Is a 3.7 GPA good enough for Harvard?

Question

I was looking at Harvard, mainly because my grandfather attended business school at Harvard, and his brother attended medical achool. My grandfather has many Harvard friends still around and he has donated a large amount of money to Harvard under his name and continues to this day, and he even served on the Harvard admissions board. I am about to earn a 3.7 GPA and I am a sophmore in high school and I am involved in extracuriculars. But is a 3.7 GPA good enough for Harvard? I have always dreamed of going to Harvard and I will do almost anything to get into Havard,

Answer 1

GPA means very little when taken out of context. A 3.7 from my school is enough to get you into Harvard. That's exactly what my brother had, and he had similar circumstances. 3rd generation legacy, and constant donors. However your school reputation, course load, and extra curricular activities play a role. If you attend a top school, colleges will understand that your 3.7 probably means your better prepared that someone earning a 4.0 at a less challenging school. However this can also hurt you, if you do not take advantage of the opportunities your school offers, taking a good amount of AP classes, your school prestige will hurt you. To be safe I would bump up my GPA to 3.8, which is what I personally did, get above a 1450 SAT, do lots of community service, and prove to Harvard that you are an active leader and a conscious citizen that will make a difference in the community. Best of luck.

Answer 2

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RE:
Is a 3.7 GPA good enough for Harvard?
I was looking at Harvard, mainly because my grandfather attended business school at Harvard, and his brother attended medical achool. My grandfather has many Harvard friends still around and he has do...

Answer 3

With your families connections to the school and your extracurriculars you definitely have an advantage. It obviously would not hurt to bring your grades up even more Junior year, but as of right now, in my opinion, things are looking good for you. You also mentioned your grandfather used to be on the admissions board, I am sure he would be able to give you a lot of great information on what you need to be accepted. If you look up Harvard on the Princeton review's site it will tell you the average GPA of incoming freshman, so that should help as well. Best of luck

Answer 4

Take AP and Honors classes as a junior & senior, and your GPA will move up. An unweighted GPA of 3.7 or 2.8 with a weighted GPA over 4.0 will be good enough.

Having a GPA tha tis good enough is not enough. You will also need a high SAT score, outside activities and a good admissions essay.

You are on the right path -- but Harvard rejects more qualified applicants than it accepts. Having a grandfather who went there & who gives them money won't hurt. It isn't enough -- alone -- to get you in.

Answer 5

you should probably work on your GPA, but they are going to look at other things too like you SAT and your extra cirriculars. make sure that you are taking honors classes and AP classes. you're going to have to write a killer essay too, i am sure. there are several factors they'll consider when they are looking at you for admission. your GPA is good...but i think you have to be nearly a perfect student to get into harvard.

Answer 6

It's probably not a deal breaker. Having legacy status certainly helps too (I'm sure it helped at my law school as well.) The key will be your SAT, of course, so work as hard as possible to get a great score.

Best of luck on continuing your family tradition!

Answer 7

Their average GPA right now is a 4.04. You could bribe the Ivy League Council, though

Answer 8

A 3.7 is fine if your family is a large contributor if not it's there's a slim chance. Sadly that's higher education in America.

Answer 9

since you are still a sophomore you will have some time to up your GPA

however, i hear that course difficulty is valued above grades

Answer 10

Warren Fitz is absolutely incorrect. What does he know?