Please advise - high Sat / average GPA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is your high school making accommodations for your kid? We just went through getting them because our ADHD kid missed assignments that brought their grade down to a D despite having 100s on the homework and quizzes. With the accommodations, kid can get the projects done and not be marked down due to lateness. It's crazy to see that a kid would get an "A" but then, with points deducted, get a "D."

Kid has been doing this without medication so hoping meds help with this going forward.

What is the GPA? I found CollegeVine useful for giving me an idea of what would be a "likely" school. So far, all of the CV guesses were correct!

EF is killing him.
He has extended time and they give him that BUT after he submits the assignment he needs to email the teacher to make them aware to go grade it.
So he has assignments turned in - but not graded and there is only so much as a parent you can do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get ready for heartbreak.

We are very aware of how competitive the landscape is.
This is a kid who gets a "5" on the AP exam - but a C+ in the course
Clearly we need to work with his HS counselor but was coming to DCUM to get a sense of resources.
He just got back SATs and got a 1400 - and trying to figure out if it is worth it to take a prep class and increase SAT score if his GAP is going to wind up as a 3.5.

If you provide more information, I think people can help. Is your kid at public or private and is the 3.5 weighted or unweighted? If weighted, what is the unweighted gpa? Does he have solid EC's? Are you full pay? Has your kid visited schools and what schools did they really like.

My own thought is that a weighted 3.5 and a 1400 are solid scores IF your kid doesn't care about being at a Top100 school. The vast majority of schools are really not that selective. If you care about selectivity, he is likely going to need to ED somewhere. Normally I would definitely recommend prepping and taking the SAT again, but, I think time would be better spent getting that GPA up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get ready for heartbreak.

We are very aware of how competitive the landscape is.
This is a kid who gets a "5" on the AP exam - but a C+ in the course
Clearly we need to work with his HS counselor but was coming to DCUM to get a sense of resources.
He just got back SATs and got a 1400 - and trying to figure out if it is worth it to take a prep class and increase SAT score if his GAP is going to wind up as a 3.5.

If you provide more information, I think people can help. Is your kid at public or private and is the 3.5 weighted or unweighted? If weighted, what is the unweighted gpa? Does he have solid EC's? Are you full pay? Has your kid visited schools and what schools did they really like.

My own thought is that a weighted 3.5 and a 1400 are solid scores IF your kid doesn't care about being at a Top100 school. The vast majority of schools are really not that selective. If you care about selectivity, he is likely going to need to ED somewhere. Normally I would definitely recommend prepping and taking the SAT again, but, I think time would be better spent getting that GPA up.

Thank you for this perspective.
We are fine shooting for schools like Temple and Pitt. I think he cares about top schools - because everyone around him does and it is really hard for a 16 year old to remove themselves from the conversations all around them.

[Anonymous]

Delaware
Ohio State
Michigan State
UMass
AU
GW
Rochester
GMU
Indiana

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get ready for heartbreak.

We are very aware of how competitive the landscape is.
This is a kid who gets a "5" on the AP exam - but a C+ in the course
Clearly we need to work with his HS counselor but was coming to DCUM to get a sense of resources.
He just got back SATs and got a 1400 - and trying to figure out if it is worth it to take a prep class and increase SAT score if his GAP is going to wind up as a 3.5.

If you provide more information, I think people can help. Is your kid at public or private and is the 3.5 weighted or unweighted? If weighted, what is the unweighted gpa? Does he have solid EC's? Are you full pay? Has your kid visited schools and what schools did they really like.

My own thought is that a weighted 3.5 and a 1400 are solid scores IF your kid doesn't care about being at a Top100 school. The vast majority of schools are really not that selective. If you care about selectivity, he is likely going to need to ED somewhere. Normally I would definitely recommend prepping and taking the SAT again, but, I think time would be better spent getting that GPA up.

Thank you for this perspective.
We are fine shooting for schools like Temple and Pitt. I think he cares about top schools - because everyone around him does and it is really hard for a 16 year old to remove themselves from the conversations all around them.

If you apply to Pitt, apply in August. The earlier you apply with a not stellar GPA the more likely you get in.

[Anonymous]

DS is going through this now. High SAT, low GPA due to poor performance during COVID. Has an IEP but was basically on his own during distance learning and he couldn’t cope. He was rejected at his reach school, waitlisted at one he thought was a match, and accepted at 3 public colleges that are less selective but will be Ok. It is what it is. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you should spend a bit of time on prep - Khan academy was helpful - and retake the SAT.

Is it correct to assume a 3.7 is an "average" GPA?

If so, we are in a similar boat with a 1500 SAT, 3.7 UW gpa (private), rigorous courses but no APs. DC took 5 AP tests outside of school with 4s and 5s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you should spend a bit of time on prep - Khan academy was helpful - and retake the SAT.

Is it correct to assume a 3.7 is an "average" GPA?

If so, we are in a similar boat with a 1500 SAT, 3.7 UW gpa (private), rigorous courses but no APs. DC took 5 AP tests outside of school with 4s and 5s.

This is basically my DS. Don’t despair with As and Bs in rigorous classes (maybe even a C+). T30-60 LACs within reach, even merit offers. These schools want full pay males who bring up their test score averages. ED is your friend. Write a great essay. Not everyone attending these schools is getting straight As. And half the kids aren’t even submitting test scores. T20 kind of off the table unhooked without near perfect grades but then things start to open up. Improvement in grades also important

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get ready for heartbreak.

We are very aware of how competitive the landscape is.
This is a kid who gets a "5" on the AP exam - but a C+ in the course
Clearly we need to work with his HS counselor but was coming to DCUM to get a sense of resources.
He just got back SATs and got a 1400 - and trying to figure out if it is worth it to take a prep class and increase SAT score if his GAP is going to wind up as a 3.5.

I don't think I'd put too much effort into increasing an SAT score already disproportionate to the GPA. I'd pay more attention to trying to claw back some of those points from ungraded assignments. Schools love to see the 5 on the AP exam, but with a C+ in high school they're going to worry if he can cope on his own at college.

[Anonymous]

your child sounds a lot like me. did he reach National Merit Scholar finalist level? I think getting that was helpful for me. I I also took the ACT and nailed it and that helped.

I also was getting 5s on APs but a C in the course, I remember my guidance counselor was super pessimistic about my options, but I ended up at a decent school (UNC-Chapel Hill). Had a few other really good options as well. I think NMSF is really meaningful to a few colleges.

[Anonymous]

Also!! Look at schools in the UK. they put a lot more weight on tests rather than GPA, and he may be able to get in somewhere amazing if he has high SATs and APs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also!! Look at schools in the UK. they put a lot more weight on tests rather than GPA, and he may be able to get in somewhere amazing if he has high SATs and APs.

Thanks for this tip.
We are meeting with a private college counselor in April and I am trying to educate myself on items so we can make the most of each session (paying hourly)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:your child sounds a lot like me. did he reach National Merit Scholar finalist level? I think getting that was helpful for me. I I also took the ACT and nailed it and that helped.

I also was getting 5s on APs but a C in the course, I remember my guidance counselor was super pessimistic about my options, but I ended up at a decent school (UNC-Chapel Hill). Had a few other really good options as well. I think NMSF is really meaningful to a few colleges.

Unfortunately did great on the PSAT in 10th grade - and would have been on the cusp with similar scores for 11th grade but given that we live in DC he will not be a finalist.