Do you have a 3.4 GPA? Are you wondering whether a 3.4 is good, and what colleges you can get into with a 3.4?
We've written the most detailed guide to your GPA here:
- Find out which colleges you can get into with a 3.4 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 3.4 GPA, our advice is the same for close GPAs, like 3.42 and 3.38 GPAs. You can use this guide for all GPAs between 3.35 and 3.44.
Is a 3.4 GPA good?
A 3.4 unweighted GPA means that you've earned a high B+ average across all of your classes. Your GPA is higher than the national average of a 3.0, so you will have a good chance of being accepted to many colleges.
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 3.4 GPA compares to the nation:
-
Percentile:
56th
56.98% of schools have an average GPA below a 3.4.
-
Competitive For:
894 Schools
You can apply to colleges and have a good shot at getting admitted.
-
Missing Out On:
675 Schools
You have a low chance of getting into with a 3.4 GPA.
To elaborate, the national average for GPA is around a 3.0, so a 3.4 puts you above 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 3.4 GPA. Click your grade level to see our evaluation.
This is a decent starting GPA as a freshman, but you still have room for improvement! Your GPA has the potential to change quite a bit between now and when you apply to college if you put in the effort. You may not have any colleges in mind yet, but the search tool in the next section is a good way to motivate yourself. Try checking your chances of admission at different schools - if you don't quite measure up yet, you can work on improving your grades beginning sophomore year.
If you have a 3.4 as a sophomore, you're solidly above average. Though at this point it may be difficult to change your GPA very much, you might still be able to make some improvements before applying to college. Your junior year is an opportunity to take more difficult classes and put in a last burst of effort before you have to send in college applications. You can check your current chances of acceptance at schools that interest you in the next section to see if you need to step up your game.
As a junior, your GPA is unlikely to change much between now and when you send in college applications. With a 3.4, you'll have quite a few options for college, although the most selective schools may be out of reach. Search for the schools where you think you might apply in the next section so that you can see what your chances of admission might look like. Using this tool, you can make more informed choices about where to apply so that you leave yourself with at least a couple reliable choices.
Since it's your senior year, you're probably already in the process of applying to college. You may have a list of schools where you plan on applying or have already applied. If you're curious about your chances of admission, try looking up these schools in the next section to see whether you can expect a positive return on your applications. A 3.4 will give you a solid chance at being accepted to relatively selective schools.
Your Chances With a 3.4 GPA
This is probably the biggest question on your mind. What colleges can you get into with a 3.4? 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.
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- 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.
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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 |
3.4 |
0 | 3.4 |
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 3.4 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
As you can see from this guide, your GPA is high enough that you'll have no trouble finding some solid options for yourself in the college application process. However, you're still a couple of years away from your application deadlines. Try to avoid getting complacent - do your best to continue improving your grades and challenging yourself in your courses. Although your GPA is pretty good, you have significant room to improve! You'll really impress colleges if you kick your efforts into high gear after this year. On the whole, you should be happy with how well you're doing. Keep up the good work, and don't be afraid to be more ambitious.
Based on the assessments in this guide, you're doing well. By your sophomore year, you've established some good study patterns that are likely to stay in place for the rest of high school. You still have all of your junior year to demonstrate improvement in your classes before you apply to college, so do your best to take on new challenges so you can reach your academic potential. Your GPA still has the potential to increase between now and senior fall!
You might also start thinking about standardized tests at this point. Good test scores are a vital component of a strong college application, and if you start preparing sooner rather than later you're more likely to end up with the results you want. As long as you stay on top of your game, you'll be happy with where you end up as a senior!
If you've taken the time to look through the rest of this guide, you know that your current GPA leaves you with many options for college. This year, you can work on coming up with a list of potential schools with a smart distribution of safety, probable, and reach options.
