What should I do if I have high test scores but a lower GPA? Low test scores and high GPA?

From time to time, we meet students who have achieved the near statistically impossible—get a 1590-1600 on their SAT or 35-36 on their ACT—but are struggling with lower GPAs. They are worried about their chances at admissions, and their parents often hope that their excellent test scores will offset their low GPAs.

What is a “low” GPA?

It depends on where you’re applying. A 3.5 is considered low for a selective college but acceptable for some state schools. 3.0 and below would be considered low at most colleges. 

What do college admissions officers think of your high test scores and low GPA?

Your high test scores prove that you have good academic ability and intellectual aptitude. It’s almost impossible to get a test score in or near the 99th percentile if you don’t have a high intellectual ability, although it does not necessarily mean that you are lacking in intellectual ability if you have lower test scores. This means that colleges will know that you have high academic potential.

Colleges can also use your SAT and ACT test scores to compare you to other students easily since these are standardized tests, whereas it’s harder to do that with GPAs as grading scales and course difficulty vary within and among high schools. 

However, GPAs allow colleges to see your academic performance over a 4-year period as well as your ability and willingness to push yourself to succeed in hard classes. Test scores are a snapshot of only one day in terms of academic performance. 

So if you have high SAT/ACT scores and low grades, it’s not great news for college admissions. Colleges will understand that you have high intellectual aptitude, but they will assume that you’re not motivated and working hard in your classes if your grades do not seem to match your capability. They’re likely to draw the conclusion that you’re really smart but lazy. You need to prove them wrong in your application by letting them know why your GPA is low compared to your test scores.

Why might your GPA be low?

To have a shot at the selective colleges, you need to answer this question on your application with a legitimate reason. 

1. Time spent on extracurricular activity

As you may know already, colleges are no longer looking for well-rounded students. Instead, they are looking for students who are very talented in one or two fields. If you have an outstanding ability in an extracurricular, it won’t excuse a low GPA, but it will improve your admissions chances and in some cases, even overcome a lower GPA. Colleges love students who compete at the national level, not just in the typical activities like music, debate, Olympiads, sports, or art, but even in more “niche” activities like acting, writing, or even business. Start looking for contest opportunities if you have not already.

2. Circumstances outside your control

If you had serious extenuating circumstances that affected your grades, make sure to explain this somewhere in your application. Your family may have had a financial difficulty, and you may have had to work long hours to help out or take care of your siblings while your parents increased their work hours. Or you could have had an illness that affected your attendance and performance in school. Depending on the circumstance, this could go in “additional info,” your counselor recommendation, or both. 

3. Upward trajectory in grades

If you start working hard to improve your grades sophomore year after a tough freshman year, you won’t be able to completely change your GPA since they are cumulative. However, you’ll be able to show that you committed to turning things around, learning important study skills and time management habits. This will communicate to admissions officer that you’ll continue to improve and do well in college. After all, one of the most important things they are trying to predict is whether or not you will succeed academically on campus.

4. Difficult classes and low GPA

Maybe you took on way too many AP classes junior year and were not prepared to handle them. If you can tell them about what you learned from this and also talk about your academic growth despite the lower grades in the hard classes, that will help you. 

5. Easy classes and low GPA

This is a much harder situation to talk about in your application. You’d need a good reason as to why you did not put in the effort needed to get a high grade in an easy class. Maybe you have a very specific academic interest that you could not satisfy in your high school, like law or robotics. You could say you focused on pursuing those intensively outside of school, while the easy classes weren’t as interesting. 

6. Low GPA but academic interests outside of school

You may have a low GPA but pursue academic interests outside of school, like learning a coding language on your own, designing your own 3D-printed robot, composing for a string quartet, learning about the stock market and starting your own business, or even writing your own novel. If you have academic pursuits that don’t show up on your transcript, make sure you do talk about them in your activities section or even additional info, for more depth. 

7. Weaknesses in certain subjects

If you only have low grades in one subject which is bringing your entire GPA down, make sure to highlight your strengths in other subject. For example, you may be weak at physics but excel at English. It will be helpful for you to take AP English classes and pursue English-related extracurriculars to show you have strong academic interests. 

How else can I strengthen my application?

GPA is one of the most important factors in college admissions, but it’s not the only one. You still have the personal statement, teacher recommendations, and activities list to prove to a college that you’d succeed on campus. You may not have complete control over your GPA, but you do have control over your personal statement and extracurriculars. 

Also, get started working now to secure great teacher recommendations. Ideally, that process starts sophomore year, but junior year is not too late. Read more about how to get amazing teacher recommendations here.