Is GPA the most important?

[Anonymous]

We are still not able to comprehend that with a mid-year GPA from TJ 4.4X, SAT close to 1600, very good ECs, my child got rejected from all Ivies applied, waitlisted in a few T20 schools mostly private and UVA. We are trying to understand what went wrong. Really bothering us for the last couple of months how this can happen with this profile. Was GPA too low?. Did rigor matter at all?. They take the hardest courses but kids from other schools get into T20 schools with less grade or rigor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are still not able to comprehend that with a mid-year GPA from TJ 4.4X, SAT close to 1600, very good ECs, my child got rejected from all Ivies applied, waitlisted in a few T20 schools mostly private and UVA. We are trying to understand what went wrong. Really bothering us for the last couple of months how this can happen with this profile. Was GPA too low?. Did rigor matter at all?. They take the hardest courses but kids from other schools get into T20 schools with less grade or rigor.

It was likely the competition from the other kids in school, the major selected, the LOR, and the essays.
Lack of being distinctive. They probably blended in and didn't stand out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are still not able to comprehend that with a mid-year GPA from TJ 4.4X, SAT close to 1600, very good ECs, my child got rejected from all Ivies applied, waitlisted in a few T20 schools mostly private and UVA. We are trying to understand what went wrong. Really bothering us for the last couple of months how this can happen with this profile. Was GPA too low?. Did rigor matter at all?. They take the hardest courses but kids from other schools get into T20 schools with less grade or rigor.

You would have been 100x better off attending a lower resource school. I am not sure why TJ parents haven't grasped this yet?

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry about these results, and can understand that this is very disappointing.

I'm also a TJ parent, and have been reflecting on some of these same questions.

A couple of thoughts:
--GPA is different from a transcript. And the transcript matters. Among my student's friends, it appears that those with all As (and rigor) are having better outcomes than those with high (sky-high) rigor and a couple of Bs. Both of these could be a 4.4x.
--I'm pretty shocked about the WL at UVA. I'd be frustrated with that. Seems like it should have been in the range--though everyone says that UVA is unpredictable for NoVA.

Your student will be very well prepared for college (academics-wise) and that's significant. It sets them up to really take advantage of all the college might offer. It's a really tough transition for the best of kids, and it's helpful to have that aspect locked down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are still not able to comprehend that with a mid-year GPA from TJ 4.4X, SAT close to 1600, very good ECs, my child got rejected from all Ivies applied, waitlisted in a few T20 schools mostly private and UVA. We are trying to understand what went wrong. Really bothering us for the last couple of months how this can happen with this profile. Was GPA too low?. Did rigor matter at all?. They take the hardest courses but kids from other schools get into T20 schools with less grade or rigor.

You would have been 100x better off attending a lower resource school. I am not sure why TJ parents haven't grasped this yet?

Maybe some people think what you actually learn in HS is more important than where you go to college. Students who are very well prepared can thrive and excel at strong schools that are not T20. Kids who get into hyperselective schools from weak high schools might do well, but many of them struggle, especially in the first year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are still not able to comprehend that with a mid-year GPA from TJ 4.4X, SAT close to 1600, very good ECs, my child got rejected from all Ivies applied, waitlisted in a few T20 schools mostly private and UVA. We are trying to understand what went wrong. Really bothering us for the last couple of months how this can happen with this profile. Was GPA too low?. Did rigor matter at all?. They take the hardest courses but kids from other schools get into T20 schools with less grade or rigor.

Colleges calculate their own GPAs and those calculations include their own perceived rigor of the high school. But GPA is not the only factor, it never has been.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are still not able to comprehend that with a mid-year GPA from TJ 4.4X, SAT close to 1600, very good ECs, my child got rejected from all Ivies applied, waitlisted in a few T20 schools mostly private and UVA. We are trying to understand what went wrong. Really bothering us for the last couple of months how this can happen with this profile. Was GPA too low?. Did rigor matter at all?. They take the hardest courses but kids from other schools get into T20 schools with less grade or rigor.

