Will UW-Madison take a look at what high school I went to?

Question

I attend a very hard roman catholic high school (which has a very high academic reputation). I have a 2.9 gpa and live in wisconsin. Many of my friends, who attend public schools, have much higher gpa's. When I entered this school as a freshmen I had a very high gpa and could've gone to a public school and gotten a higher gpa. Would a school like madison factor in the academic reputation of my school vs. others. And if not, tell me other things that are important for getting into madison. please and thank u

ps. I will be a junior and I have had a substantial increase in gpa every semester

Answer 1

Pinky,

This is the thing. Any college you apply to, they will look at what high school you went to. If your particular high school is famous for it's high academic reputation then I guess the colleges in WI are also aware of your school's reputation, and in that case your gpa should not be the ultimate deciding factor.  

Answer 2

If you think the learning curve at your school was steep and that is why you had poorer grades that you otherwise would have, you could talk to an admissions advisor about it, they could tell you what your next steps should be.

If you have trouble with getting into the UW you should consider attending MATC for some of your pre-reqs and then show the UW the awesome grades you got once you started taking college courses as proof that you can manage the courseload.  I went to MATC until I ran out of money and worked with some really excellent instructors.

Answer 3

They will consider the quality of the HS.  But they still consider GPA and rank in class.  You will need to do better to get into a top public university like UW.  The fact that you are improving is something that they will also consider.  You need a great Junior year.