What is the Average Weighted GPA for Ivy League Schools?

There are several factors that determine your eligibility for college admission. Of those factors, your GPA score is very important. This is especially true for Ivy League schools. 

Your Ivy League GPA should be higher than what you’d normally expect for the average university. You will learn more about the average weighted GPA for Ivy League schools in the later sections of this article. 

College admission committees evaluate your GPA, SAT test scores, letters of recommendation, and extracurricular activities. Extra-curricular activities on college applications are also important factors for admission in the United States, as they demonstrate a student’s ability to balance academic performance with other commitments. 

You might assume the prestige and history of an Ivy League school deems it difficult to achieve admission. Luckily, that’s not always the case. With some research and hard work, you can achieve a GPA necessary to get into an Ivy League school. 

Ivy League School Requirements for GPAs

Most of you might be wondering about the GPA requirement to get into an Ivy League School. But here’s the thing — there is no such thing as a minimum GPA score to register or apply for any of these prestigious colleges. 

For an Ivy League school to seriously consider your admissions application, you’ll need a pretty good GPA score. But, if you don’t think you have a great GPA, you can concentrate on highlighting your other extracurricular activities.

It’s important to note that colleges look at your entire application when assessing your eligibility. While GPAs are important, your other application features weigh in as well. For example, a student with a lower GPA might get into a college because their grades , test scores and extra-curricular activities were impressive. Admission depends on your overall profile as a candidate not just by a number.

Most Ivy League schools expect an average GPA of 4.0 or higher. However, some colleges also accept GPAs between 3.5 and 4.0. These may not be precise values, but they at least  give you a brief idea of the average GPA requirement. It’s challenging to look at average GPAs of admitted students at Ivy League schools because the schools don’t publish those statistics. 

Ivy League GPA Averages

Here’s a table that displays average GPAs across various Ivy league schools. The GPA values in the table are based on weighted GPAs for Ivy League schools on a 4.0 scale. Not surprisingly, the average weighted GPA for Harvard is the highest. 

Name of the School	Average Weighted GPA of Admitted Students
Brown University	4.05
Columbia University	4.14
Cornell University	4.05
Dartmouth College	4.07
Harvard University	4.18
University of Pennsylvania	3.85
Princeton University	3.91
Yale University	4.12

Acceptance Rate At Ivy League Schools

Acceptance rates at Ivy League schools vary. Cornell University and Dartmouth College have the highest acceptance rates. Harvard University and Princeton University have the lowest acceptance rates. 

Ivy League School	Acceptance Rate
Harvard	3.4%
Princeton	4%
Yale	4.6%
Brown	5.4%
Columbia	3.7%
University of Pennsylvania	5.7%
Dartmouth	6.2%
Cornell	Didn’t disclose percentage rate, but admitted 5,863 students

 

The table above shows the different acceptance rates at Ivy League schools. Acceptance rates for the class of 2025 have dramatically decreased since 2014. The main reason for the downward trend is the increase in the number of applications. 

Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities shifted to an online model. This made education more accessible to people living further away from the schools, so more people applied. 

Read more: Which Ivy League School is right for you?

What is an Ivy League School?

Founded in 1954, Ivy League refers to an American collegiate athletic conference consisting  of sports teams from eight private universities in the Northeastern United States. These eight universities are among the oldest and most prestigious of all higher education institutions in the United States.

The term is mostly used to refer to these same eight schools in other contexts. Ivy League schools are generally known for their uniqueness, academic excellence, and their extreme selectivity in admissions. Additionally, these schools provide some of the most reasonable financial packages.

Some say that the term Ivy was based on the Roman numeral 4 (IV), and that the original reference was to only four schools — Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth.

The impact of attending an Ivy League school lasts long past graduation. Because of the strong social and political circles associated with attending these schools, having an Ivy League university on a student’s resume opens doors to impressive jobs, internships, research positions, networking, and more.

Read more about: The List of Ivy League Schools

Ivy League Demographics

What is a GPA?

The abbreviation of GPA is Grade Point Average. It is considered to be a standardized way of evaluating and calculating your academic knowledge and performance. 

Each course is assigned a specific range of units or credits, depending on the content of the course. GPA is calculated using the number of grade points a student has earned. Basically, most of the colleges and universities in the USA have GPA Scale from A to F, A being exceptional performance and F being less than satisfactory. 

Grade	GPA
A	4.0+
B	3.0
C	2.0
D	1.0
F	0

There are two kinds of GPAs: 

• An unweighted GPA is a traditional method used in secondary schools to calculate the overall performance of the students in the academic year. But as time changes, colleges prefer weighted GPA. An unweighted GPA is an average grade point that is 0 to 4.0 which does not consider the complexity of the course. This means a student who scored 'A' in AP class and 'A' in a regular class is considered the same.
• A weighted GPA considers the difficulty of the course in calculating the final grade, and is scaled down in the range 0 to 5.0. This means a score of 'A' in AP class and a score of 'A' in a regular class are not considered the same. An ‘A’ in AP gets 5 points, while an ‘A’ in a regular class gets 4 points.  

 

GPA scales are important because it helps you to make informed decisions about college admissions, and gives you a goal to strive towards. GPAs also assist admissions committees in comparing college applications. 

Conclusion

So, Ivy League school requirements for GPAs aren’t always explicitly stated. However, you should strive towards a minimum GPA of 3.5, and an average GPA of 4.0 if you want to get into an Ivy League school. This is especially true now considering acceptance rates are lower than previous years. 

You can do it! Research, study, discipline, and a strong work ethic will get you into the school of your dreams.