Where do "B" average Big-3 students go to college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my third cycle of getting a 3.0 to 3.2 kid from Big 3 to college. This year is absolutely nothing like the other years. I really believe the increasing grade inflation from publics, along with the 50% plus increase in applications to so many schools, has made all schools except the LACS out of reach for the 50th percentile and lower kids this year. My 3.2 kid has been deferred from everywhere and I think is about to get rejected from Tennessee tomorrow, then later Boulder--his top two choices. I do think he'll get into some PA LACs, which is not what he wants. But this cycle is even worse than 2021. I really wish I had sent my kids to public. They would have had fun and had better opportunities.

Sorry to disappoint, but I know kids with much higher stats (3.7-3.8 gpa) who were not admitted to Boulder and Tennessee in the EA rounds, so unlikely a lower gpa (especially 3.0-3.2) will get in in RD round. That gpa range needs to look significantly lower on the list (think Montana State), unless major hook. Sorry!

[Anonymous]

Miami!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my third cycle of getting a 3.0 to 3.2 kid from Big 3 to college. This year is absolutely nothing like the other years. I really believe the increasing grade inflation from publics, along with the 50% plus increase in applications to so many schools, has made all schools except the LACS out of reach for the 50th percentile and lower kids this year. My 3.2 kid has been deferred from everywhere and I think is about to get rejected from Tennessee tomorrow, then later Boulder--his top two choices. I do think he'll get into some PA LACs, which is not what he wants. But this cycle is even worse than 2021. I really wish I had sent my kids to public. They would have had fun and had better opportunities.

Sorry to disappoint, but I know kids with much higher stats (3.7-3.8 gpa) who were not admitted to Boulder and Tennessee in the EA rounds, so unlikely a lower gpa (especially 3.0-3.2) will get in in RD round. That gpa range needs to look significantly lower on the list (think Montana State), unless major hook. Sorry!

That’s a 3.0-3.2 from a good private. Probably equivalent to a 4.5 from MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the full list of NCS 2022.
Average GPA is a B.

Virginia Tech
Syracuse
Bucknell
Stanford 2javascript:void(0);
Chicago 4
Middlebury
Spelman
Columbia 3
Pomona
UCLA
Northeastern
Georgetown 2
Colby 2
NYU
Colorado College
McGill
Barnard
Harvard
William and Mary 3
Miami
Charleston
Cornell 3
Princeton 2
Drexel 2
Penn
Davidson
Wake Forest
Maryland
Florida
SMU
Texas at Austin
San Diego State
Michigan
Boston College 2
Occidental 2
Hampton
Rochester
Belmont
Brown
Tulane 4
Utah
Penn State
Harvey Mudd
Dartmouth
Fordham
Alabama
Carelton

B average? 🤮

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my third cycle of getting a 3.0 to 3.2 kid from Big 3 to college. This year is absolutely nothing like the other years. I really believe the increasing grade inflation from publics, along with the 50% plus increase in applications to so many schools, has made all schools except the LACS out of reach for the 50th percentile and lower kids this year. My 3.2 kid has been deferred from everywhere and I think is about to get rejected from Tennessee tomorrow, then later Boulder--his top two choices. I do think he'll get into some PA LACs, which is not what he wants. But this cycle is even worse than 2021. I really wish I had sent my kids to public. They would have had fun and had better opportunities.

Sorry to disappoint, but I know kids with much higher stats (3.7-3.8 gpa) who were not admitted to Boulder and Tennessee in the EA rounds, so unlikely a lower gpa (especially 3.0-3.2) will get in in RD round. That gpa range needs to look significantly lower on the list (think Montana State), unless major hook. Sorry!

That’s a 3.0-3.2 from a good private. Probably equivalent to a 4.5 from MCPS.

+2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my third cycle of getting a 3.0 to 3.2 kid from Big 3 to college. This year is absolutely nothing like the other years. I really believe the increasing grade inflation from publics, along with the 50% plus increase in applications to so many schools, has made all schools except the LACS out of reach for the 50th percentile and lower kids this year. My 3.2 kid has been deferred from everywhere and I think is about to get rejected from Tennessee tomorrow, then later Boulder--his top two choices. I do think he'll get into some PA LACs, which is not what he wants. But this cycle is even worse than 2021. I really wish I had sent my kids to public. They would have had fun and had better opportunities.

Sorry to disappoint, but I know kids with much higher stats (3.7-3.8 gpa) who were not admitted to Boulder and Tennessee in the EA rounds, so unlikely a lower gpa (especially 3.0-3.2) will get in in RD round. That gpa range needs to look significantly lower on the list (think Montana State), unless major hook. Sorry!

