1530 SAT at McLean High not enough for UVA now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child goes to McLean High. He got a 1530 SAT as a junior and came home saying it is not good enough because most kids are getting higher scores, so he wants to retake it a third time. Is this really where we are now, that you need a perfect SAT score?

He is already in all DE and AP classes and he is in Calc 2 as a junior. Now he is saying he needs to take summer classes at NOVA so he can take Calc 3 and then differential equations senior year. It feels insane, although he has already taken about five NOVA dual enrollment classes, so I guess we are saving some money.

I graduated in the 90s, got a 1350, felt great about it, did not take calculus until college, and I turned out fine. Is the bar just totally different now?

For those familiar with UVA admissions, is a 1530 SAT at McLean High with a 4.2 weighted GPA and all AP and DE since sophomore year actually not enough, or is this just the pressure cooker effect?

OP take a minute to do the math. Given where you son is in math he obviously took honors math in middle school. Assuming he got As both years he enters 9th grade with a 4.5 GPA. He then has let’s say 1AP in 9th grade and 4 honors courses and gym and an elective. So max GPA that year is about a 4.4. Since all AP or DE as a sophomore max GPA agin with electives/gym drag down 4.7. So max GPA of 4.56 yet sitting a a 4.2. So, needs to get all As in Junior year taking AP and DE to raise GPA to 4.4 to have shot applying as a senior. Just how the math works.

I don’t think FCPS schools allow all AP/DE for sophomores. English 10 and Chem can be honors courses. HPE/EPF/FL are all non-honors courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fact that they recalculate GPA does not suggest that they don't care about it. What an absurd conclusion. They are simply trying to compare like things. Every school system weighs grades differently so in order to compare, you recalculate. If they didn't care about GPA, they wouldn't bother doing this.

UVA cares about rigor AND UVA cares about grades.

Cite that UVA recalculates GPA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child goes to McLean High. He got a 1530 SAT as a junior and came home saying it is not good enough because most kids are getting higher scores, so he wants to retake it a third time. Is this really where we are now, that you need a perfect SAT score?

He is already in all DE and AP classes and he is in Calc 2 as a junior. Now he is saying he needs to take summer classes at NOVA so he can take Calc 3 and then differential equations senior year. It feels insane, although he has already taken about five NOVA dual enrollment classes, so I guess we are saving some money.

I graduated in the 90s, got a 1350, felt great about it, did not take calculus until college, and I turned out fine. Is the bar just totally different now?

For those familiar with UVA admissions, is a 1530 SAT at McLean High with a 4.2 weighted GPA and all AP and DE since sophomore year actually not enough, or is this just the pressure cooker effect?

OP take a minute to do the math. Given where you son is in math he obviously took honors math in middle school. Assuming he got As both years he enters 9th grade with a 4.5 GPA. He then has let’s say 1AP in 9th grade and 4 honors courses and gym and an elective. So max GPA that year is about a 4.4. Since all AP or DE as a sophomore max GPA agin with electives/gym drag down 4.7. So max GPA of 4.56 yet sitting a a 4.2. So, needs to get all As in Junior year taking AP and DE to raise GPA to 4.4 to have shot applying as a senior. Just how the math works.

I don’t think FCPS schools allow all AP/DE for sophomores. English 10 and Chem can be honors courses. HPE/EPF/FL are all non-honors courses.

Don’t disagree. Did best case math scenario for OP. Kid is not going to get a GPA to get into UVA even if they get a 1600 on next SAT try. If truly interested in STEM then should be looking at places where they can go with better STEM programs than UVA.

[Anonymous]

Why are you all so obsessed with UVA? It comes off as desperate and like a striver.

[Anonymous]

Don’t admission officers keep saying they want to see upward trends? There are late bloomers who only start taking a very rigorous course load in their junior and senior years. Those students may have better potential. So I don’t see why UVA would have a strict GPA cutoff even within a given high school…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child goes to McLean High. He got a 1530 SAT as a junior and came home saying it is not good enough because most kids are getting higher scores, so he wants to retake it a third time. Is this really where we are now, that you need a perfect SAT score?

He is already in all DE and AP classes and he is in Calc 2 as a junior. Now he is saying he needs to take summer classes at NOVA so he can take Calc 3 and then differential equations senior year. It feels insane, although he has already taken about five NOVA dual enrollment classes, so I guess we are saving some money.

I graduated in the 90s, got a 1350, felt great about it, did not take calculus until college, and I turned out fine. Is the bar just totally different now?

For those familiar with UVA admissions, is a 1530 SAT at McLean High with a 4.2 weighted GPA and all AP and DE since sophomore year actually not enough, or is this just the pressure cooker effect?

