Anonymous
Post 05/18/2025 10:48     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:GPAs are evaluated in the context of the school, not across different schools. AOs absolutely track how well-known and academically rigorous the school is. Elite and well known private schools produce top performers in colleges, and AOs know.

It's oversimplified to say GPA doesn't matter in private schools, or public school kids had it easy. AOs are not comparing two groups of students, they are evaluated in their respective schools.

I agree that AOs evaluate in the context of the high school. I disagree that they necessarily have a good handle on grading - too many variables for grading (different course selection, different teachers for the same course), with many AOs being young, high turnover in the field, etc. In other words, I don't think AOs know as much as they think they do about high school grading. And frankly, I think a good deal of transcript interpretation is now handled by AI and/or algorithms.


Yes. Don't apply to schools where AOs are not familiar with your high school. If your elite high school only sent a few in history to X college, avoid it.

Also, LOC comes into play to explain a lower grade. Your DC may have a B+ in a highly rigorous math course but the teacher thinks he is the smartest student ever taught in her career. That helps, a lot.


Yep. and a good LOR can provide genuine support for a niche major in a way that the rest the application can't.
Anonymous
Post 05/18/2025 10:44     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:GPAs are evaluated in the context of the school, not across different schools. AOs absolutely track how well-known and academically rigorous the school is. Elite and well known private schools produce top performers in colleges, and AOs know.

It's oversimplified to say GPA doesn't matter in private schools, or public school kids had it easy. AOs are not comparing two groups of students, they are evaluated in their respective schools.

I agree that AOs evaluate in the context of the high school. I disagree that they necessarily have a good handle on grading - too many variables for grading (different course selection, different teachers for the same course), with many AOs being young, high turnover in the field, etc. In other words, I don't think AOs know as much as they think they do about high school grading. And frankly, I think a good deal of transcript interpretation is now handled by AI and/or algorithms.


Yes. Don't apply to schools where AOs are not familiar with your high school. If your elite high school only sent a few in history to X college, avoid it.

Also, LOC comes into play to explain a lower grade. Your DC may have a B+ in a highly rigorous math course but the teacher thinks he is the smartest student ever taught in her career. That helps, a lot.
Anonymous
Post 05/18/2025 10:37     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
It's all about your school.
Rigorous private non-DMV school with a track record of producing many admits to both schools each year.

My 3.82uw GPA kid went to Ivy; 3.84uw GPA kid committed to T10.
Anonymous
Post 05/18/2025 10:35     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
Anonymous wrote:GPAs are evaluated in the context of the school, not across different schools. AOs absolutely track how well-known and academically rigorous the school is. Elite and well known private schools produce top performers in colleges, and AOs know.

It's oversimplified to say GPA doesn't matter in private schools, or public school kids had it easy. AOs are not comparing two groups of students, they are evaluated in their respective schools.

I agree that AOs evaluate in the context of the high school. I disagree that they necessarily have a good handle on grading - too many variables for grading (different course selection, different teachers for the same course), with many AOs being young, high turnover in the field, etc. In other words, I don't think AOs know as much as they think they do about high school grading. And frankly, I think a good deal of transcript interpretation is now handled by AI and/or algorithms.
Anonymous
Post 05/18/2025 10:31     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
GPAs are evaluated in the context of the school, not across different schools. AOs absolutely track how well-known and academically rigorous the school is. Elite and well known private schools produce top performers in colleges, and AOs know.

It's oversimplified to say GPA doesn't matter in private schools, or public school kids had it easy. AOs are not comparing two groups of students, they are evaluated in their respective schools.
Anonymous
Post 05/18/2025 10:25     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
In general, sr.’s are competing against their classmates. Yes, the big local public high schools have a ton of APs so their weighted GPAs will be higher.
Anonymous
Post 05/18/2025 09:29     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
You cannot categorize high schools with regard to GPA and grade inflation/deflation. High schools are all over the place on this, both public and private. And it is not always clear from the weighted GPA distribution depicted in the high school's School Profile document.
Anonymous
Post 05/18/2025 08:52     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
Anonymous wrote:There is no generalizing private vs public - depends on the private, and the college admissions officers know the schools well so know how to evaluate those transcripts. At our private, kids with 3.5 and up (with rigor) and high test scores go to Cornell, WashU, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, etc.


Hooked or unhooked?
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2025 18:51     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
If you’re at a private it needs to be “known.” Don’t think you can apply from Startup High with a 3.5.
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2025 17:54     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
Many privates don't have weighted GPAs, so it's impossible to get 4.x. That's going to make their GPAs look low compared to the published average in the CDS. But colleges know that.
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2025 17:45     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
Our school (a called Big3) has an average GPA of 3.5 but a 3.9 is required by Vanderbilt and Cornell unless hooked. WashU a 3.85 if you ED, otherwise a 3.9. Georgetown will go down to a 3.5.
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2025 17:39     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
Anonymous wrote:There is no generalizing private vs public - depends on the private, and the college admissions officers know the schools well so know how to evaluate those transcripts. At our private, kids with 3.5 and up (with rigor) and high test scores go to Cornell, WashU, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, etc.


Can you say the school?
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2025 17:38     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
There is no generalizing private vs public - depends on the private, and the college admissions officers know the schools well so know how to evaluate those transcripts. At our private, kids with 3.5 and up (with rigor) and high test scores go to Cornell, WashU, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, etc.
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2025 17:30     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
Yes. There’s a discrepancy.
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2025 17:02     Subject: Discrepancy btw public and private HS in GPA and outcomes
Saw the level post (Which level kid goes to which schools) and the recent post on 3.9 GPT/TO, and it made me wonder:

has the discrepancy in stats and outcomes btw public and private schools always existed?
what's considered a "top" uwGPA at private? at public?