Lessons from 2024/25 #1: GPA

Happy May! Spring is the perfect time to reflect on the past admissions cycle. Most students have chosen their schools and committed by May 1st, making it a great moment to look back on what worked—and what didn’t.

I am thrilled for the high school class of 2025! Over the last few months, I’ve shared in so many of their joys as the students I worked with celebrated their outcomes. There have been some tough choices – Harvard vs Yale, Cornell vs UC Berkeley, Columbia vs Northwestern. Those accepted early decision to their dream schools have been using the time to think about what the future looks like for them. See below for a list of acceptances from this year’s Advanced Ivy Prep students!

It’s been a big year, and there’s a lot to digest! So, I’m sharing my insights from this year in a series of emails over the next few weeks to help you succeed in your own admissions journey. Starting with Lesson #1: Grades.

Grades matter more than ever!

Colleges want to know that students will thrive academically on campus. But here’s the challenge: while grade inflation is rising, metrics suggest student performance is not improving. In fact, 47% of those who took the SAT had an A average, yet average SAT scores have declined. If GPAs were truly reflecting stronger student performance, wouldn’t test scores rise too?

A recent study backs this up. Students with high ACT and SAT scores at Ivy+ schools tend to also have high GPAs their freshman year. Meanwhile, students with lower SAT/ACT scores are five times more likely to struggle. Surprisingly, high school GPA wasn’t directly linked to college GPA.

It might be easy to assume then that high school GPA isn’t that important, and lots of ads and webinars are trying to convince families that grades are not important if you just do XYZ. However, what I’ve seen is the exact opposite, especially this year. With so many perfect transcripts, Bs and Cs stand out more than ever. 

Now, don’t panic if your GPA is not perfect. One or two Bs will not ruin your chances of a top college. Even if you have more Bs than As with a few Cs sprinkled in…there are excellent schools out there for you!

Let’s talk about how to prioritize grades and give yourself the best chance of success. 

What can you do?

Choose your classes carefully. Colleges want to see that students challenge themselves with AP, honors, and dual enrollment courses. If you can balance a full course load of rigorous courses with As and without burning out, fantastic! 

When students take on too many rigorous courses, however, it’s typically one course that pulls down everything. It’s the course that requires much more time; it’s mentally draining. The class causes you to stay up late multiple nights a week, building long term fatigue. That one class can cause the grades in all of your courses to drop.

It is much better to drop the rigor of one course and excel in all your classes than it is to completely max out your rigor and end up with mostly Bs or worse. 

There are a few exceptions. For example, colleges really like to see students take calculus. So if at all possible, keep the rigor in math. Also try to keep more challenging courses with your intended major. A future humanities major might take AP Physics 1 or even AP Environmental Science instead of AP Physics C.

Seek help early and often! Don’t wait until you’re overwhelmed. Use the resources available to you. Reach out to teachers, ask a classmate to help, or find a tutor. Many schools also have free peer tutoring – check with Mu Alpha Theta or National Honor Society whose members often tutor for free. Be proactive. If you know you tend to struggle more in one area, make sure you focus on getting help even before you need it.

Prioritize grades. Temporarily pull back on extracurricular activities if your classes become too much. You will list how many hours per week and weeks per year you spend with each activity on your college application. There is just one box per activity for the hours, so you’ll report an average over the total weeks. If you need to pull back on an activity for a few hours to focus on a big test or an overwhelming week, it won’t even show up on your application when averaged over your entire high school career.

If you’re in a group sport or on a team that relies on you, you don’t want to let your team down. I get it! Still, mastering the art of prioritizing what matters most will be so valuable in the long run. Every time you say yes to something, you say no to something else you could be using that time for. So make sure that you are not unconsciously deprioritizing your grades by saying yes to too many other activities. (I’ll follow up with more about how to strategically focus your activities using your own personal narrative to help with this!)

What if you already have a less than perfect GPA? First, take a deep breath. There are many excellent colleges with acceptance rates that will be a match for whatever your academic background is right now! Build a robust college list that includes schools with acceptance rates that match your academic profile. 

To increase your options, do what you can to improve, even if it’s just in one or two areas (see tips above). Colleges vastly prefer an upward trajectory with grades than a steady average trend. Develop relationships with teachers and your high school counselor who can attest to your work ethic, resilience, and character through your recommendations. Build a strong narrative. You can learn how in my free video series.

🎉🎉🎉 Next week, I’ll be sharing all about testing and college admissions.

With college admissions, one size does not fit all. If it did, everyone would look the same and no one would stand out! So, if you are looking for personalized guidance in finding your voice and your unique narrative, schedule a free introductory call to see how I can help!

Your Guide,

Dr. Laura Perretta