Straight As but can’t get into college

[Anonymous]

In DMV what percent of High schoolers have 4.0s or greater (both public and private). I am guessing probably around 30% or more. So if there are 100k seniors in DMV that means close to 30k kids think they can get into a top school. Is this accurate thinking?

[Anonymous]

no, my kid has straight As and does not think can get into a top school.

[Anonymous]

A kid with straight As who can't get into college has some other thing going on, like a huge character flaw. More likely they did not apply to the schools that would happily admit them. That’s a different scenario of course than “can’t get into college.”

[Anonymous]

The really top schools are about much more than grades (although of course grades factor in heavily).

[Anonymous]

"Can't get into college" is not the same thing as "can't get into a top school." Also consider what you deem to be a top school.

Top schools do not admit on GPA alone. (Rigor, scores, ECs, essays etc.)

[Anonymous]

How many APs? Is the kid taking rigorous courses? After school extracurriculars?

[Anonymous]

No,.the vast majority of people with straight As don't get into "top schools."

[Anonymous]

My kid does not have straight As and is totally confident that she will get into college. Maybe you and your child need to adjust your expectations.

[Anonymous]

Apply broadly. There is a huge difference between “can’t get into college” and can’t get into a select group of 20-30 ridiculously competitive colleges where admission is a crap shoot.

Also, I don’t know population stats but are there really 100,000 seniors here?

[Anonymous]

Grade inflation is rampant. Getting into a top school is like winning the lottery. Too many quality applicants, I am not sure how admissions weeds through it all. I bet there is some coin flipping….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In DMV what percent of High schoolers have 4.0s or greater (both public and private). I am guessing probably around 30% or more. So if there are 100k seniors in DMV that means close to 30k kids think they can get into a top school. Is this accurate thinking?

Unweighted? No way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apply broadly. There is a huge difference between “can’t get into college” and can’t get into a select group of 20-30 ridiculously competitive colleges where admission is a crap shoot.

Also, I don’t know population stats but are there really 100,000 seniors here?

Doubt it. FCPS graduates about 12,000 and it plus MCPS are the biggest. A lot of kids in DCPS are struggling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In DMV what percent of High schoolers have 4.0s or greater (both public and private). I am guessing probably around 30% or more. So if there are 100k seniors in DMV that means close to 30k kids think they can get into a top school. Is this accurate thinking?

Unweighted? No way.

There are very few kids with 4.0s unweighted. Look in Scattergrams and switch to unweighted. Only a handful at our very large W school. 4.0 weighted - that's another story and not considered high.

[Anonymous]

There are many straight A students. All students can get into a school, but it may not be the school/you or they want. Plenty of schools for middle of the road kids or top performers like yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Can't get into college" is not the same thing as "can't get into a top school." Also consider what you deem to be a top school.

Top schools do not admit on GPA alone. (Rigor, scores, ECs, essays etc.)

+1

For heavens sakes. Straight As doesn’t entitle one to go to a top college, and more importantly, top colleges aren’t the only places you can get quality education that will set you up for success in life. We shouldn’t stop conflating selectivity with quality.