Getting a 4.0 GPA

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
BeastfromthEast

BeastfromthEast

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2010
Messages
218
Reaction score
0
is it possible to get a 4.0 GPA in college? how hard would it be to do so? is it unrealistic to aim for a 4.0? i got very good grades in high school (currently ranked 2 in big public school) but is getting good grades in college a lot harder? is it because of the difficulty of the courses or because of time management? thanks!😎
Members don't see this ad.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Yes you can. I have a couple of friends who achieved it. You must be willing to word very hard.
 
work hard and you'll prob get a 3.9, 3.95.

4.0 requires hard work + luck (taking the right classes/avoiding certain profs)

either way, if you are looking for a 4.0, its useless. having a 3.9+ is pretty much the same
 
In general it's much easier if the grading scale at your school is straight A/B/C with no pluses or minuses.
 
At my school (big state school, IA football program type), out of ~4000 graduates there were just under 20 w/ 4.0's. Grading was A/A-, B+/B/B- etc, no A+. So everyone with a 4.0 never made an A-. About 5 of these people were science majors. 😀

Before the +/- system, about double that amount made 4.0's. So it certainly is feasible in either system, but you gotta know how to take exams. You can either do it or you can't - I personally do not think extra work will do it for you unless you already have some proficiency for keeping you grades high with minimal effort. If you have to study every day of the week for an A, it probably wont happen. If you can cram the night before in an upper level science class for an A, then you can do it if you want to. The difference between a 3.9 or 4.0 really are insignificant (~3 B's). Only go for it if it is for personal reasons/ some sense of accomplishment. Actually doing it shouldn't matter much for admission.
 
Last edited:
aim for it! like everyone said, getting a 4.0 isn't especially important for anything, miss the 4.0 and you'll clearly be completely fine. but aim for it. I went in to college thinking a 4.0 was impossible, and that kind of attitude means you won't get it. I don't know if I would have actually gotten a 4.0, but there was no reason to not aim for it.

bottom-line, don't be upset if you don't get it, but aim high.
 
easy school + dumb peers = favorable curve

favorable curve + hard work = 4.0

easy school + dumb peers + hard work = 4.0


a step above community college with a fancy name will do the trick...😉
 
Either way it's good to shot for a 4.0. Your gpa will probably be great even if you don't only receive A's.
 
BeastfromthEast said:
is it possible to get a 4.0 GPA in college? how hard would it be to do so? is it unrealistic to aim for a 4.0? i got very good grades in high school (currently ranked 2 in big public school) but is getting good grades in college a lot harder? is it because of the difficulty of the courses or because of time management? thanks!😎
Click to expand...

Dude, chill the heck out.

You aren't event in college yet.

loews-surf-dog-competition-tj.jpg
 
of course it's possible to get a 4.0 in college. how hard you have to work for it depends on how smart you are, what classes you take, and what the grading curves are like. personally, i got one A- junior year... so close 🙂.
 
It's possible...but it's tough. I, too, was ranked second in a large public school, with an average over 99%. Now my GPA is a 3.77. I have received a mix of A's and A-'s, and one B in Organic I and one B+ in Biochem lab. I may get a B in Organic II as well this semester 🙁, even though I worked very hard.

I do work very hard--some weeks I stay up past 2 AM every night, and other weeks I wake up at 5 AM every morning to study before classes. I did slack off a bit last semester and I got those two B grades. This semester I managed my time poorly before one exam (though I still studied A LOT) and managed to pull my A in Organic II down to a B.

I do go to a pretty competitive pre-med school, and the curves are tough on us because there are so many smart pre-meds in every class. But like I said, there are probably people with all A's. But I can also tell you I know no one with a 4.0 gpa. Definitely aim for it, but don't cry if you get an A-, which is most likely a 3.7 at your school. Also, don't spend your undergraduate experience in your room, studying to get all A's. Get out there and do extracurriculars, pursue your interests, realize what's important in life. I'm sure there are people who do that and have a 4.0 but I'm sure they're rarer still.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Go to a college you like. Take classes from easy professors. A good website would be ratemyprofessors.com Study smart and hard. Don't focus on ECs until you are confident about school.
 
don't shoot for a 4.0 unless you want to be a slave to your books

enjoy college, man.
 
It's very hard to get a 4.0 in college, especially the more competitive your college becomes.

For some perspective, I was ranked #1 in my class from a private prep school in high school and have yet to hit one 4.0 semester at my college. It's hard enough to not get at least one A- in a semester, let alone your entire college career. Add on top of that that certain majors are really hard and certain professors (unbeknownst to you) refuse to give out A's and you've got to have a lot of luck to pull it off.

