Is weighted or unweighted GPA more important?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don’t have many 4.0s, maybe 2 kids per year. Then a few 3.9 and 3.8s. But looking at school data, unfortunately rigor is not important in college admission. The unweighted gpa is critical for T20, in particular for ivy and ivy plus. The highest rigor 3.7 kids are locked out of many, but not all, top schools.

I concur. Colleges don’t seem to care about rigor that much. The only expectation is you take 1 AP in each core area. After that honors are sufficient. In your major area, take all AP’s.

PP. there are a very limited number of top schools that care, so these highest rigor 3.7 kids often end up there, if they also have a high test score to prove they can do the work. But more don’t care and look at gpa only.

This is OP. I’m asking about a highest rigor 3.97 student. Does that make a difference from 3.7? (It should IMO, but what do I know)

The 3.7 highest rigor are most likely from private school, so not directly comparable to a public school applicant.

[Anonymous]

I think one B is fine. On our public schools Naviance there are a lot of red x’s ranging up to 4.0s and very high 1550+ SATs. When you take the Xs away, there are green checks scattered among the x’s. The green checks range in GPA from 3.8-4.0 and SATs range from about 1500 and up.

It’s the kid’s overall application that matters.

[Anonymous]

Oh and these are scattergrams for top 15 including ivies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think one B is fine. On our public schools Naviance there are a lot of red x’s ranging up to 4.0s and very high 1550+ SATs. When you take the Xs away, there are green checks scattered among the x’s. The green checks range in GPA from 3.8-4.0 and SATs range from about 1500 and up.

It’s the kid’s overall application that matters.

One B? okay public school mom

[Anonymous]

I said one B bc that’s what the OP is asking about. Kids with more Bs get in too. Does that make you feel better?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is unlikely it will matter at all except:

- if it is a class your kid wants to major in

Or

- lots of other kids from your have a 4.0 and they are also applying

This is MCPS so practically everyone has a 4.0 - however as far as rigor my kid’s record will be up there among the very top students in the county, but some of those other kids will have 4.0. So which is more important in that case? Will 3.97 rule him out?

And no, it doesn’t look likely that he can get the grade up - the teacher is absolutely resolute that no one will get higher than a B in his class.

Did your child know this going into the class? Usually teachers like this develop a reputation. If it's possible, I would see if your child could find a way to take the class online or just drop the class if it's not a required class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don’t have many 4.0s, maybe 2 kids per year. Then a few 3.9 and 3.8s. But looking at school data, unfortunately rigor is not important in college admission. The unweighted gpa is critical for T20, in particular for ivy and ivy plus. The highest rigor 3.7 kids are locked out of many, but not all, top schools.

I concur. Colleges don’t seem to care about rigor that much. The only expectation is you take 1 AP in each core area. After that honors are sufficient. In your major area, take all AP’s.

I agree as well. It goes contrary to DCUM thought but from our private rigor does not seem to matter. We have a younger kid who we are keeping in more on-level classes for this reason. No reason to push ahead if it doesn't matter and just leads to more stress.

I have a sophomore and I am advising the same. Better to maintain high GPA than to risk B’s with rigorous classes.

I learned that lesson with my eldest. Who is by far the better student. But, in the eyes of college admissions B’s are a stain, no matter how academically prepared the student is.

It’s misguided on their part, but that’s why they say college admissions is a game. And it is.

[Anonymous]

Your child is a junior. It's going to be a long year. While it is upsetting to see a blemish on your kid's perfect record, I agree with others that a 3.97 - or even much lower - is not going to keep your kid out of an elite school. At my kid's school, the valedictorians with no notable ECs were shut out of Ivy plus schools, while kids who were not valedictorians (and not NMSQT) are the ones that got into HYPSM because they did amazing things outside of academics that allowed them to stand out.

[Anonymous]

a combination of unweighted, weighted, and class rank should provide a better picture.

rigor --> unweighted vs weighted
relative to peers --> class rank

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is unlikely it will matter at all except:

- if it is a class your kid wants to major in

Or

- lots of other kids from your have a 4.0 and they are also applying

This is MCPS so practically everyone has a 4.0 - however as far as rigor my kid’s record will be up there among the very top students in the county, but some of those other kids will have 4.0. So which is more important in that case? Will 3.97 rule him out?

And no, it doesn’t look likely that he can get the grade up - the teacher is absolutely resolute that no one will get higher than a B in his class.

A single B won’t matter. The only way it might matter is if the kid is applying for engineering and the B is in a high level math class. But every school has that one teacher that makes it nearly impossible to get an A. So colleges will look at AP and SAT/ACT scores and if those math scores are solid, they’ll move on to the rest of the AP.