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.