That’s a 3.0-3.2 from a good private. Probably equivalent to a 4.5 from MCPS.

Delusional. This isn’t 1970.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my third cycle of getting a 3.0 to 3.2 kid from Big 3 to college. This year is absolutely nothing like the other years. I really believe the increasing grade inflation from publics, along with the 50% plus increase in applications to so many schools, has made all schools except the LACS out of reach for the 50th percentile and lower kids this year. My 3.2 kid has been deferred from everywhere and I think is about to get rejected from Tennessee tomorrow, then later Boulder--his top two choices. I do think he'll get into some PA LACs, which is not what he wants. But this cycle is even worse than 2021. I really wish I had sent my kids to public. They would have had fun and had better opportunities.

Sorry to disappoint, but I know kids with much higher stats (3.7-3.8 gpa) who were not admitted to Boulder and Tennessee in the EA rounds, so unlikely a lower gpa (especially 3.0-3.2) will get in in RD round. That gpa range needs to look significantly lower on the list (think Montana State), unless major hook. Sorry!

That’s a 3.0-3.2 from a good private. Probably equivalent to a 4.5 from MCPS.

I want some of what you are smoking! Seriously.. think logically. Your argument is that a 3.2 at a Private school is equivalent to a 3.8 at a decent Public (equal to about a 4.3 weighted). That would imply the vast majority of Private school kids are innately smart. Is that borne out by SAT results? Not really. Most Private School kids barely scratch 1450s on the SATs and that is with a ton of expensive prep. The top 100% of the kids at TJ and top 20-30% of the kids at any other public score above that and that's a lot of kids.

Here's what makes sense (and I think colleges are seeing through this). Private school classes likely have more rigor than public schools. I'll concede that a normal class at a Private is about the same level of rigor as a Honors class at a good public and a Honors class at a Private is about the same rigor as an AP. The lack of AP classes at a Private school is a problem but that's a you problem rather than a public school kid problem. All that is to say that a 3.0 at a Private is maybe about a 3.2-3.3 at a Public. That's it.

How did this delusion work in the past? Grift. College admissions advisors at Privates had this insider connection with college admissions offices, especially SLACs that wanted a dependable pipeline of full pay students. Post pandemic, colleges have realized that all they had to level up was go test optional and get on the common app to attract a large number of students. They are not dependent on your pipeline anymore.

Welcome to post-pandemic college admissions!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my third cycle of getting a 3.0 to 3.2 kid from Big 3 to college. This year is absolutely nothing like the other years. I really believe the increasing grade inflation from publics, along with the 50% plus increase in applications to so many schools, has made all schools except the LACS out of reach for the 50th percentile and lower kids this year. My 3.2 kid has been deferred from everywhere and I think is about to get rejected from Tennessee tomorrow, then later Boulder--his top two choices. I do think he'll get into some PA LACs, which is not what he wants. But this cycle is even worse than 2021. I really wish I had sent my kids to public. They would have had fun and had better opportunities.

Sorry to disappoint, but I know kids with much higher stats (3.7-3.8 gpa) who were not admitted to Boulder and Tennessee in the EA rounds, so unlikely a lower gpa (especially 3.0-3.2) will get in in RD round. That gpa range needs to look significantly lower on the list (think Montana State), unless major hook. Sorry!

My niece got in at Tennessee with a 3.0 GPA. Minority and paying out-of-state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my third cycle of getting a 3.0 to 3.2 kid from Big 3 to college. This year is absolutely nothing like the other years. I really believe the increasing grade inflation from publics, along with the 50% plus increase in applications to so many schools, has made all schools except the LACS out of reach for the 50th percentile and lower kids this year. My 3.2 kid has been deferred from everywhere and I think is about to get rejected from Tennessee tomorrow, then later Boulder--his top two choices. I do think he'll get into some PA LACs, which is not what he wants. But this cycle is even worse than 2021. I really wish I had sent my kids to public. They would have had fun and had better opportunities.

Sorry to disappoint, but I know kids with much higher stats (3.7-3.8 gpa) who were not admitted to Boulder and Tennessee in the EA rounds, so unlikely a lower gpa (especially 3.0-3.2) will get in in RD round. That gpa range needs to look significantly lower on the list (think Montana State), unless major hook. Sorry!

That’s a 3.0-3.2 from a good private. Probably equivalent to a 4.5 from MCPS.

