GPA - Recruiting

[Anonymous]

Looking for advice from parents that have been through the process. Do schools really evaluate based on the core unweighted GPA? Or, will they take the overall weighted GPA into consideration?

[Anonymous]

Of course they look at weighted GPA. Colleges want students who take challenging courses; anyone can sandbag and take easy courses to get a high GPA. Those kids also usually struggle their first year in college.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. College coaches are always looking for the admissions boost that can help their recruited athletes. Strength of course schedule is one factor (with the weighted GPA), as is super scoring the standardized tests. Ivies and NESCACs do this as a matter of course.

[Anonymous]

yes. grades and test scores and AP classes matter.

What they don't tell you is that there is a major importance to freshman and soph grades since colleges make offers early in junior year. Also, some college will ask for 8th grade grades too. (that was the biggest shock to us in the process)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yes. grades and test scores and AP classes matter.

What they don't tell you is that there is a major importance to freshman and soph grades since colleges make offers early in junior year. Also, some college will ask for 8th grade grades too. (that was the biggest shock to us in the process)

True, but.. . . If we are looking at high academics, NESCACs cannot tell a lacrosse kid they will support him/her until July 1 going into their senior year. And even then, the final decision lies with the admissions office.

[Anonymous]

Can you get recruited with poor grades? I’m thinking of the students who are excellent athletes but struggle with learning disabilities, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you get recruited with poor grades? I’m thinking of the students who are excellent athletes but struggle with learning disabilities, etc.

Only if you are with a top program like Yorktown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course they look at weighted GPA. Colleges want students who take challenging courses; anyone can sandbag and take easy courses to get a high GPA. Those kids also usually struggle their first year in college.

Not really accurate. And no, weighted is not really looked at either, as nowhere in the NCAA GPA scores does it list weighted vs non-weighted. Its just GPA. So your freshman and sophomore year grades are very important in the core subjects. Nail those and your fine. No worse than a B+/A- and no one is off the list. But start slipping to a B/B- in the core and you are clearly looking at another rung of the ladder. Nothing wrong with that its just reality. Welcome to the post-Varsity Blues world. No one wants to take a risk on someone who is going to cost them more in academic support resources for a non-revenue program. Its really just that simple, especially when there are a lot of good kids out there playing in competitive leagues.

[Anonymous]

^ +100

[Anonymous]

It's all about the academic index at the top academic schools.

[Anonymous]

I thought that listing the GPA as weighted would be a bad thing, because it means they didn’t earn the A, but inly got the 4 because its weighted. Is that wrong?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought that listing the GPA as weighted would be a bad thing, because it means they didn’t earn the A, but inly got the 4 because its weighted. Is that wrong?

No. List GPA with the weighted number. If it’s a concern, the coach will ask. If the student is a top recruit, the coach will bend over backwards to sell him/her to the admissions office. A top recruit with a few B-s or god forbid, C+s, in a core AP course can get recruited - but the coach will need to balance that with a kid with straight As and high test scores who may not be as highly regarded as a recruit.

In our experience, the Ivies tend to be a little easier in this regard than many of the NESCACs.

[Anonymous]

The Ivies are bound to the academic index, which is a well-guarded secret. Even within the IL, HYP have a higher AI than the others. Technically, a student cannot Get through Admissions unless they meet the AI for that school.

[Anonymous]

How about outside of the Ivies? How good to the grades have to be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about outside of the Ivies? How good to the grades have to be?

Depends On the school. I would argue that you likely need better grades/ scores for a Williams/Amherst/Swarthmore than for an Ivy as a recruited athlete - all things being equal.

A weighted 3.5 - 3.8 (for lacrosse) could make you competitive at some NESCACs, most of Centennial, most of ODAC, all of Liberty, etc. the coaches will be the best initial sanity check, as they can tell you whether you are in the ballpark or not. The test score also matters. A lower GPA can be offset by a high SAT/ACT. Again, depends on the school, and on where the player ranks on the coach’s board.

While post-COVID, many schools have gone test-optional, any lacrosse player who is trying to get recruited likely needs to have a test score to submit. The coaches will want that - especially if it is a score that helps with admissions.