Grades are the Be All and End All

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think DC would be better off going to a mediocre h.s. and being at the top of the class, than going to a rigorous h.s. and being in the middle.

With that mindset your DC will end up being in the middle/bottom of the class in a mediocre HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With grade inflation being as rampant as it is, if you don't have at least a 4.0 W/GPA, you're not really trying.

+1000

My DD will graduate with a 4.0 UW from her NoVA HS. She is smart, and I give her plenty of credit, but she isn't slaving away for hours on end. Maybe 1-2 hrs per day tops. Plenty of time for tv and ECs every day. She isn't alone...there are plenty of kids at her school with a similar profile. The grade inflation is real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It will not matter how rigourous your child's curriculum is, nor how stellar their ECs, how brilliantly written their essays or how high their SATs or ACTs. What will matter most is their GPA. And it won't matter whether, as the schools will tell you, whether that GPA has been on an upward trajectory or whether their is a solid explanation why you worked hard for that 3.7 GPA vs. someone with that 4.3. Looking at the stats of the schools that rejected my DD, she was easily above their average SAT/ACT scores, but below the apparently weighted GPAs of most of those accepted.

I too have a dc who has lower gpa & higher test scores. I was hoping that dc will still be a solid contender for schools where dc's gpa is about a .1 lower than average but SAT about 50 points higher than average. Anyone have experience with this? But OP, are you saying that your dc was rejected from schools where average gpa was 4.3 when she had 3.7? That seems like a very far gap to mend even with excellent test scores & ECs.

[Anonymous]

I disagree that GPA is the be all/end all, especially since you have to take differences in high school into account. My DD goes to a private with no grade inflation. In fact, there is no kid with a 4.0 GPA in the entire graduating class and very few in the 3.85-3.9 range (there is also no weighting). Nonetheless, many of her classmates are going to extremely selective Ivy and other schools. Her 3.7 (and outside the top 20% of the class) is headed to a top 20 school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It will not matter how rigourous your child's curriculum is, nor how stellar their ECs, how brilliantly written their essays or how high their SATs or ACTs. What will matter most is their GPA. And it won't matter whether, as the schools will tell you, whether that GPA has been on an upward trajectory or whether their is a solid explanation why you worked hard for that 3.7 GPA vs. someone with that 4.3. Looking at the stats of the schools that rejected my DD, she was easily above their average SAT/ACT scores, but below the apparently weighted GPAs of most of those accepted.

I too have a dc who has lower gpa & higher test scores. I was hoping that dc will still be a solid contender for schools where dc's gpa is about a .1 lower than average but SAT about 50 points higher than average. Anyone have experience with this? But OP, are you saying that your dc was rejected from schools where average gpa was 4.3 when she had 3.7? That seems like a very far gap to mend even with excellent test scores & ECs.

The high level colleges want kids who are working very hard, challenging themselves and who love learning. They don't want the ones skating by on innate intelligence. Many top schools reject the vast majority of 4.0 candidates with perfect or near perfect test scores. It's hard to even get into the state school with a 3.7. Did you just fall off the turnip truck or what?

[Anonymous]

OP is incorrect in terms of the trajectory of GPA. If you are in the low to middle 3.0-3.5 in the early HS years but start climbing (due to APs and increased work ethic) to 4.0 and above then that is taken seriously as an example of how hard you will continue to work once you are within the college.

There was a report on just this recently, I can't remember if it was in The Economist or the NYTimes.

[Anonymous]

It's true. They are NOT analyzing your kid's transcript to see how tough the classes are. GPA is the most important number on app.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I disagree that GPA is the be all/end all, especially since you have to take differences in high school into account. My DD goes to a private with no grade inflation. In fact, there is no kid with a 4.0 GPA in the entire graduating class and very few in the 3.85-3.9 range (there is also no weighting). Nonetheless, many of her classmates are going to extremely selective Ivy and other schools. Her 3.7 (and outside the top 20% of the class) is headed to a top 20 school.

Yes, the colleges know that school. They know that the kids with X range of GPA do well at their school and are well educated.
At ait of schools kids aren't getting much of an education at all (so they will struggle in college) but they are getting great grades. If a kid is at one of ghose schools getting average grades then they aren't getting in anywhere.
The vast majority of successful kids we know were doing even more learning outside of school (not just showing up to activities).

Kids mature at different rates. Just send them along, support them and hope for the best. Your time of directing their lives is over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's true. They are NOT analyzing your kid's transcript to see how tough the classes are. GPA is the most important number on app.

+1

Have a sophomore with less than a 3.5 GPA? Better get them ready for community college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's true. They are NOT analyzing your kid's transcript to see how tough the classes are. GPA is the most important number on app.

No, they expect high level classes and all of the kids admitted to that school are taking them.
Sorry if you guys thought your kids were the most extra special thing in the world you need to adjust your perspectives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With grade inflation being as rampant as it is, if you don't have at least a 4.0 W/GPA, you're not really trying.

+1000

My DD will graduate with a 4.0 UW from her NoVA HS. She is smart, and I give her plenty of credit, but she isn't slaving away for hours on end. Maybe 1-2 hrs per day tops. Plenty of time for tv and ECs every day. She isn't alone...there are plenty of kids at her school with a similar profile. The grade inflation is real.

Agree. We are in FCPS and 4.0 unwaited. 6 AP classes so far + 5 next year (she is Junior now), plus two varsity team sports without putting much efforts. We also traveling a lot and she easily skips a week here and there and catching up without any problems.

[Anonymous]

Grade inflation is insane. Bs = Putz. All As are ten a penny. You need All As just to get a look.

Disregard the Dummy State parents on here & college confidential saying Bs or the occasional C doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grade inflation is insane. Bs = Putz. All As are ten a penny. You need All As just to get a look.

Disregard the Dummy State parents on here & college confidential saying Bs or the occasional C doesn't matter.

What about 6 AP classes, all As and a B or a C in Gym class. I'm sure that's ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grade inflation is insane. Bs = Putz. All As are ten a penny. You need All As just to get a look.

Disregard the Dummy State parents on here & college confidential saying Bs or the occasional C doesn't matter.

What about 6 AP classes, all As and a B or a C in Gym class. I'm sure that's ok.

DP. Thats OK but not great. My kid will have 12 aps after graduation, all As (no Bs since elementary school).

[Anonymous]

A number of posts here seem to be based on an erroneous assumption. The fact that most kids who matriculated at particular school had stats (test scores/GPA) within a particular range, does NOT mean that most applicants to the school that had those credentials were admitted. Quite the contrary, at highly selective schools. Many, many more kids with the same stats were rejected.

Also, remember that the CDS range is 25th to 75th percentile, so falling just barely within it doesn't put a kid in range -- it puts the kid damned near the bottom quarter of the class. And being within the range on one measure but not another generally means you're not in the range period. The successful applicant will typically have both (as well as something else to recommend him/herself -- see paragraph 1).