r/TheGatesScholarship

Hi everyone,

I'm helping my son fill out the Gates Scholarship application and we've gotten stuck on the class rank and GPA section. His school runs the IB program and, as many of you probably know, these schools don't rank students (there's no "you're number X in your class" thing).

I have two questions:

1. Does anyone know if the fact that the school doesn't rank could work against him in the application, or is Gates already used to this and it's just a non-issue?
2. We're also a bit confused about the GPA part. The final IB score (out of 45) is only known once you finish the full two years of the program, but in the meantime each semester's grades are given on a scale of 7. We're not sure how to "translate" this for the form — whether we should convert it to the American 4.0 scale, put the grade out of 7 directly, or something else.

If anyone has gone through a similar application (IB school, no ranking, grades on a different scale) and can share how they handled it, I'd really appreciate it. Any experience or advice is welcome, we're a bit lost on this part.

Thanks in advance 🙏

hey so i got an award for my job n i think its a meaningful award, but there isn't a section on the job area to put it in. also i did the job summer before my senior year so am i not allowed to include it at all.

also one more question, for phase two r they jus gonna ask us what we did senior year and not go in depth of our previous ecs or r they gonna give us room to talk about every activity including senior year in more depth

Hi! I’m currently a student in the Class of 2027, and I’m applying for the Gates Scholarship. I’m really excited to complete the application.

In the activities section, should we write multiple sentences, or is it sufficient to simply list the awards or distinctions that I or our club/activity has received?

I was completing my application and in the section of My Finances it asks:

In 2025, what was your total family income from all sources before taxes?

Is this asking for my family's gross income or adjusted gross income? The question doesn't specify, so I'm confused which to list.

My remaining balance is just under 30,000

Hi! I’m applying for the Gates Scholarship this year and I’m looking for any tips or advice from current/former scholars. I’d also really appreciate it if anyone is comfortable sharing their stats from when they applied so I can get a better idea of what different applicants looked like.

For reference, my stats are:
• 3.6 GPA
• 115/282 class rank
• Dean’s List + Principal’s Honor Roll
• Horatio Alger Scholar
• Leadership experience
• Community service through my Catholic school
• Work experience helping with my dad’s photography business
• I also have a pretty strong personal/resilience story that I’m hoping to write about in my essays.

I’m a little nervous about my class rank and gpa! I haven't taken any tests yet but I plan to! so I’d really appreciate hearing from people who were selected, especially if your stats weren’t necessarily “perfect.” Any advice on the application, essays, activities, or anything you wish you knew before applying would be really helpful! 🫶🏽