I wouldn't get into my alma mater today - what chance do my kids have?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Having said that, getting a D in PE is a sign of being a spoiled brat. And colleges will see that, so while you don't need to harp on them for straight A's, you do need to communicate that that's not acceptable. Because colleges care a lot more about character now than they did then.

What? I'm not athletic. We were graded on physical ability, and it was horrific. I couldn't run a mile without stopping at the end of that class, hence the D. I'm not a spoiled brat.

What? I healthy able-bodied teenager should be able to jog a mile after "training" for a semester. For my very, very uncompetitive no cut track team in high school the first day's work out was jog a mile. Jogging a mile was just the warm up for every other practice.

[Anonymous]

If you are really really concerned about college admissions, don't move to an area with a lot of high achieving kids. Competition is stiffer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Having said that, getting a D in PE is a sign of being a spoiled brat. And colleges will see that, so while you don't need to harp on them for straight A's, you do need to communicate that that's not acceptable. Because colleges care a lot more about character now than they did then.

What? I'm not athletic. We were graded on physical ability, and it was horrific. I couldn't run a mile without stopping at the end of that class, hence the D. I'm not a spoiled brat.

What? I healthy able-bodied teenager should be able to jog a mile after "training" for a semester. For my very, very uncompetitive no cut track team in high school the first day's work out was jog a mile. Jogging a mile was just the warm up for every other practice.

Good for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are really really concerned about college admissions, don't move to an area with a lot of high achieving kids. Competition is stiffer.

And more resources are able in areas with higher competition.

[Anonymous]

I feel you OP. I went to a top 20 university. My kid (eighth grade) is better at school than I ever was. But the way things are right now, I'll be overjoyed if he gets into a decent LAC.

[Anonymous]

The bright spot, you don't NEED to go to college to learn .. so many choices: open course material, classes etc.

We are a bit screwed, my kid is hell bent on CS and we are Asians. He is genuinely interested in CS.. he is pretty good .. top 10% of class but just can't compete with kids qualifying for USJMO (after AIMIE in 7th-8th grade). He has his heart set on top Ivy plus ..and I am trying to get him to be realistic about the competition and lottery especially considering he is an Asian Male.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I know it'll work out. I'm more worried about my freshman who's set his sights on West Point. There really isn't a good alterative to that kind of school (and yes, we know about VMI, ROTC, OCS, etc). I guess we can only do what we can do.

There is soooo much more to getting the nod to USMA than test scores and grades. It literally is a whole, long process that only begins with acceptance. One of ours had it as a dream, was even well along the way, but ran into a brick wall with a physical issue. There are certain medical matters that are, for the most part, hard nos (allergies, eye sight, meds).

That said, if your child is up for it, for four grueling years of school, plus another 5+ of duty, I and many others will thank them for their Service.

Go Army! Beat Navy!

Thank them for their service, but please don't capitalize it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Florida is like California in that it has a very robust and normalized path from 2-year to 4-year schools.

Ooof. The idea of community college being the normalized path for someone with a A+ weighted GPA is just unreal.

OP has an A+ weighted GPA because he/she went to high school in a state that weights classes by more than 1.0 and dropped the courses they didn't do well in. You can't compare a weighted GPA from there to one from a state that uses other standards.

OP here. To be fair, I didn't drop any classes. My school just didn't include non-academic classes in GPA calculations. And since I did graduate from Purdue engineering, it's odd you would even imply I belonged in a community college. The program hasn't changed - it's just more selective now.

Look, it's the reality of the world we live in now. There are 7 billion plus people on the planet and we are competing on a global scale. Our kids are going to just have to work harder than we did because the competition is stiffer. But guess what, when I was a student at my Ivy in the late 80s, the alumni who graduated in the 50s were saying the same thing. It's just the way of the world. Stop wringing your hands and get in the game. Or opt out and make sure you leave your kids a good-sized trust fund.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bright spot, you don't NEED to go to college to learn .. so many choices: open course material, classes etc.

