Sky-High GPAs at Virginia State Schools? Time to Ground Expectations and Open Doors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with you OP to an extent. There is and should be a state funded school for all high school graduates. However, that school does not necessarily have to be the state flagship. With private college tuitions going sky high, it does make sense that some high achieving kids who would have other selective private colleges before are now selecting their "good" in-state option, and this will make those schools more selective. However, as long as there are still other options for all kids, I don't see a problem with this.

ODU, Radford, and Longwood are these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Having read the first ten responses or so I can’t believe no one has said the GPA requirements have moved up with grade inflation in the public schools.

OP, without retakes and grade inflation your kid would not get a B+ in their class, they’d get a C or low B. Ten years ago your kid still would not have received an offer from tech or UVA. The school is not inline with their abilities and/or academic performance.

Agree, it’s a reflection of the grade inflation and retakes in public. My kids all went to different private schools in VA that did not offer all the weighting and retake options. All got into VA colleges with GPAs below the 25% ranges for GPA, and lower test scores now that those are also skewed.

The GPAs are so misleading at this point. Parents thing their kid with a 4.0 is a top student, but they don’t realize there’s a kid with a 4.8 in the same class as their kid.

yep. Had this conversation with a neighbor who thinks her snowflake is a genius with a weighted gpa of 4.1. Her kid is in the bottom 50% of the highschool rankings wise. She could not believe this.

Precisely. And the information is often right on their HS profile, available from the school counselor's office or even online. Yet they do not know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious where you’re getting this info and also reminding folks that even in VA there is a wide discrepancy in how individual school districts calculate GPA.

According to SCHEV average GPA for VT is 4.1 and JMU is 3.9

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't wrap my head around why Virginia state schools like UVA, Virginia Tech, and JMU are setting their GPA requirements so high. For instance, UVA wants a 4.3, Virginia Tech a 4.0, and JMU a 3.5. It feels like they're trying to compete with Ivy Leagues, which might make sense for private schools that thrive on exclusivity, but for public universities funded by taxpayer dollars? That just doesn’t sit right with me.

My own kid, who is gifted in math and computers and two grade levels ahead in these subjects, is looking at Virginia Tech because of its strong emphasis on tech and computer programs. Yet, he might have to reconsider his top choice because he faces challenges in foreign languages and English, and those could drag his GPA down. It's absurd that a student who excels in the exact fields a school specializes in might miss out because of a few lower grades in unrelated areas. I also have to tell him that getting a B or B+ isn't good enough, which to me seems absurd.

Also, why not increase their capacity? More seats would mean more students getting a good education without the crazy pressure of scoring more than a perfect GPA. Another idea could be to limit the number of out-of-state or international students to free up more spots for in-state students, ensuring that Virginia's own have better access to these educational resources.

Isn’t it time we reassess these academic expectations to make higher education more accessible and relevant to what students are actually studying and excelling in? Shouldn't state schools focus on educating more students rather than acting like they're something they’re not? Let's hear some opinions on this!

According to SCHEV JMUs median is more like 3.9 not 3.5 but go off

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:The reality also is that a state public university needs to accept students from all over the state. When I was at UVA, a very very high percentage of students came from NoVA — and that is still the case. For many of them, it clearly was HS a 2nd time and they had the same friends from home at UVa.

In Craig County, if any HS student gets accepted to any college, their name and school is posted on the HS sign board out front (meaning only maybe 10-12 per year go off to any college).

In VA Beach, where the public schools are fine but the parents are less obsessive, getting in to UVa often will get a student’s name on the sign board (yes, it is a bit uncommon, so still notable).

In FCPS, UVa attendance in particular is not atball uncommon. Every FCPS HS sends bunches there every year, and the typical HS kid goes to college somewhere.

This is comical. My DS went to school in VB and is at UVA but there are no sign boards. 😆. Lots of kids go to UVA there and always have.

I guess you don’t live near Cox HS, where it has happened within the last 6 months…

Cox is showing the names of just the kids that got into UVA on a sign? BS.

