UVA McIntire Grads. Courtesy photo
As part of the measuring stick for safety and reach schools, high school applicants often look at average high school GPAs of the most recent incoming classes at their target colleges and universities. It’s why as part of our annual ranking of Best Undergraduate Business Schools, we ask schools to report average high school GPA data for their most recent incoming class of business majors.
This year, incoming students at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce had the highest average high school GPA — earning a 4.25 on the 4.0 scale. Students can earn higher than a 4.0 for successfully completing Advanced Placement high school classes. And based on the data reported by many schools that were ranked this year, plenty of business school students at the country’s top B-schools are doing just that.
Following Virginia’s McIntire School is Villanova University, which had an average high school GPA of 4.23 for its freshman class that entered last fall (2020). Washington University in St. Louis Olin Business School reported the next highest average — a 4.22. Following Olin is North Carolina State University’s Poole College and the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School, which each reported average high school GPAs of 4.21.
Among all schools that reported average high school GPA scores, the overall average was 9.73. Out of the 93 schools to report data and be ranked, eight did not report high school GPA data. The 11 schools listed above were the only 11 to report at least a 4.0 or higher for the average GPA. No school that reported data reported an average score of less than 3.0.
The school reporting the lowest average high school GPA was the University of Arizona’s Eller College, which reported a 3.0. The next lowest score came from Ithaca College, which reported a 3.03. The University of Texas at Arlington reported a 3.14 while Hult International Business School and Northern Illinois University reported 3.20 and 3.32, respectively.
SEE THE NEXT PAGE FOR AVERAGE HIGH SCHOOL GPAs AT ALL SCHOOLS THAT REPORTED DATA.
POETS&QUANTS BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS RANKINGS STORIES:
WHARTON TOPS P&Q RANKINGS FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR
THE FULL METHODOLOGY FOR THE 2021 RANKING
THE DATA DUMP: ALL DATA USED FOR THE 2021 RANKING
REPORT CARD: HOW ALUMNI GRADE THEIR B-SCHOOL EXPERIENCE
ACCEPTANCE RATES AT THE TOP UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS
AVERAGE SAT & ACT SCORES AT THE TOP B-SCHOOLS
