In Uzbekistan, there is a chance to transfer to a more prestigious high school once you reach your 9th grade, so I took that chance and applied to several Academic Lyceums. Luckily, I got into my top choice, the number one Lyceum across the country, the Academic Lyceum of WIUT. Initially, I was so happy to get accepted, with a whopping acceptance rate of 8%. However, I noticed that I was no longer at the top of my class. Previously, even though I hadn’t pushed myself too hard, I was managing to somehow get 4s and 5s (equivalent to A and B), but in ALWIUT, it was really hard to even get a 3, a passing mark. On top of that, the midterm schedule is quite hard, as it makes students go through a bunch of exams every 5th week.

Honestly, I didn’t aspire to maintain a high GPA unless I got ignited with the goal of applying abroad. In Uzbekistan, no university cares about high school rigor or GPA as long as the applicant passes entrance exams. Thus, the only reason I tried to get high marks was for foreign universities.

So, in order to have a plan for earning a perfect GPA, first of all, I examined the grading system. The semester grade is calculated by taking the arithmetic mean of Average Current Grades, Average Midterm Marks, and Final Examination Mark. They round up 4.5 to 5 between midterms. However, they take progress into consideration when deciding on diploma marks. Taking all of the above into consideration, I made my plan, which concluded in earning marks enough to round up my midterms to 5. Above all, it was crucial to maintain lecture attendance and respectful attitude with faculty even though I wasn’t quite understanding or interested in it, as attendance alone could improve my chances of getting high current marks: human factor is always inclusive even though it is hard to admit. Another point was that if I didn’t really like the subject, Chemistry for example, I would take independent tasks like presentations for which I could earn extra marks. Lastly, I had to prepare well for midterm exams because ALWIUT has an ID system so teachers do not know which student’s work they are checking during evaluation. Thus, the only way was to study well, but how? In terms of Math and Computer Science, I was lucky to have a good grasp of the subject, but when it came to either Biology or Chemistry, I usually relied on our student network, which provided mutual help between students who are good at one or another subject. Furthermore, only memorizing tools like Quizlet and MyTest were really handy for revising Russian Literature.

Overall, this is how I managed to get a GPA of 4.95/5.0 in the Academic Lyceum of WIUT, which is regarded as one of the toughest high schools in the country, according to statistics. While 50% of students enroll with a perfect GPA from previous schools, only 5% manage to maintain a GPA higher than 4.9. Ironically, my GPA at the previous school was about 4.7. Nevertheless, after seeing the application results, I realized that neither my test scores nor extracurricular activities weighed more than my financial situation, and the GPA was last on the list as ALWIUT’s rigor is not backed up by international systems like AP or IB, though it was quite harder in comparison to those, according to the opinion of my fellows who transferred to another school that provided IB classes.