We are a bit screwed, my kid is hell bent on CS and we are Asians. He is genuinely interested in CS.. he is pretty good .. top 10% of class but just can't compete with kids qualifying for USJMO (after AIMIE in 7th-8th grade). He has his heart set on top Ivy plus ..and I am trying to get him to be realistic about the competition and lottery especially considering he is an Asian Male.

For CS major, you don't need to do Top 20.

UMBC in MD and GMU in VA are decent for CS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Having said that, getting a D in PE is a sign of being a spoiled brat. And colleges will see that, so while you don't need to harp on them for straight A's, you do need to communicate that that's not acceptable. Because colleges care a lot more about character now than they did then.

What? I'm not athletic. We were graded on physical ability, and it was horrific. I couldn't run a mile without stopping at the end of that class, hence the D. I'm not a spoiled brat.

Gym class these days is just “show up and participate.”

No it is not. Where I live, gym class is the biggest stressor of the 4 years for almost everyone, including athletes. Our gym teachers are brutal, mentally abusive assH**S. They yell and push the kids, screaming if you can't run a 5K in world record time. Kids get injured in the weekly runs to prep for running a 10K at end of semester. Teachers yell at the injured kids. They strap heart rate monitors on the kids and if you can't get your heart rate high enough, you can't earn an A (or a B, or a C, etc). Yes, this is public schools.
It should be show up and participate, but its far from it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not an alum of a super selective school, either. Purdue, class of 1999, engineering, OOS. 4.8 weighted GPA, 3.4 unweighted. 1205 SAT, 33 ACT.

My kids are freshman and 8th grade, so we have time, but the things I've been reading lately are scary - namely, that I would be unlikely to be accepted into the program I graduated from with my unweighted GPA. And that's from back when PE, health class, the arts, and whatever else weren't factored in, so my unweighted GPA would be much lower today! (I got D's in PE and C's in mandatory art/music)

Is there hope anymore for kids with stats like mine? Do I really need to harp on them for straight A's? I can't handle four years of anxiety, so please ease my mind or tell me they'll be fine at a less selective school.

The thing is, if you went to high school now, your stats would be higher. Wherever you were in your class (%ile) would be the same, and your stats would correspond. The hand wringing over "I wouldn't get into my alma mater today" is overblown. I mean, you probably wouldn't get in-- but you would be competitive to.

Yeah, no. Please don't lie to OP. Grade inflation exists, but not enough to transform those grades into straight As.

OP, it's a financial issue. Not an educational one. Do you have the funds to pay for 80K a year of undergrad, for two kids? Because this is what it might cost if they can't get into their in-state flagship and can't get into lesser state universities. UVA only accepts very high gpas now. A student with your grades would not definitely get in.

So if there's at all a financial angle to this, please get their gpas up. Pay for tutors now! It might make the difference between 50K a year in-state and possibly 100K a year private or out of state. My senior's preferred school costs 80K+ TODAY. Your kids are younger. Do the math.

Aren't some kids just not smart enough to make straight A's, especially in AP classes?

. Yes some kids should not be in AP courses in HS. Because it's HS and AP courses are college classes. Does not mean they will not be highly successful in college, but they might not be ready sophomore or junior or even senior year for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Florida is like California in that it has a very robust and normalized path from 2-year to 4-year schools.

Ooof. The idea of community college being the normalized path for someone with a A+ weighted GPA is just unreal.

OP has an A+ weighted GPA because he/she went to high school in a state that weights classes by more than 1.0 and dropped the courses they didn't do well in. You can't compare a weighted GPA from there to one from a state that uses other standards.

OP here. To be fair, I didn't drop any classes. My school just didn't include non-academic classes in GPA calculations. And since I did graduate from Purdue engineering, it's odd you would even imply I belonged in a community college. The program hasn't changed - it's just more selective now.

I said the state dropped them from your GPA.

You can't compare a weighted GPA from a state that gives over 1.0 bolster to many courses, to one from someplace like VA which gives 0.5 for anything but AP's. Your 4.8 would be a very high GP in MD, and an impossible GPA in VA. But in other states where they might give 2.0 or even 3.0 for an advanced class, it's not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not an alum of a super selective school, either. Purdue, class of 1999, engineering, OOS. 4.8 weighted GPA, 3.4 unweighted. 1205 SAT, 33 ACT.

