Anonymous wrote:My kid goes to a Big3 school with significant grade deflation. It appears that the kids are not doing well at all with college admits this year. Maybe 5 kids total got EDs so far?
I know multiple kids who were deferred or rejected at University A or B when their peers at less competitive privates and publics were admitted to University A or B.
These are really smart and hard working kids but the school is such that only 1/12 kids in some classes are granted an A.
Is the grade deflation catching up? I just wonder what admissions really thinks when all the applicants from our school have GPAs under 3.8, many quite a bit under.

Am I just worrying too soon in the admissions season or have you noticed this too?
I have an underclassman.

Sounds like NCS.

I know of at least 2 kids who I don’t think of as high GPA (but admit I don’t know details) who got into top 30 schools. No idea on test scores and they were in lots of activities though nothing out of the ordinary. So I think the private school context helped. These kids were not as strong as the average profile for the schools to which they were admitted.

I also know of very strong students who got into top 20 schools. On the face their GPAs were probably lower than publics but assuming they were recalculated by admissions office.

And I know of strong students who got deferred. Some of it seems to be how many kids apply to various schools and you can’t control who falls in love with where. I would expect it to shake out for these kids come RD.

Anonymous wrote:I think private parents underestimate how strong public kids can be and there are so many of them with perfect GPA, perfect test score, tons of ECs...etc. Free education doesn't mean they are somehow less qualified than private kids.

There are brilliant kids in public school. The difference is that private school rewards the brilliant kids with As. It does not reward smart kids with As. The smart kids just get Bs. There are no weighted averages in private schools that can bring a 3.5 up to 4.0. In the top private schools there are few if any AP classes because it is assume that every class carries enough rigor to allow a kid to score on the AP.

This is not a comparison of the best students in public v. best students in private because I agree, that's silly. The very best students in public would probably be among the very best in private. This is a discussion about the kids in the second and third tier.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there evidence of grade deflation?

If the highest GPA possible for a private HS is 4.0 versus (say) 4.9 at nearby schools, that’s some pretty hard evidence.

Is that different from previous years?

Anonymous wrote:Is there evidence of grade deflation?

If the highest GPA possible for a private HS is 4.0 versus (say) 4.9 at nearby schools, that’s some pretty hard evidence.

I'm a parent of a senior at one of the big 3. While I wont comment on deflation, I will say that looking at UC system acceptances of kids from DC area private schools vs. DC / Maryland public schools is eye opening. The public high schools have shown higher % acceptance last 2-3 years vs, DMV privates to the UC system (UC has a portal that publishes all of the data by HS).

So I do very much think that some combination of a) deflation and b) lack of APs / having eliminated AP classes and telling kids to not bother with AP testing leads to DC area private school weighted GPAs looking MUCH lower than public high schools where kids can stack on APs and get these weighted GPAs deep in to the 4+ range whereas this would be basically impossible at GDS, Sidwell, Potomac, Maret, St Albans/NCS. Dont get me started on the god-awful stupid advice my Big 3 gave sophomores, juniors and now seniors last 3 years to NOT take AP tests even in the upper level classes that are AP equivalents.

But even putting that aside, UC system doesnt accept the nomenclature that some of the Big 3 use now that AP classes are gone. For instance, an extended or honors course at our HS would not count in UC wGPA as AP level. Only a "upper level" class would count.

For all the talk of equity, these DC private schools shot themselves in the foot with large public state universities by getting rid of AP classes and practicing grade deflation at the same time

These large public universities get 100k+ applications and very clearly have a wGPA screen and in cases like U of M a wGPA plus SAT/ACT screen unless a kid is a recruited athlete or URM.

So for the 3.7-3.9 weighted GPA kid from one of these private schools odds of getting into UCLA, Berkeley, and U of M is probably lower than its ever been b/c the competition from both DC area and in-state public schools are pulling 4.6 wGPAs...

Is there evidence of grade deflation?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: There has been a significant discrepancy between top private school GPAs and the rest of the field for a very long time. There is nothing new under the sun. I know folks will say that colleges "understand" that Sidwell or STA grade harder than a public school or another private, but the most competitive colleges will not accept candidates with a lot of Bs and C's on their transcript. Even kids with "athletic" value. Not even if standardized tests are excellent

Are you a big 3 parent? Your kid is competing with their classmates (not the kids at the local public) for the most part. How does your kid stack up to their classmates? That's what you need to worry about.

This isn’t true, or at least it’s not universally true. It depends on the university. Some universities (particularly large state schools) rely on hard GPA numbers and they absolutely compare against the larger admissions cohort. I don’t know where this myth came from, but it’s just plain wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think private parents underestimate how strong public kids can be and there are so many of them with perfect GPA, perfect test score, tons of ECs...etc. Free education doesn't mean they are somehow less qualified than private kids.

OP here. No, I don't underestimate this at all. I've had a kid graduate from public school (and another one in public now) and know just how impressive kids from public can be.
This isn't a post comparing the worth of public vs. private school kids when it comes to getting decent college spots.
Please don't turn this into a private vs. public fight because it isn't meant to be that at all.