I want some of what you are smoking! Seriously.. think logically. Your argument is that a 3.2 at a Private school is equivalent to a 3.8 at a decent Public (equal to about a 4.3 weighted). That would imply the vast majority of Private school kids are innately smart. Is that borne out by SAT results? Not really. Most Private School kids barely scratch 1450s on the SATs and that is with a ton of expensive prep. The top 100% of the kids at TJ and top 20-30% of the kids at any other public score above that and that's a lot of kids.

Here's what makes sense (and I think colleges are seeing through this). Private school classes likely have more rigor than public schools. I'll concede that a normal class at a Private is about the same level of rigor as a Honors class at a good public and a Honors class at a Private is about the same rigor as an AP. The lack of AP classes at a Private school is a problem but that's a you problem rather than a public school kid problem. All that is to say that a 3.0 at a Private is maybe about a 3.2-3.3 at a Public. That's it.

How did this delusion work in the past? Grift. College admissions advisors at Privates had this insider connection with college admissions offices, especially SLACs that wanted a dependable pipeline of full pay students. Post pandemic, colleges have realized that all they had to level up was go test optional and get on the common app to attract a large number of students. They are not dependent on your pipeline anymore.

Welcome to post-pandemic college admissions!

I have current high schoolers in public and a top private high school. The grading scales are nothing alike. It's literally night and day. A 3.2 at my one kid's (top) private is equal to about a 3.8 (unweighted) at the good public my other kid attends. I don't think you realize but teachers at some of these privates use a bell curve and start the curve with giving 2 A's over the entire grade. It's really not possible to get an A until you are the top two students in the grade in some core classes (often English). Clearly, this type of grading is not working for college admissions in the year 2023. Plus there are no retakes, no late work is accepted, etc.

I'm not saying the private school kids are smarter, more deserving of a top university spot, etc but the daily expectations are much, much higher.
I have no dog in this fight (kids are currently at both high schools) but I just want to explain the reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my third cycle of getting a 3.0 to 3.2 kid from Big 3 to college. This year is absolutely nothing like the other years. I really believe the increasing grade inflation from publics, along with the 50% plus increase in applications to so many schools, has made all schools except the LACS out of reach for the 50th percentile and lower kids this year. My 3.2 kid has been deferred from everywhere and I think is about to get rejected from Tennessee tomorrow, then later Boulder--his top two choices. I do think he'll get into some PA LACs, which is not what he wants. But this cycle is even worse than 2021. I really wish I had sent my kids to public. They would have had fun and had better opportunities.

Sorry to disappoint, but I know kids with much higher stats (3.7-3.8 gpa) who were not admitted to Boulder and Tennessee in the EA rounds, so unlikely a lower gpa (especially 3.0-3.2) will get in in RD round. That gpa range needs to look significantly lower on the list (think Montana State), unless major hook. Sorry!

That’s a 3.0-3.2 from a good private. Probably equivalent to a 4.5 from MCPS.

I want some of what you are smoking! Seriously.. think logically. Your argument is that a 3.2 at a Private school is equivalent to a 3.8 at a decent Public (equal to about a 4.3 weighted). That would imply the vast majority of Private school kids are innately smart. Is that borne out by SAT results? Not really. Most Private School kids barely scratch 1450s on the SATs and that is with a ton of expensive prep. The top 100% of the kids at TJ and top 20-30% of the kids at any other public score above that and that's a lot of kids.

Here's what makes sense (and I think colleges are seeing through this). Private school classes likely have more rigor than public schools. I'll concede that a normal class at a Private is about the same level of rigor as a Honors class at a good public and a Honors class at a Private is about the same rigor as an AP. The lack of AP classes at a Private school is a problem but that's a you problem rather than a public school kid problem. All that is to say that a 3.0 at a Private is maybe about a 3.2-3.3 at a Public. That's it.

How did this delusion work in the past? Grift. College admissions advisors at Privates had this insider connection with college admissions offices, especially SLACs that wanted a dependable pipeline of full pay students. Post pandemic, colleges have realized that all they had to level up was go test optional and get on the common app to attract a large number of students. They are not dependent on your pipeline anymore.

Welcome to post-pandemic college admissions!

I have current high schoolers in public and a top private high school. The grading scales are nothing alike. It's literally night and day. A 3.2 at my one kid's (top) private is equal to about a 3.8 (unweighted) at the good public my other kid attends. I don't think you realize but teachers at some of these privates use a bell curve and start the curve with giving 2 A's over the entire grade. It's really not possible to get an A until you are the top two students in the grade in some core classes (often English). Clearly, this type of grading is not working for college admissions in the year 2023. Plus there are no retakes, no late work is accepted, etc.