My kids are freshman and 8th grade, so we have time, but the things I've been reading lately are scary - namely, that I would be unlikely to be accepted into the program I graduated from with my unweighted GPA. And that's from back when PE, health class, the arts, and whatever else weren't factored in, so my unweighted GPA would be much lower today! (I got D's in PE and C's in mandatory art/music)

Is there hope anymore for kids with stats like mine? Do I really need to harp on them for straight A's? I can't handle four years of anxiety, so please ease my mind or tell me they'll be fine at a less selective school.

The thing is, if you went to high school now, your stats would be higher. Wherever you were in your class (%ile) would be the same, and your stats would correspond. The hand wringing over "I wouldn't get into my alma mater today" is overblown. I mean, you probably wouldn't get in-- but you would be competitive to.

Yeah, no. Please don't lie to OP. Grade inflation exists, but not enough to transform those grades into straight As.

OP, it's a financial issue. Not an educational one. Do you have the funds to pay for 80K a year of undergrad, for two kids? Because this is what it might cost if they can't get into their in-state flagship and can't get into lesser state universities. UVA only accepts very high gpas now. A student with your grades would not definitely get in.

So if there's at all a financial angle to this, please get their gpas up. Pay for tutors now! It might make the difference between 50K a year in-state and possibly 100K a year private or out of state. My senior's preferred school costs 80K+ TODAY. Your kids are younger. Do the math.

Aren't some kids just not smart enough to make straight A's, especially in AP classes?

PP you replied to. Sure. My own senior currently has a C in AP Calc BC. It was his first non-A, ever, in all his school career. My point was that kids these days need to put in the work. There is no lackadaisical high school experience anymore. Kids must try to reach their potential, whatever it is, because otherwise you and they will rue it come college admissions times.

Unless you can afford to send your kids to any college, in which case it does not matter so much, since there are thousands of colleges that will provide an undergrad education to practically anyone who shows up in exchange for a ton of money.

My own kid got a B- in first semester Calc BC (really it was a C+ but teacher bumped my kid up the 0.2%). First grade lower than an A- in HS (had only 1 A-). Teacher made the course extremely hard, but makes sure kids learn the material and pass the AP test. Teacher has a 99.9% success rate over 10+ years (defined by 4 or 5 on the AP test)---so yes, the course was hard but literally everyone gets a 4 or 5 and about 75%+ get 5s. My kid is a freshman at a T30, got 5 in BC test, got A- in Calc 3 and earning an A in Calc 4/Diff EQ. So I'd say they learned the material, retained it and understand it. Teacher only makes it so hard to make the kids work and ensure they get a 4 or 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bright spot, you don't NEED to go to college to learn .. so many choices: open course material, classes etc.

We are a bit screwed, my kid is hell bent on CS and we are Asians. He is genuinely interested in CS.. he is pretty good .. top 10% of class but just can't compete with kids qualifying for USJMO (after AIMIE in 7th-8th grade). He has his heart set on top Ivy plus ..and I am trying to get him to be realistic about the competition and lottery especially considering he is an Asian Male.

Air Force Academy? West Point? Annapolis? Just have to be willing to sweat a lot and delay feasting on venture capital for a few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bright spot, you don't NEED to go to college to learn .. so many choices: open course material, classes etc.

We are a bit screwed, my kid is hell bent on CS and we are Asians. He is genuinely interested in CS.. he is pretty good .. top 10% of class but just can't compete with kids qualifying for USJMO (after AIMIE in 7th-8th grade). He has his heart set on top Ivy plus ..and I am trying to get him to be realistic about the competition and lottery especially considering he is an Asian Male.

The kids of any race who are making it into top Ivies aren't in the top 10%, they are in the top 1%, unless they go somewhere super selective for high school. And the other 99% of kids aren't "screwed", they have plenty of other options.