Virginia Colleges for a 4.0 GPA

What colleges can I get into with a 4.0 GPA?

Graduating with a high school GPA of 4.0 places you within of the academic range at Virginia colleges like Virginia Tech, University of Virginia Main Campus and College of William and Mary. Based on incoming freshman GPA data for virginia schools, our analysis indicates that 13 colleges would consider your 4.0 GPA competitive. The most popular colleges, historically accepting students with GPAs within the range of 3.8 to 4.2 (4.0 +/- 0.2), are listed below. To view your chances of admission at each school, scroll down and explore the full list.

What is a perfect 4.0 GPA?

A 4.0 is considered "perfect" as it can only be earned if you earn all A's or A+'s in every class you take. If you get any A-'s or lower grades your GPA will drop below a 4.0 and can never be recovered to a 4.0. You cannot have a 4.0 with any B grades. This is true for the unweighted 4.0 grade scale. If using a weighted scale, it's possible to get a B+ in an AP class and still have a 4.0.

4.0 for Harvard and Ivy League

A 4.0 unweighted can definitely get you into Harvard or any Ivy League school. However you will need more than a perfect GPA to stand out. These elite colleges take a comprehensive look at at each applicant factoring in SAT, ACT, high school class load, extracurricular activities, volunteer work and essays. Competition is so intense that even a 4.0 usually doesn't cut it.

Here are the average GPAs and estimated chances for admission with a 4.0 at Ivy League and other prestigious colleges and universities.

• Harvard - 4.0 average GPA / 3.0% chance
• Princeton - 3.93 average GPA / 7.0% chance
• Yale - 3.95 average GPA / 5.6% chance
• Penn - 3.95 average GPA / 7.8% chance
• Dartmouth - 3.9 average GPA / 7.5% chance
• Brown - 3.94 average GPA / 5.7% chance
• Cornell - 3.9 average GPA / 8.7% chance
• Columbia - 3.91 average GPA / 4.9% chance
• Stanford - 3.96 average GPA / 4.4% chance
• MIT - 3.96 average GPA / 4.4% chance
• Caltech - 3.97 average GPA / 3.2% chance

Summa Cum Laude

The Latin phrase "summa cum laude" means "with highest honors" and is a distinction awarded to class graduates with the highest academic performance. The exact range for summa cum laude varies by college or high school but is generally between a 3.8 and 4.0 GPA. Thus a 4.0 GPA is typically eligible for the summa cum laude distinction.

Demographic Statistics

Let's examine how a 4.0 GPA stacks up to the national high school averages across various demographic groups

Gender

• Male: A 4.0 is 1 points (33%) higher than the average male student GPA of 3.0
• Female: A 4.0 is 0.8 points (24%) higher than the average female student GPA of 3.23

Race/ethnicity

• White: A 4.0 is 0.8 points (24%) higher than the average white student GPA of 3.23
• Black: A 4.0 is 1.2 points (41%) higher than the average black student GPA of 2.83
• Hispanic: A 4.0 is 1 points (36%) higher than the average Hispanic student GPA of 2.95
• Asian/Pacific Islander: A 4.0 is 0.6 points (18%) higher than the average Asian/Pacific Islander student GPA of 3.39

Statistics source: 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) High School Transcript Study (HSTS)