Good luck to you though. It's kind of a fun battle every semester for me to try to pull it off. One of these days I'll get it.
 
OrangeTree said:
Go to a college you like. Take classes from easy professors. A good website would be ratemyprofessors.com Study smart and hard. Don't focus on ECs until you are confident about school.
Click to expand...

This. Take classes that interest you. If you go to a big research school where the professors didn't get their jobs because they can teach, really check out the professors before you take the class. If you find a professor you really like, consider taking multiple classes with them. I got one A- and I'm not a genius or anything. I just studied hard because I liked the classes, and I avoided classes taught by notoriously bad professors, for the most part.
 
I am a graduating senior and had a 4.0 GPA up until last fall semester. As someone mentioned earlier, it does take some luck and getting the right professors. In some classes I know I had an easier prof and some a harder one, but last fall, I got one of the hardest and combined with med school apps/interviews I couldn't pull off the A.

It's very difficult to maintain a 4.0 as well as participating in time consuming EC's. The best advice, I think, is to work your hardest but make sure you have a well-rounded app. Having solid EC's that provide you with quality experience and a 3.89 GPA is better than having poor EC's with a 4.0.
 
At College of Sur la Table, getting a 4.0 is possibleh, but not probableh.
 
I would have to agree with the above posters. It's pretty hard to get a 4.0, I did it last semester, but I ended up being pretty anti-social (and it was only my first semester of college).
 
Yeah, I agree you should definitely aim for a 4.0. Many students I know tell me "There's no way I can get a 4.0" and so they don't. I kind of got lucky my first semester of college and accidentally got a 4.0, but once I knew it was possible, I continued to strive for them. I achieved a 4.0 three more times since then, but inevitably a couple semesters I got an A- and B+ so I don't have the four-oh overall anymore. But I still always strive to get one no matter what - but remember to balance your life at the same time (make friends 😀 )
 
aim for it, but dont kill yourself if you dont get it. Getting a 4.0 in a semester is not too bad....getting a 4.0 8 semesters in a row is another thing.
 
addo said:
aim for it, but dont kill yourself if you dont get it. Getting a 4.0 in a semester is not too bad....getting a 4.0 8 semesters in a row is another thing.
Click to expand...
Graduate early and only do it for 6/7 lol
 
I know some people who have graduated with 4.0's, and a chem major in particular which is pretty incredible considering he took classes like instrumental analysis. Tough stuff, but it is possible.

A lot of the time, you don't get to choose your prof because he/she's the only one teaching it that semester or other scheduling conflicts. I think it's more impressive if you just go with the flow and don't hand-pick your profs. I go to a non +/- school so that makes a difference too.
 
Have somebody tell you you can't do it, then use that as motivation. It worked for me.:yawn:
 
I know two people who got straight 4.0s in their first years. But then again, their program is known for spoon-feeding freshmen. They called themselves, "Dr. 4.0" :eyebrow:
 
JJMrK said:
In general it's much easier if the grading scale at your school is straight A/B/C with no pluses or minuses.
Click to expand...

yeah, I have a 3.95 because my school does it like that. granted, my Bs would have been B+s, but I would have had a couple A-s. I probably would still have a 3.8/3.9 even if my school was +/- though.

as far as getting straight As, you need to balance your semester with the right amount of hard classes and the right amount of easy classes. you also have to take classes you really like...nothing makes it easier to get As than legitimate interest in the subject. learn how to manage your time and get efficient study techniques down, and it's totally feasible.
 
My ex girlfriend has a 3.97 and she just finished her junior year. She got one B+ in a film class lol. Only B in her college career. But I took the class too. **** was hard. That's why you gotta be lucky. We thought we'd go to class twice a week and watch a indie film from some cool country. We didnt realize we'd have to study a film book that would put my orgo book to shame.
 
Some schools grade an A+ as a 4.3, and so with enough effort you can even manage a few A-'s in weaker courses and still get a 4.0.

I don't know anyone who has done it, but I wouldn't be surprised if several people do. It probably happens all the time.
 
Practitioner said:
Some schools grade an A+ as a 4.3, and so with enough effort you can even manage a few A-'s in weaker courses and still get a 4.0.

I don't know anyone who has done it, but I wouldn't be surprised if several people do. It probably happens all the time.
Click to expand...

From what I know, when you turn your transcripts over to AMCAS, all those A+ and A-'s turn into As. Same with all your +-s. I think it's so they can even the playing field between schools that offer them and don't offer them.
 
