Thanks for all the replies. Disheartening but understandable. Is there any "secret" to boosting GPA like taking classes over the summer?

Anonymous wrote:DC is applying as a humanities/social science major with a major spike. High SAT, all 5s on AP exams, research published in most prestigious journal for major, national awards for major, great ECs and internships.

The one caveat is the gpa. Freshman year was very bad, sophomore not so great, but huge upward trend. Would a 4.3-4.4 weighted gpa be competitive for T20s? How will colleges view a humanities student from TJ, and will they forgive low grades in STEM classes?

Probably not.
According to Naviance average T20 student accepted from TJ has ~4.55 weighted GPA and 1555 SAT
The acceptance rate for students with those stats or higher was ~30%
In this context, 0.05 GPA is significant. a 0.25 difference puts you in different categories.
Of the Top 20 schools, your best chance is Chicago ED0 if you can afford it and ED1 if not.

If you have an C's you are probably cooked. More than a couple of B's also derails you. The only exceptions I have seen have been recruited athletes.
These admission committees are literally looking at an ocean of straight A students and "but its TJ" does carry much weight when there are more straight A TJ students than they have room for.

Anonymous wrote:UCs also throw out grades from HS freshman year.

OP be careful about assuming too much around the outside activities. No serious academic journal publishes "research" by HS kids. None.

For science research, yes, but there’s a prestigious journal for the major they want to go into.

Anonymous wrote:Just FYI: that's a pretty high GPA for so so freshman and sophomore years for it to be a 4.3 or 4.4 from junior year grades alone. That is what the colleges will be judging the kid on (gpa after junior year). You sure it will be that range?

agree does not seem possible to have a 4.3 at the end of junior year

How many A-, B+ or B does your kid have? It also matters which class they got low grades in. Multivariable calculus? Physics C? More forgivable in those classes

Just FYI: that's a pretty high GPA for so so freshman and sophomore years for it to be a 4.3 or 4.4 from junior year grades alone. That is what the colleges will be judging the kid on (gpa after junior year). You sure it will be that range?

Anonymous wrote:WashU; Emory; USC; Middlebury; Davidson; Hamilton; Colby

Absolutely not for WashU.

Emory and Colby possibly.

Anonymous wrote:UCs also throw out grades from HS freshman year.

OP be careful about assuming too much around the outside activities. No serious academic journal publishes "research" by HS kids. None.

My kid interned as an 18 year old at a hospital engaging in research the entire time. Listed as an author of the peer reviewed research in a medical journal. I wouldn't say it never happens but it is rare.

WashU; Emory; USC; Middlebury; Davidson; Hamilton; Colby

ED a SLAC

Anonymous wrote:UCs also throw out grades from HS freshman year.

OP be careful about assuming too much around the outside activities. No serious academic journal publishes "research" by HS kids. None.

Obviously not the lead investigator but they can by acknowledged somewhere in the by line of the paper. Generally, the byline lists authors in descending order of contribution. But it depends on the field and specific scientific journal. Support tasks done by a student researcher can absolutely lead to inclusion somewhere in the list.

UCs also throw out grades from HS freshman year.

OP be careful about assuming too much around the outside activities. No serious academic journal publishes "research" by HS kids. None.

apply ed to emory. They ignore freshman grades. Or are you thinking above a school like that?

unlikely since they are judged against classmates

DC is applying as a humanities/social science major with a major spike. High SAT, all 5s on AP exams, research published in most prestigious journal for major, national awards for major, great ECs and internships.

The one caveat is the gpa. Freshman year was very bad, sophomore not so great, but huge upward trend. Would a 4.3-4.4 weighted gpa be competitive for T20s? How will colleges view a humanities student from TJ, and will they forgive low grades in STEM classes?