I was wondering if having a great academic record necessarily gives you an upper hand in college admissions ?

Answer 1

Yes, they look at your grades and standardized test scores first. Serve as a baseline. The top schools have tons of kids who have great academic accomplishments so they set a cutoff point and look at kids more closely who are above that cutoff point. That's the general way things work, altho of course it's possible to get into a school if you don't hit their normal cutoff line based on some very specific factor (like athletic ability, etc).

So, if you have that great academic record, you'll have that advantage over that person who doesn't because you're not so reliant on that "special factor". You'll have a better shot overall.

Answer 2

Well...yes. Of course. I mean, it's not the only thing, but it definitely helps. It could mean the difference between being accepted outright and being waitlisted or rejected. But it definitely depends on the college. If you're applying to an Ivy League school, the academic record is extremely important because they accept so few students and it's very competitive. But colleges also want to know if you are a well-rounded person that could add to their school. If the school you're applying to for example, has an orchestra, it could help if you play violin. Or if you're going for pre-med, it looks good if you volunteered in a hospital while in high school, or if you interned somewhere or tutored kids or are a great artist...that kind of thing. But some schools won't even bother to find that stuff out if you don't have the minimum GPA or SAT score they're looking for. Again, depends on the school, though. If you write a kick-*** essay (preferably one highlighting hardships you've endured that could explain the less-than-steller academic record), the admissions board could overlook the grades.

Answer 3

College admissions yes, but extra-curricular activities are important too. Most colleges want your money as mentioned above, but many of them also want a diverse and interesting student body. Keep in mind as well, that a great academic record in high school does not necessarily predict great work in college. Colleges know that and look for evidence of creativity, persistence, and adaptability in using available resources.

Keep the grades up but do lots of other things too. They are all important.

Answer 4

It depends on where you want to go and what you want to major in. Certain schools only accept applicants with a certain GPA or higher, the same with departments. For example, if you wanted to go to junior college, it might not matter so much, but if you wanted to get your Bachelor's in Engineering at School of the Mines in Golden, Colorado, your GPA better be way up there, they only accept a certain number of students, and then they only accept the best of the best, because that is all there is room for.

The other key element to having the great academic record is your ability to earn scholarships. (money for education that you don't have to pay back). This is important once you graduate from college, or just stop going, because that is when you have to start paying on your education loans. So you don't want to have to pay $80,000 in loans if you don't have to - every dollar in scholarship that you receive is worth more than a dollar when you compute the interest.

Answer 5

Depends on the school. While having great grades can help don't forget that most others applying will also most likely have great grades etc. A lot of schools also look for the individual who stands out (the one who has done a lot of volunteer work at 1 or 2 places only, the 1 who did well despite overcoming some hardships etc). Good Luck though!!!!

Answer 6

When certain schools are only excepting a certain amount of students then in some ways yes. But most of the time they just want your money and will pretty much except you as long as you seem to be a good and willing student.