Simply, I'm just wondering how grade deflation is playing out in admissions at the Big3 in 2023. My kid's school does not give As in many classes. There is crazy grade deflation.
She has been in multiple classes where under 3 As (of any type) are given out of 15 kids. Meanwhile these kids have 1500+ SATs (so they're bright kids). But they can't crack the A level at school.
Anyway, I have another (current kid in public) who has a 4.5 (at last check). Covid was really good for public school GPAs (for most kids). GPAs are higher than ever.
The contrast to the top 3-4 privates is now HUGE.

Also because the admissions results (so far at our school) seem to be really TERRIBLE. They're bad in comparison to other privates (that don't grade deflate as much) and to the top kids in public. So it appears that
admissions officers are taking pass on the Bs and Cs

Please supply us with the data that shows your child's private school is doing worse in college admissions than other privates and "top kids" in public.

You have got to calm down. Help your kid find a safety school as well as a strong target that they will be excited about attending.

Anonymous wrote: There has been a significant discrepancy between top private school GPAs and the rest of the field for a very long time. There is nothing new under the sun. I know folks will say that colleges "understand" that Sidwell or STA grade harder than a public school or another private, but the most competitive colleges will not accept candidates with a lot of Bs and C's on their transcript. Even kids with "athletic" value. Not even if standardized tests are excellent

Are you a big 3 parent? Your kid is competing with their classmates (not the kids at the local public) for the most part. How does your kid stack up to their classmates? That's what you need to worry about.

Anonymous wrote:I think private parents underestimate how strong public kids can be and there are so many of them with perfect GPA, perfect test score, tons of ECs...etc. Free education doesn't mean they are somehow less qualified than private kids.

OP here. No, I don't underestimate this at all. I've had a kid graduate from public school (and another one in public now) and know just how impressive kids from public can be.
This isn't a post comparing the worth of public vs. private school kids when it comes to getting decent college spots.
Please don't turn this into a private vs. public fight because it isn't meant to be that at all.

Simply, I'm just wondering how grade deflation is playing out in admissions at the Big3 in 2023. My kid's school does not give As in many classes. There is crazy grade deflation.
She has been in multiple classes where under 3 As (of any type) are given out of 15 kids. Meanwhile these kids have 1500+ SATs (so they're bright kids). But they can't crack the A level at school.
Anyway, I have another (current kid in public) who has a 4.5 (at last check). Covid was really good for public school GPAs (for most kids). GPAs are higher than ever.
The contrast to the top 3-4 privates is now HUGE.

Also because the admissions results (so far at our school) seem to be really TERRIBLE. They're bad in comparison to other privates (that don't grade deflate as much) and to the top kids in public. So it appears that
admissions officers are taking pass on the Bs and Cs

Anonymous wrote:Threads like this are baffling. Big 3 parents who spend tens of thousands of dollars a year in tuition really have to come on to this silly website to ask basic questions about how their school’s grading systems impacts college admissions? Seriously? What on earth are you paying all that money for?

Sigh.

Here’s the deal. I’d use all caps and scream it, but that would be rude.

Every high school in America includes a detailed school profile with a student’s transcript. Among other things, the profile explains the grading system. So adcoms know exactly what a 3.5 GPA from your snooty little fancy private school means. Your kids are not being compared with 4.6 GPAs coming out of local publics. Adcoms are smart enough and experienced enough to know how to interpret the transcript of a Big 3 applicant.

My God, people, relax.

I don’t really understand why you need to be so rude, as someone with kids in both private and public. It undercuts your point quite a bit.

It is true that the school profile is sent, but it is also true that some universities and colleges widely trumpet the average incoming GPA and use it for rankings, so while they know the profile, higher GPAs will help at the schools that advertise and rely on incoming GPA. This varies by individual colleges. Also, as someone who used to sit on an admission committee for a highly ranked school, you are simply incorrect that the kids aren’t being compared. They are. But how much the school weights the school profile varies by the college.

I think private parents underestimate how strong public kids can be and there are so many of them with perfect GPA, perfect test score, tons of ECs...etc. Free education doesn't mean they are somehow less qualified than private kids.

There has been a significant discrepancy between top private school GPAs and the rest of the field for a very long time. There is nothing new under the sun. I know folks will say that colleges "understand" that Sidwell or STA grade harder than a public school or another private, but the most competitive colleges will not accept candidates with a lot of Bs and C's on their transcript. Even kids with "athletic" value. Not even if standardized tests are excellent

Threads like this are baffling. Big 3 parents who spend tens of thousands of dollars a year in tuition really have to come on to this silly website to ask basic questions about how their school’s grading systems impacts college admissions? Seriously? What on earth are you paying all that money for?

Sigh.

Here’s the deal. I’d use all caps and scream it, but that would be rude.

Every high school in America includes a detailed school profile with a student’s transcript. Among other things, the profile explains the grading system. So adcoms know exactly what a 3.5 GPA from your snooty little fancy private school means. Your kids are not being compared with 4.6 GPAs coming out of local publics. Adcoms are smart enough and experienced enough to know how to interpret the transcript of a Big 3 applicant.

My God, people, relax.