Do you have a 2.3 GPA? Are you wondering whether a 2.3 is good, and what colleges you can get into with a 2.3?
We've written the most detailed guide to your GPA here:
- Find out which colleges you can get into with a 2.3 GPA.
- Learn how you can raise your GPA.
- Learn what you should be doing to maximize your chances of getting into the best colleges.
Quick disclaimer: unlike standardized test scores like SAT/ACT, GPA policies vary from high school to high school and from college to college. Some use weighted GPAs and others use unweighted GPAs. In this guide, we’ll generally talk about unweighted GPAs and compare you on a national and college level.
As we'll explain below, the actual GPA number is just one dimension of your coursework. The difficulty of your courseload is important - the more difficult your classes, the more colleges are willing to excuse a dip in GPA.
Finally, even though this guide focuses on a 2.3 GPA, our advice is the same for close GPAs, like 2.32 and 2.28 GPAs. You can use this guide for all GPAs between 2.25 and 2.34.
Is a 2.3 GPA good?
A 2.3 GPA indicates that your grades have been Cs and C+s on average across all of your classes. Your GPA is significantly lower than average and will strongly impact the number of choices you have in the college application process.
We've analyzed the student profiles at 1500+ colleges across the United States and the average GPA of its incoming students. Here's how a 2.3 GPA compares to the nation:
-
Percentile:
0th
0.64% of schools have an average GPA below a 2.3.
-
Competitive For:
10 Schools
You can apply to colleges and have a good shot at getting admitted.
-
Missing Out On:
1559 Schools
You have a low chance of getting into with a 2.3 GPA.
To elaborate, the national average for GPA is around a 3.0, so a 2.3 puts you below average nationally. Keep in mind the 3.0 national average represents all students, not just students applying to college, so the average GPA of students admitted to colleges is higher than the national average.
Here's more custom advice for you if you have a 2.3 GPA. Click your grade level to see our evaluation.
With a couple years to go before you apply to college, your GPA is still likely to undergo some moderate changes. At its current level, it may be difficult to raise your GPA to a degree that will allow you to gain admission to a wide range of schools. A 2.3 GPA is low, although it's still high enough that you can be sure of admission to a few less selective colleges. Over the next couple years, you should work on raising your grades to give yourself more options. It's early to be thinking about colleges at this stage, but if you have any in mind that interest you, feel free to search for them using the tool below to see what your admissions chances might look like.
Sophomore year is when your GPA starts to become less subject to change. While you still have a couple of semesters left to raise your grades, it's safe to assume that your GPA won't be significantly different when you apply to college. Having a 2.3 GPA means that you will be faced with limited options for safety schools. If you can increase your GPA by even a couple tenths of a point before you apply, it will give you a lot more choices. You may already be starting to think about which colleges interest you. If that's the case, try searching for them with our tool below to find out what your chances of admission are with a 2.3.
If it's your junior year, your GPA won't change very much before you apply to college. With a 2.3, this means that you'll face significant limitations on where you can rely on being accepted. Your GPA is below average for high schoolers, so there aren't many colleges where a high percentage accepted students have GPAs that compare to yours. You still do have some options, though, and you may be accepted by colleges that we would consider reach schools for this GPA depending on other factors. You can search for colleges that interest you in the next section to see whether you have a chance at being accepted with a 2.3 GPA.
At this point you've most likely started the college application process. You should have at least made a preliminary list of schools where you plan to apply. If you did your research, you already know that your GPA is going to place some big restrictions on where you can expect to get into college. Though you have some safe options in a few of the least selective schools, most colleges will be reaches with this GPA. If you're interested in finding out your estimated odds of acceptance, search for schools where you think you'll apply (or have already applied) in the next section.
Your Chances With a 2.3 GPA
This is probably the biggest question on your mind. What colleges can you get into with a 2.3? What are your chances of admission at your top choice schools?
We've built a custom admissions calculator that calculates your chances based on the 3 most important factors to determining your chance of admissions:
- The school's admission rate
- Your GPA
- Your SAT/ACT score
Here's how to use this calculator:
- Choose the SAT or the ACT, depending on which you're taking
- Choose your current SAT/ACT score
- Enter the name of each college you're interested in
- Change your SAT/ACT score to see how your chances change
How would your chances improve with a better score?
Try to take your current SAT score and add 160 points (or take your ACT score and add 4 points) to the calculator above. See how much your chances improve?
This is important when you're considering your GPA. You probably know how hard it is to pull up your grades and GPA. If you improve your SAT/ACT score, you'll be able to show colleges that you're academically prepared for college.
At PrepScholar, we've created the leading online SAT/ACT prep program. We guarantee an improvement of 160 SAT points or 4 ACT points on your score, or your money back.
Here's a summary of why we're so much more effective than other prep programs:
- PrepScholar customizes your prep to your strengths and weaknesses. You don't waste time working on areas you already know, so you get more results in less time.
- We guide you through your program step-by-step so that you're never confused about what you should be studying. Focus all your time learning, not worrying about what to learn.
- Our team is made of national SAT/ACT experts. PrepScholar's founders are Harvard graduates and SAT perfect scorers. You'll be studying using the strategies that actually worked for them.
- We've gotten tremendous results with thousands of students across the country. Read about our score results and reviews from our happy customers.
There's a lot more to PrepScholar that makes it the best SAT/ACT prep program. Click to learn more about our program, or sign up for our 5-day free trial to check out PrepScholar for yourself:
Can You Improve Your GPA?
