In a near-impossible feat, an Indian-origin student attained an 11.99 GPA, prompting a Florida high school to announce a policy change intended to restrain unhealthy competition among students. A 17-year-old Vaibhav Bhaskar graduated from Steinbrenner High School with an 11.99 weighted GPA. While a perfect unweighted GPA stands at 4.0, the previous highest GPA recorded in Hillsborough County was 11.84 in 2022.
“Maybe who knows if the previous record was a 12.84, maybe I could add a 12.99, and it goes to show that we’ve really placed these limitations on our goals, but I believe that no goal is truly out of reach,” Vaibhav said on “Florida Matters Live & Local.”
To achieve this unprecedented milestone, Vaibhav attended 20 AP classes through his four years, along with 24 dual enrollment classes at Hillsborough College and the University of Florida. His zeal towards finance and economics led him to start an investment club at the school.
He also served as the president of the South Asian Student Association and the captain of the school’s mock trial team.
“I was just your average high school kid,” he said. “I enjoy learning very much and taking those classes — kind of putting myself out of my comfort zone is what resulted in that.”
“I have a whiteboard in my room, and I listed five goals on it for my high school career back when I was a sophomore,” Bhaskar told The New York Post, adding that his core objectives were to “become valedictorian” and “break the state GPA record.”
Passionate about maths and economics, Bhaskar wishes to ‘run for office’ someday.
Bhaskar’s Future Goal: Major in Economics and Public Policy at Duke
Speaking about his future ambitions, Bhaskar said that he is looking forward to pursuing a double major in economics and public policy at Duke University. His decision was influenced by the varsity’s sports culture and good programmes.
After Vaibhav’s exploit, his father, Bhaskar Malayappan, clarified that he was never pressurised to push his limits. “We didn’t force him to read or take this many courses. So, for example, we have a train track. So we laid the foundation, and here’s the train, and he went with his speed, and we didn’t control his speed at all,” he elucidated.
Although the school officials lauded him for an exemplary performance, they remarked that no one should be able to amass an 11.99 GPA. Principal Tiffany Ewell reportedly said the policy has now been altered.