OP take a minute to do the math. Given where you son is in math he obviously took honors math in middle school. Assuming he got As both years he enters 9th grade with a 4.5 GPA. He then has let’s say 1AP in 9th grade and 4 honors courses and gym and an elective. So max GPA that year is about a 4.4. Since all AP or DE as a sophomore max GPA agin with electives/gym drag down 4.7. So max GPA of 4.56 yet sitting a a 4.2. So, needs to get all As in Junior year taking AP and DE to raise GPA to 4.4 to have shot applying as a senior. Just how the math works.

I don’t think FCPS schools allow all AP/DE for sophomores. English 10 and Chem can be honors courses. HPE/EPF/FL are all non-honors courses.

AP Econ can be taken in place of EPF, apparently. My kids did it online in the summer but a coworker told me his kids took AP Econ to get the GPA boost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you all so obsessed with UVA? It comes off as desperate and like a striver.

To save $240k over the course of four years. Most kids applying there will be applying to top SLACs and Ivies. USC is now $99k a year. UvA is $40k. $59 x 4 is just shy of $260 in savings.

[Anonymous]

Looks like they don’t recalculate gpa.

https://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2015/03/i-dont-care-about-your-gpa.html
Admission officers know that the way schools calculate a GPA varies dramatically. Many get around this by having a system that recalculates every GPA so the different methodologies are removed. We don't do that here (not saying it isn't a possibility one day). Instead, we look at the transcript to see the courses you took and the grades that you earned. The transcript tells the story of your process over the last four years. The transcript is far more compelling and informative than your GPA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you all so obsessed with UVA? It comes off as desperate and like a striver.

To save $240k over the course of four years. Most kids applying there will be applying to top SLACs and Ivies. USC is now $99k a year. UvA is $40k. $59 x 4 is just shy of $260 in savings.

Meh, VT and W&M are just as good and also in state. Same for JMU. You’re reaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t admission officers keep saying they want to see upward trends? There are late bloomers who only start taking a very rigorous course load in their junior and senior years. Those students may have better potential. So I don’t see why UVA would have a strict GPA cutoff even within a given high school…

At the most selective schools, it's always better to have the top grades throughout. At some schools it might be that a couple of A- grades freshman year is acceptable. Other schools might be fine with a couple of Cs, then higher scores. Even for schools with more flexibility, an upward trend is better than a downward trend. But the admissions process is not catering to late bloomers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like they don’t recalculate gpa.

https://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2015/03/i-dont-care-about-your-gpa.html
Admission officers know that the way schools calculate a GPA varies dramatically. Many get around this by having a system that recalculates every GPA so the different methodologies are removed. We don't do that here (not saying it isn't a possibility one day). Instead, we look at the transcript to see the courses you took and the grades that you earned. The transcript tells the story of your process over the last four years. The transcript is far more compelling and informative than your GPA.

+100 Epic burn for UVA GPA mom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you all so obsessed with UVA? It comes off as desperate and like a striver.

To save $240k over the course of four years. Most kids applying there will be applying to top SLACs and Ivies. USC is now $99k a year. UvA is $40k. $59 x 4 is just shy of $260 in savings.

Meh, VT and W&M are just as good and also in state. Same for JMU. You’re reaching.

They're not "just as good." William & Mary might be, but VT and JMU are not. UVA is borderline elite. The others are not.

[Anonymous]

OP have your kid get the best grades they can as a Junior. Retake SAT if that makes them happy. Look at schools that give merit on GPA(Miami Ohio, Mizzou) as backups at a lower COA with merit if UVA doesn’t work out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you all so obsessed with UVA? It comes off as desperate and like a striver.

To save $240k over the course of four years. Most kids applying there will be applying to top SLACs and Ivies. USC is now $99k a year. UvA is $40k. $59 x 4 is just shy of $260 in savings.

Meh, VT and W&M are just as good and also in state. Same for JMU. You’re reaching.

They're not "just as good." William & Mary might be, but VT and JMU are not. UVA is borderline elite. The others are not.

Oh please

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you all so obsessed with UVA? It comes off as desperate and like a striver.

To save $240k over the course of four years. Most kids applying there will be applying to top SLACs and Ivies. USC is now $99k a year. UvA is $40k. $59 x 4 is just shy of $260 in savings.

Meh, VT and W&M are just as good and also in state. Same for JMU. You’re reaching.

They're not "just as good." William & Mary might be, but VT and JMU are not. UVA is borderline elite. The others are not.

OMG. Do you ever hear yourself? 😂