I went through college with a 3.97 (2 A-). If you can get an A in any hard class (orgo), you can get an A in any class. The hard part is just being consistent and picking out professors that are not a pain with grades. Scheduling is just as important as intelligence I think. Some professors are just ridiculous. But getting a 4.0 is really not as important as getting the wide ranging knowledge in basic sciences. I don't think schools give to much more credit for having a 4.0 over a 3.8ish.
 
washburn said:
aim for it! like everyone said, getting a 4.0 isn't especially important for anything, miss the 4.0 and you'll clearly be completely fine. but aim for it. I went in to college thinking a 4.0 was impossible, and that kind of attitude means you won't get it. I don't know if I would have actually gotten a 4.0, but there was no reason to not aim for it.

bottom-line, don't be upset if you don't get it, but aim high.
Click to expand...

i am proof that you can get into school with much less than a 4.0. however, now that its financial aid time i definitely wish my gpa was higher! i am not getting any merit scholarships, the 3.8-4.0's are.

so i agree. aim high, it will only help you. but don't lose your mind; if it gets to be too much, rest assured that you can get in with below that. well, nowadays you can get in with a 3.4+ but by the time you apply in 4-5 yrs who knows what it will be like. (another good reason to aim high) last but not least- everyone always says this but i am afraid no one internalizes it- working really hard in your prereqs and mastering the material will help you kill the MCAT. it's a win-win. ace the class, rock the mcat. it's hard, but guess what? hard work pays off.
 
4.0's are nice, but they're not required. Not even for the best schools. Hell, duke's average GPA last year was 3.74. And that's from their official website. And they're 7th best in the country.

I would stress enjoying college more. You don't want to get your 4.0, get into med school, and then realize you didn't do anything.

But if you can get As and still have fun, get em.
 
Anything is possible, but whether or not you will depends largely on your major (and your skill in that major), and the professors you get. For example, I took a studio course, and believe I got one of the highest (if not the highest) grade in the class, and it turned out to be a B (>89.5%...not rounded...). The teacher was ridiculously pretentious, grading was as subjective as you can get, and he was known for being "very conservative" with A's (i.e., he never gave them).

Like others have said...luck of the draw.

On a positive note, this ruined by chances of a 4.0 right off the bat, so maybe that let me relax a bit.
 
Just think of it this way, you're not gonna get more attractive or in shape as you get into residency or your 30s even. College is where the girls are at, and you don't find them behind a book... well... you get the idea.
 
Of course it is possible. I haven't gotten anything less than a 95 on any test in over 10 years. College is easy.
 
....COOL STORY BRO!! 👍 Very impressive that you can remember every test you have taken over the past 10 years.


On a side note, a 4.0 is definitely possible throughout college each semester....but for college as a whole, it is definitely difficult. You are bound to run into some prof who is extremely hesitant to give A's and they mold their class around that. At other schools, there is a weird number like 10% get A's and so the curve works out. My school is grate bc the students are REALLY dumb and lazy, so there is Always a curve. as mentioned above, if you work hard, get good grades, and are fortunate enough that the majority of the class is sub-par studpic (ie huge curve) 4.0 is def possible. Good luck
 
May want to remove those vids before you get an infraction. Just looking out for you guys...
 
Pretty much impossible in my program (in Health Science) = lot's of essays and group projects = enjoy being at the mercy of grad students who enjoy marking undergrad's down wherever they can because they are sadistic ****s
 
in my graduating class of 2500, I think fewer than a dozen people had a 4.0, because they specifically honored them at graduation.
 
UTSAPremed said:
....COOL STORY BRO!! 👍 Very impressive that you can remember every test you have taken over the past 10 years.
Click to expand...

It's not difficult when you always get 100s. I got the 95 on a physics exam, but considering the class average was in the 50s and a 20 point curve was applied, I'm not sure if I should consider that a 95 or 115.
 
JustAGuy said:
It's not difficult when you always get 100s. I got the 95 on a physics exam, but considering the class average was in the 50s and a 20 point curve was applied, I'm not sure if I should consider that a 95 or 115.
Click to expand...

I got a 107% on a Physics exam when the average was 53%. The class average was curved to a 73%... So perhaps it was a 107 or 127%?

One could say that I am more than "just a guy".

[Sorry, just had to one-up ya. Gunner, out. 🙂]
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
GPA: 3.75 from Top 5 vs. 3.9/4.0 at State University?
Replies
9
Views
2K
FlowRate
FlowRate
P
WAMC? possible reapplicant / 4.0 GPA 515 MCAT
Replies
2
Views
856
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
U
  • Question Question
Texas (4.0 GPA / no MCAT)
Replies
3
Views
354
ClashRoyaleKing
ClashRoyaleKing
A
WAMC: ORM FL Resident, 4.0 GPA, 507 MCAT
Replies
3
Views
629
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
C
WAMC- Reapplicant 4.0/524
Replies
11
Views
942
cfn
C
Top