We’re not going to sugarcoat it: GPAs aren’t easy to improve. The later you are in high school, the less your GPA will change before you apply to college.
For example, if you're currently a junior in high school, your grades in freshman and sophomore year will anchor your GPA so that your junior grades won't be able to change your total GPA much.
Here's a calculator for you to see how much your GPA can improve in different cases. Choose your current grade level, and then choose your future grades up until college applications. We'll show you how high or low your GPA can be, depending on your grades from now forward.
| Your Grade Level | Current GPA | Semesters Remaining | Future Grades | GPA for Applications |
2.3 |
0 | 2.3 |
Warning: Because you have no semesters left, your GPA won't change by the time college applications are due. You'll need to apply with a 2.3 GPA. As we explain next, your best chance at improving your chances of getting in may be to improve your SAT/ACT score.
Final Verdict and Advice
At this point, your GPA is significantly below the national average and may hinder your college search process if it doesn't change. Luckily, you still have a couple years before you start applying to college. This means there's plenty of time for you to figure out why you've been struggling and correct any bad study habits. Remember, it's always best to ask for help sooner rather than later so you don't end up totally lost in a class.
If you are very dedicated to turning things around, you have the potential to raise your GPA to a level that will make you competitive at a wide range of schools and give you far more choices your senior year. At this early stage you also have plenty of time to study for standardized tests before you take them your junior and senior year. If you end up with high scores, you will be a much more attractive prospect for colleges.
Sophomore year can be a difficult time to get motivated - it's kind of like the Tuesday of high school. But with your GPA, you'll have to find it in yourself to make changes so that you have more choices in the college application process. Since a 2.3 is significantly below average for high schoolers, it means that your options will end up being very limited if your GPA doesn't change in the next year. Now is the time to ask for extra help and diagnose any issues with poor study habits you might be having. If you earn higher grades your junior year, you will open up a lot more possibilities for yourself.
It's also going to be important for you to start thinking about standardized tests. Try to start studying for the SAT or ACT during the summer after this year so that you're prepared to take one of them your junior fall. You'll want to give yourself plenty of time to retake the test if necessary and get your scores to a level that will increase your chances of college admission. Now is the time to really push yourself!
If you've read through all the information above, you know that it's going to be very tough to change your GPA after this point. Though a 2.3 GPA will limit you in your college search, you shouldn't be discouraged. You still have a good chance at getting into a few colleges, and you can improve your chances based on how well you do on standardized tests.
You may have already taken the SAT or ACT or you may be in the process of preparing. Whatever your situation, make sure that you're doing all you can to plan out your studying and set yourself up for a good score. Remember that if you're still not satisfied, you can retake the test as late as your senior winter. High standardized test scores are a quick way for you to improve your chances of admission at many college despite a low GPA. Make sure you keep working to improve your grades while also devoting some time to test prep.
Since you only have a little bit of time before you send out applications (or have already sent them out), your GPA isn't going to change before colleges see it. This puts you in a bit of a difficult position in terms of options for college, but you should be able to get in somewhere if you plan wisely. Hopefully you have made a list of schools that includes at least one or two options that seem like safe bets for your GPA.
Even with a GPA that's much lower than the national average, you still have a strong chance at the least selective four year colleges. You may also consider retaking the SAT or ACT if you think you can still improve. A high standardized test score can go a long way towards improving your chances of college admission with a low GPA.
Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and SAT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.
Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and ACT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.
Colleges that Accept a 2.3 GPA
We've picked out a set of schools that are within range. Click on each school to learn more about it.
Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into
With a GPA of 2.3, you're already strongly competitive for these schools. You're very likely to get admitted if you apply. If you improve your SAT or ACT score, your Safety Schools will get better and better.
| School Name | Location | SAT | ACT | GPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan State University of Denver | Denver, CO | 1015 | 20 | 2.56 |
| Talladega College | Talladega, AL | 980 | 19 | 2.4 |
| Southern Vermont College | Bennington, VT | 970 | 18 | 2.35 |
| Johnson C. Smith University | Charlotte, NC | 894 | 16 | 2.48 |
| Cheyney University of Pennsylvania | Cheyney, PA | 890 | 18 | 2.37 |
| LeMoyne-Owen College | Memphis, TN | 890 | 16 | 2.5 |
| Wiley College | Marshall, TX | 830 | 16 | 2.53 |
| Paine College | Augusta, GA | 830 | 16 | 2.58 |
| Livingstone College | Salisbury, NC | 820 | 15 | 2.32 |
| Lane College | Jackson, TN | 780 | 15 | 2.57 |
Change My GPA
Curious about what your profile is with a different GPA? Choose any GPA to see what you'd be able to do!
Analyze Your SAT/ACT Score
Wondering about how competitive your current SAT or ACT score is? We've created strategy guides for each SAT and ACT score so you can see what your chances are at schools, and what will happen if you improve your score.
Data on this page is sourced from Peterson's Databases © 2023 (Peterson's LLC. All rights reserved.) as well as additional publicly available sources.
If You Liked Our Advice...
Our experts have written hundreds of useful articles on improving your SAT score and getting into college. You'll definitely find something useful here.
Visit our blog now.Subscribe to our newsletter to get FREE strategies and guides sent to your email. Learn how to ace the SAT with exclusive tips and insights that we share with our private newsletter subscribers.
You should definitely follow us on social media. You'll get updates on our latest articles right on your feed. Follow us on all of our social networks: