Class of 2023 - Acceptances/Rejections

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

GMU, VCU, JMU getting tougher to get in even for a 4.0 GPA and 1310 kid.


Why would these schools reject a student with straight As?

I had the same thought. Even if it's a weighted 4.0, they should certainly get in. My DC is applying to two of these schools with a weighted 3.98 and a 34 ACT. If JMU can't deal with a handful of Bs, then I give up. I haven't seen any data that would suggest a problem getting in with a 4.0 and a GPA in the 1300s or above.

Congrats to everyone with early acceptances! My senior has to do auditions in the winter so it's going to be a long wait with potentially no acceptances (at least for DC's desired major).

4.0 weighted with even a moderately rigorous courseload would be more A’s than B’s, not a handful. But I agree VCU and JMU are targets for such a kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GMU, VCU, JMU getting tougher to get in even for a 4.0 GPA and 1310 kid.

Why would these schools reject a student with straight As?

I don't even know where to begin. I was at a Virginia Tech engineering day open house when a mom asked the same question and the entire room sucked in its breath. Because you need a 4.0+ for engineering to get into Tech. Because most kids applying for top in-state schools have a 4.44+ (indicating excellence in AP courses). If you aren't low-income, URM, first-generation, athlete, national scholar, or fit some other profile, and especially if you are from NOVA, you need well over a 4.05. The top 25% median of ENTERING (not accepted which is a higher figure) students last fall at JMU had a 4.02. For UVA & W&M it was a 4.44, etc. Unless you are at TJ, you can't look at the median and bottom 25% median GPAs or class rank because those slots are taken up by the international, low-income, blue ridge scholars, questbridge, first-generation types, etc. http://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp. Go read this evening's post about JMU EA decisions being late because of the surge of applications for this past year. The same happened to Virginia Tech last year - many families who thought they were safeties were not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GMU, VCU, JMU getting tougher to get in even for a 4.0 GPA and 1310 kid.

Why would these schools reject a student with straight As?

I don't even know where to begin. I was at a Virginia Tech engineering day open house when a mom asked the same question and the entire room sucked in its breath. Because you need a 4.0+ for engineering to get into Tech. Because most kids applying for top in-state schools have a 4.44+ (indicating excellence in AP courses). If you aren't low-income, URM, first-generation, athlete, national scholar, or fit some other profile, and especially if you are from NOVA, you need well over a 4.05. The top 25% median of ENTERING (not accepted which is a higher figure) students last fall at JMU had a 4.02. For UVA & W&M it was a 4.44, etc. Unless you are at TJ, you can't look at the median and bottom 25% median GPAs or class rank because those slots are taken up by the international, low-income, blue ridge scholars, questbridge, first-generation types, etc. http://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp. Go read this evening's post about JMU EA decisions being late because of the surge of applications for this past year. The same happened to Virginia Tech last year - many families who thought they were safeties were not.

Most students are not engineering.

[Anonymous]

No one said it was a weighted GPA.

I wish more people would specify weighted or unweighted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one said it was a weighted GPA.

I wish more people would specify weighted or unweighted.

In FCPS, the GPA reflected in the online grade book and Naviance is weighted. The unweighted has to be calculated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one said it was a weighted GPA.

I wish more people would specify weighted or unweighted.

In FCPS, the GPA reflected in the online grade book and Naviance is weighted. The unweighted has to be calculated.

Weighted GPAs mean absolutely nothing to college admissions when comparing kids from different schools. In DS's school, it is impossible to get 4.5. No APs until junior year and honors are not weighted the same as APs. So a kid with a 4.5 at one school is not more eligible than a kid with a 4.2 from another.

[Anonymous]

And the colleges know all that (what is offered at a school) which is why they compare kids from the same HS against each other. It's the basis for the argument that sometimes it's better to stay at a base school than go to a magnet (public).

[Anonymous]

Penn state EA admit

[Anonymous]

I don't even know where to begin. I was at a Virginia Tech engineering day open house when a mom asked the same question and the entire room sucked in its breath. Because you need a 4.0+ for engineering to get into Tech. Because most kids applying for top in-state schools have a 4.44+ (indicating excellence in AP courses). If you aren't low-income, URM, first-generation, athlete, national scholar, or fit some other profile, and especially if you are from NOVA, you need well over a 4.05. The top 25% median of ENTERING (not accepted which is a higher figure) students last fall at JMU had a 4.02.

Well, the question was about GMU, VCU and JMU and not about VA Tech Engineering. I wouldn't have my kid apply to VA Tech for anything with only a 3.98. But I don't think it's a problem to apply to JMU with this GPA and a test score that is 6 points above the 75th percentile. If feels like some posters are one step away from recommending NOVA for kids who have gotten 3 to 5 Bs in HS when things are just not that bad.

Our FCPS high school has about 150 students+ applying to UVA each year and there is now way that "most" of these applicants have a GPA of 4.44 when only about 125 graduate with over a 4.0 (after the extra bump from senior year grades).

Anyway, congrats to all of those with early acceptances, even acceptances to "rolling admissions" schools that accept "anyone with a 3.0" lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penn state EA admit

That's awesome! Seems to be a very popular school right now with kids from NOVA.

[Anonymous]

Yes but PP at 09:50, how many of those 150+ applicants from your child’s FCPS high school actually get ACCEPTED at UVA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And the colleges know all that (what is offered at a school) which is why they compare kids from the same HS against each other. It's the basis for the argument that sometimes it's better to stay at a base school than go to a magnet (public).

I didn’t realize that they compared kids from same schools. This makes me feel a bit more positive about my kid’s chances - could not take any APs without an A in English and pre-approval from teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Penn state EA admit

That's awesome! Seems to be a very popular school right now with kids from NOVA.

Why? It’s a cult school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one said it was a weighted GPA.

I wish more people would specify weighted or unweighted.

I think it's understood that parents are always giving the weighted score unless otherwise specified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes but PP at 09:50, how many of those 150+ applicants from your child’s FCPS high school actually get ACCEPTED at UVA?

and of those accepted, how many actually enrolled. The schev statistics (4.47 GPA for top 25%) is the high school median for students who actually showed up - meaning the requisite GPA to get accepted is higher because many TJ students, international and ivy students use UVA as a safety and then peel off for iviies.