[Anonymous]

Another question is why are average high school GPAs so high? There's a need for some deflation.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:For the public school admits which will be majority of state schools, the GPAs should be sky high with the rules allowing retests.

Again with this. Not the case for all classes/schools.

What is the median GPA at your VA public high school? And is it in Arlington, Alexandria or Fairfax County?

I don’t know. But I do know that my kid didn’t retake tests. They got it right the first time. It may the case for other classes/kids but the negative stuff about public schools is so old.

FYI - GPA median is on the school profile that high school counselors give colleges. It may not be on the school profile they share online or with parents, but the CCO will share it with you if you ask. I found this really helpful when developing my DC’s college list. Of course, GPA can be all As with little to no rigor, so the median has to be taken in context. It is still a helpful data point for estimating where you rank in the class or what decile/quartile you fall into. Of course, admissions officers look at the transcript and assess the course selections too.

[Anonymous]

I mean I think the issue is that there is no place for above average but not really high GPA kids. It’s either you need 4.0+/high test scores to go to WM/V tech/UVA/now JMU or you go to school that accepts most kids. There is no middle of the road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean I think the issue is that there is no place for above average but not really high GPA kids. It’s either you need 4.0+/high test scores to go to WM/V tech/UVA/now JMU or you go to school that accepts most kids. There is no middle of the road.

No you don't need high test scores and 4+ GPA to get to JMU. I know a girl who is now a rising sophomore who had barely a 3.0 and very average scores (1200) who got off the JMU waitlist. That being said, those that don't get in there can do GMU or CNU. There is TONS of middle ground. There is literally a state school for everyone in VA.

[Anonymous]

Admittedly, I haven't read all five pages of this conversation. But when the OP says UVA wants a 4.3, does that include the senior year grades?

My rising high school senior has raised her GPA from 3.88 to 4.05 this year, and she could conceivably go somewhere into the 4.2's if she excels senior year.

So would the 4.3 (and 4.0, and 3.5) benchmark be compared to the 4.05 she has at end of junior year, or the 4.2something she could conceivably end up with?

I've seen the GPA's listed on SCHEV for incoming freshman, and assumed those are the final numbers after senior year. Correct or incorrect?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another question is why are average high school GPAs so high? There's a need for some deflation.

Likely not happening. But everyone should be aware that average GPAs are much higher than they used to be.

[Anonymous]

GPAs are different depending on school. Some privates do not send GPA so that is not factored in the data. GPA from schools that send tend to be super high because of grade inflation and ability to take tests over.

[Anonymous]

It should be like tj where you need to take one advanced class and have good SATs and no entry based on gpa

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the public school admits which will be majority of state schools, the GPAs should be sky high with the rules allowing retests.

Again with this. Not the case for all classes/schools.

What is the median GPA at your VA public high school? And is it in Arlington, Alexandria or Fairfax County?

I don’t know. But I do know that my kid didn’t retake tests. They got it right the first time. It may the case for other classes/kids but the negative stuff about public schools is so old.

FYI - GPA median is on the school profile that high school counselors give colleges. It may not be on the school profile they share online or with parents, but the CCO will share it with you if you ask. I found this really helpful when developing my DC’s college list. Of course, GPA can be all As with little to no rigor, so the median has to be taken in context. It is still a helpful data point for estimating where you rank in the class or what decile/quartile you fall into. Of course, admissions officers look at the transcript and assess the course selections too.

At our school, the highest you can get on a retake is an 80, so the grade still wouldn’t be as high as someone who got an A first time around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean I think the issue is that there is no place for above average but not really high GPA kids. It’s either you need 4.0+/high test scores to go to WM/V tech/UVA/now JMU or you go to school that accepts most kids. There is no middle of the road.

This is not just Virginia, it’s the whole college market. The most elite schools accept under 5% of applicants, but you don’t even have to drop out of the T50 to find schools that admit over 50%.