This is also a good time to focus on standardized tests. If you manage to get your scores up to a level that you're happy with before the end of junior year, you'll have a much less stressful time as a senior navigating the college application process. Remember to stay focused this year and maintain your grades so that you will show consistency and improvement over the course of high school. If your scores are also up to par, you will be able to get into a wide variety of schools next year.
Overall, you should be pleased with your performance in high school. As you go through the application process, make sure that your list of schools gives you a few viable safe options. With your GPA, you can expect to be accepted at most schools, although highly selective colleges may be out of reach.
At this stage in the process, you've (hopefully) already taken the SAT or ACT at least once. If you feel that you could still improve your scores, you have to option to take these tests again your senior year. Many colleges will allow you to send in scores as late as February after your application has already been submitted. In any case, as long as you've been responsible in planning out your test dates and applications, you have every reason to expect good news in the spring!
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 3.4 GPA
We've picked out a set of schools that are within range. Click on each school to learn more about it.
Reach Schools: Harder to Get Into
These schools are hard for you to get into now, because their average GPA is higher than a 3.4. But if you improve your SAT or ACT score, you'll have a much better shot.
| School Name | Location | SAT | ACT | GPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stony Brook University | Stony Brook, NY | 1396 | 31 | 3.6 |
| American University | Washington, DC | 1329 | 30 | 3.65 |
| Seton Hall University | South Orange, NJ | 1310 | 30 | 3.68 |
| Texas A&M University | College Station, TX | 1275 | 29 | 3.68 |
| Penn State University Park | University Park, PA | 1265 | 28 | 3.68 |
| University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ | 1245 | 25 | 3.53 |
| Temple University | Philadelphia, PA | 1241 | 28 | 3.42 |
| University of Houston | Houston, TX | 1225 | 26 | 3.49 |
| University of Oklahoma | Norman, OK | 1210 | 26 | 3.67 |
| Stonehill College | Easton, MA | 1200 | 25 | 3.32 |
| High Point University | High Point, NC | 1198 | 25 | 3.4 |
Same Level: Equally Hard to Get Into
These schools have average GPAs that are close to 3.4. If you apply to these schools, you'll have a decent chance of admission. If you improve your SAT or ACT scores, you'll significantly improve your chances .
| School Name | Location | SAT | ACT | GPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Tech University | Lubbock, TX | 1196 | 26 | 3.62 |
| Old Dominion University | Norfolk, VA | 1175 | 25 | 3.4 |
| Quinnipiac University | Hamden, CT | 1175 | 25 | 3.54 |
| Pace University | New York, NY | 1173 | 26 | 3.35 |
| University of Tampa | Tampa, FL | 1170 | 25 | 3.5 |
| Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis | Indianapolis, IN | 1161 | 25 | 3.52 |
| University of North Texas | Denton, TX | 1160 | 23 | 3.47 |
| University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington, TX | 1160 | 23 | 3.47 |
| West Virginia University | Morgantown, WV | 1150 | 24 | 3.45 |
| San Jose State University | San Jose, CA | 1145 | 23 | 3.57 |
| State University of New York College at Cortland | Cortland, NY | 1130 | 24 | 3.44 |
Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into
With a GPA of 3.4, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington State University | Pullman, WA | 1125 | 23 | 3.5 |
| University of Texas at San Antonio | San Antonio, TX | 1120 | 22 | 3.39 |
| Coastal Carolina University | Conway, SC | 1110 | 23 | 3.5 |
| East Carolina University | Greenville, NC | 1105 | 22 | 3.3 |
| Rider University | Lawrenceville, NJ | 1100 | 23 | 3.47 |
| Texas State University | San Marcos, TX | 1080 | 23 | 3.31 |
| Georgia Southern University | Statesboro, GA | 1067 | 21 | 3.44 |
| Hampton University | Hampton, VA | 1059 | 22 | 3.4 |
| California State University Northridge | Northridge, CA | 1030 | 19 | 3.42 |
| Kean University | Union, NJ | 990 | 20 | 3.2 |
| California State University Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | 985 | 18 | 3.35 |
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.
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