4 UWGPA, but my ACT composite is a 32. I was homeschooled for my first two years of high school, (actually - a small group of homeschooled kids that went to a Christian school 2x a week), and when I switched back to public high school, my grades suffered. My school is one of the best in the state, and I am taking all AP classes, but I will probably be getting a C in AP Calculus, and maybe another B somewhere in my other classes. I don't even think I'm bad at math, but I have been struggling to keep up since I switched schools. Will this kind of transcript be impossible against the boards? I'm retaking the ACT and SAT and I'm hoping for a 34 and a 1500/1600.
 
Randomcitizen16 said:
Im definitely not looking at this as a "chance me" at all, but I was wondering if there have been occurrences of people with high test scores and low GPAs getting into West Point. I am current senior, but I have a 3.4 UWGPA, but my ACT composite is a 32. I was homeschooled for my first two years of high school, (actually - a small group of homeschooled kids that went to a Christian school 2x a week), and when I switched back to public high school, my grades suffered. My school is one of the best in the state, and I am taking all AP classes, but I will probably be getting a C in AP Calculus, and maybe another B somewhere in my other classes. I don't even think I'm bad at math, but I have been struggling to keep up since I switched schools. Will this kind of transcript be impossible against the boards? I'm retaking the ACT and SAT and I'm hoping for a 34 and a 1500/1600.
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West Point is more concerned about your class rank rather than your GPA. If your school doesn't rank, then West Point relies on your ACT score. Remember West Point requires you to submit the essay portion of your ACT.
 
It happens all the time. It depends on your total package. 1500 is excellent. Your 11th and 12th grade GPA will probably look bad compared to your home school GPA.

Get involved, challenge yourself.
 
Thanks everyone. My school ranked up until this year, but I was around 120/400. This was obviously my own fault due to my grades, but the top 4 people in my school receieved perfect ACT scores and the top 60ish have 4.0 GPAs. Because of this, I'm glad my school doesn't rank anymore, since I heard that West Point will look more closely at my test scores. Also, yes, I easily receieved a 4.0 when I was homeschooled, but I also didn't learn anything which led to my terrible catch-up game now. Will West Point really take that much consideration into the fact that my school is competitive? Because other schools are competitive, but students can still maintain A grades in calculus, whereas I cannot.


Also, to add to this, I am assuming that there is not way I have a shot at prep school? I would love that opportunity to be honest, because all of my critical thinking skills (math/science) have deteriorated, and I'd love an extra year to hone in on those skills, but because of my test scores, should I be out of the running?
 
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Yes, my best friend got in with a 3.5 unweighted and 3.8 weighted but she had a 31 on her ACT... keep in mind she had a lot of leadership and sports too... so the service academies won't just look at grades and test scores. Do well on the CFA and get involved... become a leader! Good luck!
 
And yes, West point will look at your school report and see where other students have fallen and they know the really competitive school districts.
 
Don't worry about it. Your unweighted GPA is not bad. WP will rejigger it all based on AP courses etc. It's too late to do anything about your GPA. Focus on what you can control at this point, which I assume isn't really too much. Keep working hard, keep your grades up, and enjoy your senior year.
 
The first great equalizer in a students path to graduate is 3rd grade. The next great equalizer is the ACT/SAT standardize test. Your situation is not unique since you've been home school during the first two years of high school. The standardized tests check you knowledge aptitude to best analyze your ability to succeed in college level course work.

Lets look at it this way. Not all high schools are created equal, some offer IB and AP classes, others have a 60% graduation rate and other come from rural communities and others come from the inner-city. How do you evaluate this? The ACT/SAT tests. The challenge for home schoolers is filling in the athletic experience. And it is important to learn teamwork, competition, leadership, sportsmenship and knowing how to win and loose.

Take the tests as many times as you can.

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
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