Low GPA, decent SAT, What options

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is similar to OP's kid - 3.25/3.75 GPA (UW/W) and 1500 SAT. rigorous schedule. 5 APs so far and another 6 senior year. No real upward trend in GPA over the years.

Any recommendations on schools?

What is your DS interested in?
Iwhat are the current schools considering?

Computing/adjacent (DS,IS, analytics, etc.). Applying to a slew of nearby publics - GMU, VCU, JMU, Tech, Del, UMBC, Pitt, etc. and Drexel, RPI and RIT. Not thinking of ED right now. Wondering if we should be applying to more privates. Hope to keep COA to about 50K/year.

I think they'll get into most of these schools. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

"Low GPA" hahaha ... Op, how can we take you seriously!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Neo wrote:DD with low GPA ~3.5 and 1540 in SAT, what strategy, ED, RD options to consider?

Is that weighted or unweighted? Private school or public? If that’s unweighted from a rigorous private that’s completely different than weighted from a public.

My assumption is if this parent is posting - they are not coming from a rigorous private as they would be getting all the support they need from there at this point in time in the application process.

LOL - coming from a (non-OP) parent at a rigorous private. Your assumptions on support are way off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Low GPA" hahaha ... Op, how can we take you seriously!?

I am not the OP - but at my kids school, the average GPA for the current class of seniors is a 3.9
When you have a 3.5 and are in the bottom quarter of the class - it is a low GPA. (There is a lot of inflation right now)

One tip I have for the OP -
Get applications in early. Even if your child is applying RD - get them in.
You want a school to see that applying there is not an after thought. You want the school to look at the application without comparing against the rest of the class. When there are already 50 applicants from the class, you know exactly where your child is in the cohort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Low GPA" hahaha ... Op, how can we take you seriously!?

A B average isn't competitive, and I say that as someone who wouldn't be accepted to my alma mater today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Low GPA" hahaha ... Op, how can we take you seriously!?

Apparently, you are not aware that it takes a 4.5+ for elite schools and that half of most NoVA FCPS schools graduate with a 4.0 and are called "valedictorian". UVA's incoming class last year had a 4.51 at the 75 th percentile (meaning 25% had higher), a 4.38 at the median, and a 4.20 for the bottom 25th percentile of the class. So a 3.5, weighted or not, is considered low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is similar to OP's kid - 3.25/3.75 GPA (UW/W) and 1500 SAT. rigorous schedule. 5 APs so far and another 6 senior year. No real upward trend in GPA over the years.

Any recommendations on schools?

What is your DS interested in?
Iwhat are the current schools considering?

Computing/adjacent (DS,IS, analytics, etc.). Applying to a slew of nearby publics - GMU, VCU, JMU, Tech, Del, UMBC, Pitt, etc. and Drexel, RPI and RIT. Not thinking of ED right now. Wondering if we should be applying to more privates. Hope to keep COA to about 50K/year.

This sounds like a good and realistic list. Maybe add some privates another tier down from the ones currently on your list.

[Anonymous]

I would suggest applying to out of state public schools, like Pitt, NC state, South Carolina, etc. The test scores may make your kid eligible for merit aid.

[Anonymous]

You all crazy. It depends on classes taken .
And no privates are not all more rigorous that publics here. I know a kid who takes Precalc in senior year and lots of fun electives along with the standard stuff at a mid tier private. He has a great gpa. The transcript is nothing like the top kids at publics, even if those kids got some Bs. Transcripts matter too.

[Anonymous]

I assumed not weighted

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boston College

This is DS's ED choice and I know the scattergram well - there's less than a 10% chance a kid with a 3.5 or lower GPA is accepted ED. I assume those accepted are recruited athletes or related to the pope or something special. I assume the chance is essentially zero at Georgetown.

No. You cannot compare a private to a public. Most privates do not have a GPA other than for parents to see. A 3.5
with hardest classes is good at a top private. You would not see this reflected in scattergram a because there is essentially no GPA.

Still not good enough for those schools - speaking from experience.

[Anonymous]

Neo wrote:DD with low GPA ~3.5 and 1540 in SAT, what strategy, ED, RD options to consider?

SEC. And you'll probably get some merit. Not Vanderbilt obviously, but elsewhere.