what GPA do u have to maintain in high school, to get into a very good university/college such as Stanford....

Question

if ur a freshmen in high school and didnt take any honors classes does that lessen your chance of getting into those kinds of colleges?

Answer 1

You should definitely take honors classes to get into a school like Stanford. If you have the brains for it then you should already be taking honors classes. Honors classes also give you a higher weighted GPA. I'd say you should have a 4.0 or higher and also score quite well on your SATs to get in.

Answer 2

No, your freshman year will be close to meaningless in the game of college admissions. I would recommend taking as many honors courses (and AP/IB courses when the time comes) and getting involved in many extra-curriculars. This is what everyone else is going to have when they apply though, so you will need to do something a little more. So this should be your starting point.

Here is something I wrote in another person's question relating to Stanford, and I believe you'll get something good out of it too:

"So now here's some other things to consider: Stanford does consider your field of interest and your race/gender when considering admission (in fact most schools do). What this means is this: Stanford will be more interested in a Native American female interested in physics than in a white male interested in mathematics. So your race and gender could play a HUGE role in this process (it's sad that this is so, since it totally undercuts peoples' achievements for things they cannot control, but while the system is in place you should be aware of it).

Another thing to consider is how well you fit the ideals of the school. I know nothing about Stanford's "personality" as a school, but I do know Brown's a lot (I went to Brown for undergrad), and I got in mostly because I was able to show them in my essays and recommendation letters that I was the type of student that they basically made the school for (I'm someone who enjoys learning and challenging myself, and Brown is all about academic freedom so that students can challenge themselves without constraint.....so Brown and I were a perfect match!). If you want to get into Stanford, you're going to have to, on some level, convince them that you're this kind of a match for them. What that means is that you need to sit down and read as much about Stanford as you can, and see what phrases they use to describe the identity of the school (mission statements, etc.) and see how you match up, and how your teachers think you match up. It will help you a lot if teachers are writing your recs and saying things about you that will make you look like the student Stanford has been dreaming about."

So you want to make sure your essays and your recommendations give you this aspect in your application. This is often the best way to "stand out" in the admissions process. You are almost certainly not going to publish anything or do anything else fancy like that.

Aside from all this though, it's really far too early to tell one way or another with you and Stanford. In two years you'll have a better idea of what your abilities are, and whether or not you'll be able to put together a reasonably competative application for Stanford. Good luck!

Answer 3

When it comes to the top schools, it's not so much about GPA anymore. They will reject many 4.0 applicants with hard classes and lots of extracirrulars - so you have to do all that stuff too, but if you really want a shot, you need to stand out in some way. Having a publication, original research, starting a non-profit, etc would give you a much better shot - along with the 4.0 and honors/AP classes, of course.

Answer 4

Go to the website for the school you're interested in--in this case, Stanford. Somewhere on the website there should be their minimum requirements for admission. Obviously, you should try to do better than the minimum, but it gives you a place to start. Then make an appointment with your guidance counselor. S/he can help you figure out what you need to do to get into a school that you like. You should pick several different schools with a variety of requirements--it's always good to have a back-up choice.

Answer 5

You should take plenty of honors and AP courses the next few years.

You should have a 4.0 or nearly a 4.0.

You also should have stellar test scores, community involvment, extraordinary proven leadership abilities, sports involvement, etc. And even then, it's still a long shot of getting in. Most of the people who apply have outstanding credentials.

Answer 6

no you still got a good chance. Just take them from now on. You need over a 100 or 4.0...along with a kick butt resume with a lot of cool stuff like being president of this or that, NHS, etc.