I actually don't doubt that Nathan's GPA is low (Ivy League standards). I don't know if he lives in a competitive school district, but the GPA required for Ivy League schools are incredibly high. To have an Ivy-League standard GPA along with a skating career is impossible. I'm sure Nathan's incredibly smart (getting into Yale!!), but intelligence level and GPA are loosely correlated. In High School, it's really who tries harder.
Someone who's very close to me has many of the same achievements as Nathan: AP Calculus BC at age 15 (5 on AP Test), Full score on Math SAT, but he had a low GPA because he was more interested in playing tennis. Ultimately, he got into University based on his PSAT score (National Merit Finalist) alone.
Edit; I don't believe that other people would know his GPA, but I don't think he got into Yale because of it.
I don’t know about his GPA, and although what you said makes some sense, still it is just your assumptions. It is that the source of the that poster’s information is so doubtful. Unless you are an AO in Harvard, or counselors from Nathan’s school, or close friends with Nathan who Nathan would trust to give information to, how do you know his GPA?
IVY admission is like myth where luck also plays some part. And speaking of GPA, how do people know if it is the weighted or unweighted GPA is low. On level classes like orchestra, band, pe, debate or those AP class prerequisites if not CBEd are going to drag down GPA, but which doesn’t really make a student less competitive to elite school AOs. The missing schools part and GPA associationsis even more laughable in that post. Harvard rejects students for all kinds of reason or no reason at all, in fact that straight a student who is also top skater got deferred, would you say that kid has low GPA, or even jaw dropping low GPA. Let alone the admission bias scandal Harvard headlined theses days. And TBH, nobody even knows he was rejected or not. He just stated in his interview that he chose Yale over his two NoCal safety net schools because Yale is the first to reach out to work with him and there were sources saying he did get in. As a matter of fact, there were fans of other skaters went to Nathan FF vehemently tried to pursuance fans that Nathan HAS no other choice but to go to Yale because he cannot get into any school in California lol.
And medical school has been Nathan’s ultimate goal. High GPA is a must to apply for any medical school, that is why quite some students choose to attend less competitive schools to have better GPA to apply for medical school. Nathan must be a lunatic to aim for medical school if he could not even maintain decent GPA in a not very competitive school.
Still the person you were talking about puzzles me if he does well in AP calculus and PSAT but has very low GPA. Unless he lives in a state where the National semi finalist cut off is VERY low or he has quite some on level classes and didn’t do well which significantly would drag down your GPA. AP physics, and Ap calculus are comparatively little harder, compared to other APs, including AP CS, which are quite easy to most of peopl, although I do know some Asian students excel in STEM related courses but would find AP world History and AP English hard, but again, their GPA is no way near to be called low low, let alone jaw dropping low, the grades just not standing out compared to other applicants in Yale and other elite schools cases, competing with valedictorians and salutations
.
Including those who skated internationally as seniors
