Anonymous
07/25/2025 12:48
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
Anonymous wrote:What Gpa do you need at TJ to get into Berkeley?
Look at the UC website they have the average GPA for the incoming classes of all colleges
I believe last year for Berkeley it was 4.6-4.8 but look it up
Anonymous
07/25/2025 12:06
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
What Gpa do you need at TJ to get into Berkeley?
Anonymous
07/25/2025 11:57
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Don’t submit scores.
Don't submit both 3 and 4 or just 3?
What does the rest of the application look like? Is the 4 higher or lower than the rest of the application?
You know this, but make sure your student has safeties and targets they like because ivies and other top 10 schools are unlikely -- the competition from TJ is too stiff.
This is the key point. This can’t be judged from the information you’ve offered.
Also, applicants are judged first and foremost in their high school context. So your kid will be compared against their TJ classmates. Where does your kid stand in that context?
Overall GPA is 4.37. His major will be Bio where he has gotten As and 5s. He has lot of good ECs related to coding for healthcare organizations with multiple internships and local top university research with a professor potentially leading to a research paper.
What is his raw (unweighted) GPA? Was there upward trajectory between 9th to 11th grade GPA despite rigor going up? How many "highest rigor" classes will he take in total by end of senior year?
Anonymous
07/25/2025 11:39
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Don’t submit scores.
Don't submit both 3 and 4 or just 3?
What does the rest of the application look like? Is the 4 higher or lower than the rest of the application?
You know this, but make sure your student has safeties and targets they like because ivies and other top 10 schools are unlikely -- the competition from TJ is too stiff.
This is the key point. This can’t be judged from the information you’ve offered.
Also, applicants are judged first and foremost in their high school context. So your kid will be compared against their TJ classmates. Where does your kid stand in that context?
Overall GPA is 4.37. His major will be Bio where he has gotten As and 5s. He has lot of good ECs related to coding for healthcare organizations with multiple internships and local top university research with a professor potentially leading to a research paper.
So where does that put him in his class at TJ? That’s what matters.
At TJ, if your end-of-junior year GPA is less than 4.5, it makes it extremely hard for ivies, let alone a 4.37, unless you’re URM. Think about it this way, how many Bs are there on your transcript for a 4.37 GPA? It won’t look pretty.
Is every class at TJ weighted?
No. There are mandatory non-honors classes with 4.0 gpa.
Anonymous
07/25/2025 11:38
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
Is he interested in liberal arts colleges where more girls apply than boys? Varsar for example. In the context of TJ, he may face some strong competition for ivies.
Anonymous
07/25/2025 11:36
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Don’t submit scores.
Don't submit both 3 and 4 or just 3?
What does the rest of the application look like? Is the 4 higher or lower than the rest of the application?
You know this, but make sure your student has safeties and targets they like because ivies and other top 10 schools are unlikely -- the competition from TJ is too stiff.
This is the key point. This can’t be judged from the information you’ve offered.
Also, applicants are judged first and foremost in their high school context. So your kid will be compared against their TJ classmates. Where does your kid stand in that context?
Overall GPA is 4.37. His major will be Bio where he has gotten As and 5s. He has lot of good ECs related to coding for healthcare organizations with multiple internships and local top university research with a professor potentially leading to a research paper.
So where does that put him in his class at TJ? That’s what matters.
At TJ, if your end-of-junior year GPA is less than 4.5, it makes it extremely hard for ivies, let alone a 4.37, unless you’re URM. Think about it this way, how many Bs are there on your transcript for a 4.37 GPA? It won’t look pretty.
Is every class at TJ weighted?
Anonymous
07/25/2025 11:33
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Don’t submit scores.
Don't submit both 3 and 4 or just 3?
What does the rest of the application look like? Is the 4 higher or lower than the rest of the application?
You know this, but make sure your student has safeties and targets they like because ivies and other top 10 schools are unlikely -- the competition from TJ is too stiff.
This is the key point. This can’t be judged from the information you’ve offered.
Also, applicants are judged first and foremost in their high school context. So your kid will be compared against their TJ classmates. Where does your kid stand in that context?
Overall GPA is 4.37. His major will be Bio where he has gotten As and 5s. He has lot of good ECs related to coding for healthcare organizations with multiple internships and local top university research with a professor potentially leading to a research paper.
So where does that put him in his class at TJ? That’s what matters.
At TJ, if your end-of-junior year GPA is less than 4.5, it makes it extremely hard for ivies, let alone a 4.37, unless you’re URM. Think about it this way, how many Bs are there on your transcript for a 4.37 GPA? It won’t look pretty.
Anonymous
07/25/2025 11:32
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
My kid was admitted to an Ivy for engineering with 2 4's and an A minus. catholic school. No hooks.
Anonymous
07/25/2025 11:29
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Don’t submit scores.
Don't submit both 3 and 4 or just 3?
What does the rest of the application look like? Is the 4 higher or lower than the rest of the application?
You know this, but make sure your student has safeties and targets they like because ivies and other top 10 schools are unlikely -- the competition from TJ is too stiff.
This is the key point. This can’t be judged from the information you’ve offered.
Also, applicants are judged first and foremost in their high school context. So your kid will be compared against their TJ classmates. Where does your kid stand in that context?
Overall GPA is 4.37. His major will be Bio where he has gotten As and 5s. He has lot of good ECs related to coding for healthcare organizations with multiple internships and local top university research with a professor potentially leading to a research paper.