What does this mean? Is 4.4 the weighted GPA in mid-year senior year? What was the rigor (course selection in 11th and 10th) and what was GPA?

Which Ivies did you apply to? If you only applied to HYP, you can't say you are confused why you got rejected by "all Ivies applied".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are still not able to comprehend that with a mid-year GPA from TJ 4.4X, SAT close to 1600, very good ECs, my child got rejected from all Ivies applied, waitlisted in a few T20 schools mostly private and UVA. We are trying to understand what went wrong. Really bothering us for the last couple of months how this can happen with this profile. Was GPA too low?. Did rigor matter at all?. They take the hardest courses but kids from other schools get into T20 schools with less grade or rigor.

You would have been 100x better off attending a lower resource school. I am not sure why TJ parents haven't grasped this yet?

Maybe some people think what you actually learn in HS is more important than where you go to college. Students who are very well prepared can thrive and excel at strong schools that are not T20. Kids who get into hyperselective schools from weak high schools might do well, but many of them struggle, especially in the first year.

But it’s obvious from the post that OP thinks where you go to college is extremely important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are still not able to comprehend that with a mid-year GPA from TJ 4.4X, SAT close to 1600, very good ECs, my child got rejected from all Ivies applied, waitlisted in a few T20 schools mostly private and UVA. We are trying to understand what went wrong. Really bothering us for the last couple of months how this can happen with this profile. Was GPA too low?. Did rigor matter at all?. They take the hardest courses but kids from other schools get into T20 schools with less grade or rigor.

You would have been 100x better off attending a lower resource school. I am not sure why TJ parents haven't grasped this yet?

Maybe some people think what you actually learn in HS is more important than where you go to college. Students who are very well prepared can thrive and excel at strong schools that are not T20. Kids who get into hyperselective schools from weak high schools might do well, but many of them struggle, especially in the first year.

But it’s obvious from the post that OP thinks where you go to college is extremely important.

They can transfer later.

[Anonymous]

Hey OP. The US elite college prepped population is at least double not triple what it was 30 years ago, but the T20 aren't double or triple in population. Your kid kid is a dime a dozen.

[Anonymous]

The top schools want to see very high unweighted GPAs. It hurts you if you take courses so rigorous that you get Bs. (No, that is not always what they say. But it’s true.)

The top schools also want the top students from each high school. From their point of view, they cannot predict how great a kid from a weak high school might be, once given the opportunity. But they already know that your kid is not the top kid at TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are still not able to comprehend that with a mid-year GPA from TJ 4.4X, SAT close to 1600, very good ECs, my child got rejected from all Ivies applied, waitlisted in a few T20 schools mostly private and UVA. We are trying to understand what went wrong. Really bothering us for the last couple of months how this can happen with this profile. Was GPA too low?. Did rigor matter at all?. They take the hardest courses but kids from other schools get into T20 schools with less grade or rigor.

What does this mean? Is 4.4 the weighted GPA in mid-year senior year? What was the rigor (course selection in 11th and 10th) and what was GPA?

Which Ivies did you apply to? If you only applied to HYP, you can't say you are confused why you got rejected by "all Ivies applied".

I wondered this too. What exactly was the overall GPA? Because I believe GPA does matter a ton. Plus being the top among the kids from your school applying there. DS got unlucky last year that the top kids wanted Duke (this isn’t TJ). I have a senior now and can tell in Scoir he had a way better shot this year, and his stats would have been the top kid. Last year he wasn’t and the kids in the better part of the scattergram got in.

[Anonymous]

Ivies have tens of thousands of PERFECT applications to pick from. If you expected acceptance, that's just not being realistic.

[Anonymous]

Shouldn't counselor give some hint early on?

[Anonymous]

What are "very good ECs"? Most likely the issue is not your GPA, but your application did not stand out under holistic review.