Advice Needed: NOVA Credits vs Reaching for MIT / Ivies / Georgia Tech / Purdue / Vanderbilt / Top Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Further, for placement purposes, colleges will only take AP tests. They generally have a strong preference for AP classes over DE as DE is seen as less rigorous due to peer group differences between the two.

Are you sure? That does not seem right. AP and dual enrollment are different things. AP is an exam based pathway for placement and sometimes credit, while NOVA dual enrollment is actual college coursework on an accredited transcript.

I just checked the official transfer databases for schools like UVA, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Purdue, and they show real credit being awarded for NOVA courses such as Calculus I, II, III, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Discrete Structures, programming, history, and economics.

That is more than placement. That is transferable college credit.

I agree some elite private schools may evaluate DE more selectively, but saying colleges generally only take AP for placement and view DE as less rigorous does not match what these universities themselves publish.

Yes, colleges consider community college classes to be less rigorous than AP classes.

[Anonymous]

3.8 UW GPA is a little low for T20 colleges. Even if the school accepts transfer credits from CC, you still want to take those classes again in a top school — the quality and difficulty of classes is night and day difference.

[Anonymous]

Elite schools barely take APs, much less DE.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think what they’d accept if a transfer student is the same as what they’d grant an incoming first year.

[Anonymous]

But in answer to the other part of your question, yes, prioritizing this is a mistake imo.

[Anonymous]

Is he homeschooled? Why did he take so many nova classes?

[Anonymous]

If unhooked, GPA wayyy too low for top schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking for advice from parents/students with real experience.
My child is a Virginia student with:
1595 SAT
3.8 unweighted GPA
Very rigorous schedule
Strong coding background since childhood
Interested in advanced math, computer science, engineering, and eventually Wall Street algorithm / trading / math driven careers

NOVA direct and dual enrollment courses completed or in progress:
Calc I, II, III
Linear Algebra
Differential Equations
Discrete Structures
Computer Organization
English / History / Gov

We are considering:
MIT
Princeton / Cornell
Carnegie Mellon
Georgia Tech
Purdue
Vanderbilt
Michigan
Texas Austin
Texas A&M
UVA
Virginia Tech

Some are reaches, but I feel he should aim high.

His biggest concern is making sure NOVA credits transfer so he does not retake courses. Virginia schools seem safest for that, but I worry he is overvaluing guaranteed transfer credit.

He is also not very into the liberal reputation of UVA, though maybe that matters less in math / CS / engineering.

Questions:
Has anyone had NOVA credits transfer to these schools?
Do advanced math credits transfer as real credit or just placement?
Do CS courses transfer?
Is prioritizing transfer credit a mistake if stronger schools are options?
If this were your child, stay in Virginia or aim higher?

Go ahead and buy the lottery tickets in the RD round but do not use your SCEA/ED on MIT, Princeton and CMU. This profile will not get in for CS or engineering in those 3 schools and you will be wasting your ED. Reasonable high reaches (not targets) for this profile are Cornell, GA Tech, Purdue and Michigan. If applying as a math major instead and full pay, ED Chicago if higher ranked schools are a priority for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If unhooked, GPA wayyy too low for top schools.

+1

We're in a feeder private to some of these schools (Princeton, CMU, Vanderbilt all at least 2-3 a year) and would never waste ED on these schools if unhooked with this GPA. Too many kids apply to Princeton, MIT and CMU CS with 1590/1600 with 3.9+ GPA plus national awards.

[Anonymous]

Look at transferology.

U Kentucky has credit by exam for all courses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking for advice from parents/students with real experience.
My child is a Virginia student with:
1595 SAT
3.8 unweighted GPA
Very rigorous schedule
Strong coding background since childhood
Interested in advanced math, computer science, engineering, and eventually Wall Street algorithm / trading / math driven careers

NOVA direct and dual enrollment courses completed or in progress:
Calc I, II, III
Linear Algebra
Differential Equations
Discrete Structures
Computer Organization
English / History / Gov

We are considering:
MIT
Princeton / Cornell
Carnegie Mellon
Georgia Tech
Purdue
Vanderbilt
Michigan
Texas Austin
Texas A&M
UVA
Virginia Tech

Some are reaches, but I feel he should aim high.

His biggest concern is making sure NOVA credits transfer so he does not retake courses. Virginia schools seem safest for that, but I worry he is overvaluing guaranteed transfer credit.

He is also not very into the liberal reputation of UVA, though maybe that matters less in math / CS / engineering.

Questions:
Has anyone had NOVA credits transfer to these schools?
Do advanced math credits transfer as real credit or just placement?
Do CS courses transfer?
Is prioritizing transfer credit a mistake if stronger schools are options?
If this were your child, stay in Virginia or aim higher?

Go ahead and buy the lottery tickets in the RD round but do not use your SCEA/ED on MIT, Princeton and CMU. This profile will not get in for CS or engineering in those 3 schools and you will be wasting your ED. Reasonable high reaches (not targets) for this profile are Cornell, GA Tech, Purdue and Michigan. If applying as a math major instead and full pay, ED Chicago if higher ranked schools are a priority for you.

Cornell takes fewer and fewer ED now. Per school cc, it’s not the best ED school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3.8 UW GPA is a little low for T20 colleges. Even if the school accepts transfer credits from CC, you still want to take those classes again in a top school — the quality and difficulty of classes is night and day difference.

If major is CS, the GPA is low for T40 as well. Sorry!

[Anonymous]

Ignore people saying the gpa is low. It may or may not be based on this kid’s current HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Further, for placement purposes, colleges will only take AP tests. They generally have a strong preference for AP classes over DE as DE is seen as less rigorous due to peer group differences between the two.

Are you sure? That does not seem right. AP and dual enrollment are different things. AP is an exam based pathway for placement and sometimes credit, while NOVA dual enrollment is actual college coursework on an accredited transcript.

I just checked the official transfer databases for schools like UVA, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Purdue, and they show real credit being awarded for NOVA courses such as Calculus I, II, III, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Discrete Structures, programming, history, and economics.

That is more than placement. That is transferable college credit.

I agree some elite private schools may evaluate DE more selectively, but saying colleges generally only take AP for placement and view DE as less rigorous does not match what these universities themselves publish.

The PP is correct, those that take AP vs DE are often different peer groups. DE students cannot get into UVA from any of our area publics. If one gets in with DE, as in from a lower-achieving high school, rural or urban, then there are credits to be had. But UVA acceptance will not happen from any of the good publics or the gov schools. Even VT has started to care a lot about AP over DE when both tracks are offered.

[Anonymous]

To the OP 1595 is not a possible score.
3.8uw is below top20-30% for almost public high school in Virginia.
If the high school offered AP in the courses you listed and yours took DE instead that is a big red flag. There is no chance for T20/ivy and almost no chance for UVA/VT in state.