I'm not saying the private school kids are smarter, more deserving of a top university spot, etc but the daily expectations are much, much higher.
I have no dog in this fight (kids are currently at both high schools) but I just want to explain the reality.

You have a DD at NCS too? Why do they insist on only giving 2 As out across the entire grade of 70 or so kids? It is crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Np- our counselor believed some of these schools were realistic reaches or high targets if ED for our 3.3 kid from a big 3.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not 2019….

Anonymous wrote:Wisconsin
Bates
Tulane
Hamilton

A straight-up B average Big 3 student who is full pay isn't getting into any of those schools without some extraordinary hook. Hamilton took 8% of their applicants last admission cycle. Tulane is sufficiently competitive that we thought it was out of reach for our DC who had meaningfully better stats (and did get into Hamilton). Bates was totally out of the question, as was Wisconsin.

Don't you people get personalized college counseling for that $65K tuition you pay?

Your counselor knows more than these people posting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my third cycle of getting a 3.0 to 3.2 kid from Big 3 to college. This year is absolutely nothing like the other years. I really believe the increasing grade inflation from publics, along with the 50% plus increase in applications to so many schools, has made all schools except the LACS out of reach for the 50th percentile and lower kids this year. My 3.2 kid has been deferred from everywhere and I think is about to get rejected from Tennessee tomorrow, then later Boulder--his top two choices. I do think he'll get into some PA LACs, which is not what he wants. But this cycle is even worse than 2021. I really wish I had sent my kids to public. They would have had fun and had better opportunities.

Sorry to disappoint, but I know kids with much higher stats (3.7-3.8 gpa) who were not admitted to Boulder and Tennessee in the EA rounds, so unlikely a lower gpa (especially 3.0-3.2) will get in in RD round. That gpa range needs to look significantly lower on the list (think Montana State), unless major hook. Sorry!

That’s a 3.0-3.2 from a good private. Probably equivalent to a 4.5 from MCPS.

I want some of what you are smoking! Seriously.. think logically. Your argument is that a 3.2 at a Private school is equivalent to a 3.8 at a decent Public (equal to about a 4.3 weighted). That would imply the vast majority of Private school kids are innately smart. Is that borne out by SAT results? Not really. Most Private School kids barely scratch 1450s on the SATs and that is with a ton of expensive prep. The top 100% of the kids at TJ and top 20-30% of the kids at any other public score above that and that's a lot of kids.

Here's what makes sense (and I think colleges are seeing through this). Private school classes likely have more rigor than public schools. I'll concede that a normal class at a Private is about the same level of rigor as a Honors class at a good public and a Honors class at a Private is about the same rigor as an AP. The lack of AP classes at a Private school is a problem but that's a you problem rather than a public school kid problem. All that is to say that a 3.0 at a Private is maybe about a 3.2-3.3 at a Public. That's it.

How did this delusion work in the past? Grift. College admissions advisors at Privates had this insider connection with college admissions offices, especially SLACs that wanted a dependable pipeline of full pay students. Post pandemic, colleges have realized that all they had to level up was go test optional and get on the common app to attract a large number of students. They are not dependent on your pipeline anymore.

Welcome to post-pandemic college admissions!

You seem to miss a basic point, the grading scale is different.

[Anonymous]

Oh honey... It's not that the kids are smarter. It's that the grading is harder. No credit for test corrections, retakes, extra credit assignments, homework, class participation, etc. Your grades are usually based on your test results and/ or papers (which are graded on a curve).

I think that actually does translate into test scores as well. My Big 3 3.4 GPA kid easily scored 34 on the ACT. I'm sure if he had studied more, he could have brought that up a point or two.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my third cycle of getting a 3.0 to 3.2 kid from Big 3 to college. This year is absolutely nothing like the other years. I really believe the increasing grade inflation from publics, along with the 50% plus increase in applications to so many schools, has made all schools except the LACS out of reach for the 50th percentile and lower kids this year. My 3.2 kid has been deferred from everywhere and I think is about to get rejected from Tennessee tomorrow, then later Boulder--his top two choices. I do think he'll get into some PA LACs, which is not what he wants. But this cycle is even worse than 2021. I really wish I had sent my kids to public. They would have had fun and had better opportunities.

Sorry to disappoint, but I know kids with much higher stats (3.7-3.8 gpa) who were not admitted to Boulder and Tennessee in the EA rounds, so unlikely a lower gpa (especially 3.0-3.2) will get in in RD round. That gpa range needs to look significantly lower on the list (think Montana State), unless major hook. Sorry!