So where does that put him in his class at TJ? That’s what matters.
Anonymous
07/25/2025 11:04
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My child is from TJ. He got A- in AP Physics C M&EM but in the AP exams he got - Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism - 3 and Physics C: Mechanics - 4. What are the chances in top colleges such as Ivies?. Do these colleges consider the grade or AP scores or both?. Should we report these AP scores in the college application?
U.S. colleges' undergraduate admissions are NOT a meritocracy system but are based on institutional priorities. I have had students from the same high school (not TJ) who had A's in AP Physics C and 5s on both AP Physics M and E&M, yet still didn't get into IVYs. (High SAT, award-winning ECs, etc., all stellar). Another student without those scores got in. So when parents say that the admissions process in U.S. is a strategic game, they are actually right.
What are the differences between the two students?
Gender is one. Maybe one was full-pay and the other wanted financial aid. The one who didn't get in had a very rigorous transcript as opposed to the other. Their essays were really good, so we couldn't differentiate on that part. The only reason we felt was that it was an institutional priority, perhaps.
Forgot to add: The one who didn't get in studied AP Physics C in 10th grade, and the one who got in was studying in 12th grade at the time of the application cycle.
Anonymous
07/25/2025 10:52
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My child is from TJ. He got A- in AP Physics C M&EM but in the AP exams he got - Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism - 3 and Physics C: Mechanics - 4. What are the chances in top colleges such as Ivies?. Do these colleges consider the grade or AP scores or both?. Should we report these AP scores in the college application?
U.S. colleges' undergraduate admissions are NOT a meritocracy system but are based on institutional priorities. I have had students from the same high school (not TJ) who had A's in AP Physics C and 5s on both AP Physics M and E&M, yet still didn't get into IVYs. (High SAT, award-winning ECs, etc., all stellar). Another student without those scores got in. So when parents say that the admissions process in U.S. is a strategic game, they are actually right.
What are the differences between the two students?
Gender is one. Maybe one was full-pay and the other wanted financial aid. The one who didn't get in had a very rigorous transcript as opposed to the other. Their essays were really good, so we couldn't differentiate on that part. The only reason we felt was that it was an institutional priority, perhaps.
Anonymous
07/25/2025 10:48
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My child is from TJ. He got A- in AP Physics C M&EM but in the AP exams he got - Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism - 3 and Physics C: Mechanics - 4. What are the chances in top colleges such as Ivies?. Do these colleges consider the grade or AP scores or both?. Should we report these AP scores in the college application?
U.S. colleges' undergraduate admissions are NOT a meritocracy system but are based on institutional priorities. I have had students from the same high school (not TJ) who had A's in AP Physics C and 5s on both AP Physics M and E&M, yet still didn't get into IVYs. (High SAT, award-winning ECs, etc., all stellar). Another student without those scores got in. So when parents say that the admissions process in U.S. is a strategic game, they are actually right.
What are the differences between the two students?
Anonymous
07/25/2025 10:47
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Don’t submit scores.
Don't submit both 3 and 4 or just 3?
What does the rest of the application look like? Is the 4 higher or lower than the rest of the application?
You know this, but make sure your student has safeties and targets they like because ivies and other top 10 schools are unlikely -- the competition from TJ is too stiff.
This is the key point. This can’t be judged from the information you’ve offered.
Also, applicants are judged first and foremost in their high school context. So your kid will be compared against their TJ classmates. Where does your kid stand in that context?
Overall GPA is 4.37. His major will be Bio where he has gotten As and 5s. He has lot of good ECs related to coding for healthcare organizations with multiple internships and local top university research with a professor potentially leading to a research paper.
Is he a rising senior? This kind of GPA from TJ makes it impossible for any ivies or T20s, unless he is URM or has a huge spike in ECs (like winning the IMO gold or solo published in Nature).
Anonymous
07/25/2025 10:43
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
Anonymous wrote:My child is from TJ. He got A- in AP Physics C M&EM but in the AP exams he got - Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism - 3 and Physics C: Mechanics - 4. What are the chances in top colleges such as Ivies?. Do these colleges consider the grade or AP scores or both?. Should we report these AP scores in the college application?
U.S. colleges' undergraduate admissions are NOT a meritocracy system but are based on institutional priorities. I have had students from the same high school (not TJ) who had A's in AP Physics C and 5s on both AP Physics M and E&M, yet still didn't get into IVYs. (High SAT, award-winning ECs, etc., all stellar). Another student without those scores got in. So when parents say that the admissions process in U.S. is a strategic game, they are actually right.
Anonymous
07/25/2025 10:35
Subject: AP Physics Exam scores and chances at Ivy
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Don’t submit scores.
Don't submit both 3 and 4 or just 3?
What does the rest of the application look like? Is the 4 higher or lower than the rest of the application?
You know this, but make sure your student has safeties and targets they like because ivies and other top 10 schools are unlikely -- the competition from TJ is too stiff.
This is the key point. This can’t be judged from the information you’ve offered.
Also, applicants are judged first and foremost in their high school context. So your kid will be compared against their TJ classmates. Where does your kid stand in that context?
Overall GPA is 4.37. His major will be Bio where he has gotten As and 5s. He has lot of good ECs related to coding for healthcare organizations with multiple internships and local top university research with a professor potentially leading to a research paper.
I'm no expert, but based on this, I would submit the 4. The story is that he's very strong in bio and pretty good in other sciences. The idea that only perfection is good enough is really harmful.