That’s a 3.0-3.2 from a good private. Probably equivalent to a 4.5 from MCPS.

I want some of what you are smoking! Seriously.. think logically. Your argument is that a 3.2 at a Private school is equivalent to a 3.8 at a decent Public (equal to about a 4.3 weighted). That would imply the vast majority of Private school kids are innately smart. Is that borne out by SAT results? Not really. Most Private School kids barely scratch 1450s on the SATs and that is with a ton of expensive prep. The top 100% of the kids at TJ and top 20-30% of the kids at any other public score above that and that's a lot of kids.

Here's what makes sense (and I think colleges are seeing through this). Private school classes likely have more rigor than public schools. I'll concede that a normal class at a Private is about the same level of rigor as a Honors class at a good public and a Honors class at a Private is about the same rigor as an AP. The lack of AP classes at a Private school is a problem but that's a you problem rather than a public school kid problem. All that is to say that a 3.0 at a Private is maybe about a 3.2-3.3 at a Public. That's it.

How did this delusion work in the past? Grift. College admissions advisors at Privates had this insider connection with college admissions offices, especially SLACs that wanted a dependable pipeline of full pay students. Post pandemic, colleges have realized that all they had to level up was go test optional and get on the common app to attract a large number of students. They are not dependent on your pipeline anymore.

Welcome to post-pandemic college admissions!

[Anonymous]

The other thing to keep in mind is at this kind of private school, everyone is taking a full course load of AP level classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh honey... It's not that the kids are smarter. It's that the grading is harder. No credit for test corrections, retakes, extra credit assignments, homework, class participation, etc. Your grades are usually based on your test results and/ or papers (which are graded on a curve).

I think that actually does translate into test scores as well. My Big 3 3.4 GPA kid easily scored 34 on the ACT. I'm sure if he had studied more, he could have brought that up a point or two.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my third cycle of getting a 3.0 to 3.2 kid from Big 3 to college. This year is absolutely nothing like the other years. I really believe the increasing grade inflation from publics, along with the 50% plus increase in applications to so many schools, has made all schools except the LACS out of reach for the 50th percentile and lower kids this year. My 3.2 kid has been deferred from everywhere and I think is about to get rejected from Tennessee tomorrow, then later Boulder--his top two choices. I do think he'll get into some PA LACs, which is not what he wants. But this cycle is even worse than 2021. I really wish I had sent my kids to public. They would have had fun and had better opportunities.

Sorry to disappoint, but I know kids with much higher stats (3.7-3.8 gpa) who were not admitted to Boulder and Tennessee in the EA rounds, so unlikely a lower gpa (especially 3.0-3.2) will get in in RD round. That gpa range needs to look significantly lower on the list (think Montana State), unless major hook. Sorry!

That’s a 3.0-3.2 from a good private. Probably equivalent to a 4.5 from MCPS.

I want some of what you are smoking! Seriously.. think logically. Your argument is that a 3.2 at a Private school is equivalent to a 3.8 at a decent Public (equal to about a 4.3 weighted). That would imply the vast majority of Private school kids are innately smart. Is that borne out by SAT results? Not really. Most Private School kids barely scratch 1450s on the SATs and that is with a ton of expensive prep. The top 100% of the kids at TJ and top 20-30% of the kids at any other public score above that and that's a lot of kids.

Here's what makes sense (and I think colleges are seeing through this). Private school classes likely have more rigor than public schools. I'll concede that a normal class at a Private is about the same level of rigor as a Honors class at a good public and a Honors class at a Private is about the same rigor as an AP. The lack of AP classes at a Private school is a problem but that's a you problem rather than a public school kid problem. All that is to say that a 3.0 at a Private is maybe about a 3.2-3.3 at a Public. That's it.

How did this delusion work in the past? Grift. College admissions advisors at Privates had this insider connection with college admissions offices, especially SLACs that wanted a dependable pipeline of full pay students. Post pandemic, colleges have realized that all they had to level up was go test optional and get on the common app to attract a large number of students. They are not dependent on your pipeline anymore.

Welcome to post-pandemic college admissions!

Agreed. My NCS kid will spend 30-40 hours on a 3 page paper and and turn in something that beats anything I wrote for a master's degree in English literature and she'll get an 89% only to find out that there were two A minuses and zero As awarded out of 80 kids.

Meanwhile my public school kid (at a very strong public high school) will turn in an AP essay that he wrote the night before it was due and get an A every time. We're sure that he would get straight Ds at NCS.

It's night and day.