3.8 unweighted. Got into top SLAC. Wrote column for national newspaper.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kid aimed for one of the top VA colleges, didn't get in, enrolled into a lesser VA school, excelled in academics and extracurriculars, and transferred to the dream school as a sophomore.

Interested in this path - could you tell us more? How does a college freshman have the opportunity to really excel (grades/extracurriculars) in time for March transfer deadlines?

1. Make sure spring semester senior year is fantastic.
2. Make sure you get a good GPA in that one semester they see.
3. Write a damned good essay when asked why you are transferring.

You still submit the high school should be aware that there S very little money out there for transfer students, so this only works if you don't need merit money.

Make sure to check out the common data set under "transfers" for admit numbers. It's really helpful to get realistic chances at admittance. Most likely you are applying to a school within the university. You need to check those requirements and what credits will transfer, otherwise you're looking at 5-6 years of college.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kid aimed for one of the top VA colleges, didn't get in, enrolled into a lesser VA school, excelled in academics and extracurriculars, and transferred to the dream school as a sophomore.

Interested in this path - could you tell us more? How does a college freshman have the opportunity to really excel (grades/extracurriculars) in time for March transfer deadlines?

1. Make sure spring semester senior year is fantastic.
2. Make sure you get a good GPA in that one semester they see.
3. Write a damned good essay when asked why you are transferring.

You still submit the high school should be aware that there S very little money out there for transfer students, so this only works if you don't need merit money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So does it help if we are full pay AND a protected class?
DS will have a 3.2 unweighted, no SAT yet; but with all honors and 5 AP from a FCPS. DH is a legacy Duke grad (MBA program), so would like DS to go there, but kid would be ok in UVA or JMU, which we have visited. We would be full pay.

With a 3.2 I don't think any of those schools are on the table.

Not even JMU?

I'm looking at the Naviance data for JMU from my kid's NoVA HS. Average accepted weighted GPA is a 3.9. I don't see many acceptances below a weighted 3.5...Do you have access to Naviance for your school?

We visited JMU a week ago and they told us they basically ignore GPA (because methodologies vary so much by school) and rely largely on standardized tests.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So does it help if we are full pay AND a protected class?
DS will have a 3.2 unweighted, no SAT yet; but with all honors and 5 AP from a FCPS. DH is a legacy Duke grad (MBA program), so would like DS to go there, but kid would be ok in UVA or JMU, which we have visited. We would be full pay.

With a 3.2 I don't think any of those schools are on the table.

Not even JMU?

Interesting to note that Duke's Common Data Set has "Alumni Relation" checked as "Considered" whereas at UVA, alumni relation is checked "Very Important"

Legacy is huge hook for UVA if you are OOS. Legacy OOS are put in the IS pool...go from a 20% acceptance rate to > 40%.

Is it legacy if it isn't a parent? My three brothers went to UVA, but I went to UCLA.

At UVA, it's defined as a "child of a degree-holder"

http://alumni.virginia.edu/admission/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So does it help if we are full pay AND a protected class?
DS will have a 3.2 unweighted, no SAT yet; but with all honors and 5 AP from a FCPS. DH is a legacy Duke grad (MBA program), so would like DS to go there, but kid would be ok in UVA or JMU, which we have visited. We would be full pay.

With a 3.2 I don't think any of those schools are on the table.

Not even JMU?

Interesting to note that Duke's Common Data Set has "Alumni Relation" checked as "Considered" whereas at UVA, alumni relation is checked "Very Important"

Legacy is huge hook for UVA if you are OOS. Legacy OOS are put in the IS pool...go from a 20% acceptance rate to > 40%.

Is it legacy if it isn't a parent? My three brothers went to UVA, but I went to UCLA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So does it help if we are full pay AND a protected class?
DS will have a 3.2 unweighted, no SAT yet; but with all honors and 5 AP from a FCPS. DH is a legacy Duke grad (MBA program), so would like DS to go there, but kid would be ok in UVA or JMU, which we have visited. We would be full pay.

With a 3.2 I don't think any of those schools are on the table.

Not even JMU?

Interesting to note that Duke's Common Data Set has "Alumni Relation" checked as "Considered" whereas at UVA, alumni relation is checked "Very Important"

Legacy is huge hook for UVA if you are OOS. Legacy OOS are put in the IS pool...go from a 20% acceptance rate to > 40%.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So does it help if we are full pay AND a protected class?
DS will have a 3.2 unweighted, no SAT yet; but with all honors and 5 AP from a FCPS. DH is a legacy Duke grad (MBA program), so would like DS to go there, but kid would be ok in UVA or JMU, which we have visited. We would be full pay.

With a 3.2 I don't think any of those schools are on the table.

Not even JMU?

Interesting to note that Duke's Common Data Set has "Alumni Relation" checked as "Considered" whereas at UVA, alumni relation is checked "Very Important"

Anonymous wrote:So does it help if we are full pay AND a protected class?
DS will have a 3.2 unweighted, no SAT yet; but with all honors and 5 AP from a FCPS. DH is a legacy Duke grad (MBA program), so would like DS to go there, but kid would be ok in UVA or JMU, which we have visited. We would be full pay.

What is the weighted GPA? All FCPS stats on Naviance are based on the weighted number. GPAs get better as you go along as most kids take more Honors/AP classes Junior and senior year. Full pay would matter with Duke but not as much with UVA or JMU as they are state schools (lower cost so more parents are full pay and many did the prepay). What year is your DC? The GPA is based on end of year grades only- not quarterly grades- how did you calculate the unweighted GPA?

Assuming the 3.2 translates to a 3.5 weighted and then gets better to a 3.7-3.8 by the end of senior year, your DC would have a chance at JMU. UVA and Duke are off the table- your DC would need better grades and a few more APs (not the easier ones like the Historys, Econ, Enviro Science or Psychology)- plus he would need some excellent extra curriculars.

Yeah, I don't think a 3.2 is a lock for any of those. Maybe JMU, but even that is tough b/c it's a "safety" for kids applying to other state schools and given the acceptance rates at the others, the trickle down filters into JMU.

My child has around a 3.7ish unweighted (maybe even higher) and I don't think he's safe for UVA with that, and Duke - no chance. (weighted is over 4.0)

A friend of mine has a much bigger Duke hook and has not been successful in getting either of his children in - and their stats on GPA alone were stronger.

You never know, there are flukes all over the place, but I would definitely cast a wide net.

I have to admit its nice to see other parents in the same position I'm in. At least we live in the US, where kids can redeem themselves if they get their act together later in life...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So does it help if we are full pay AND a protected class?
DS will have a 3.2 unweighted, no SAT yet; but with all honors and 5 AP from a FCPS. DH is a legacy Duke grad (MBA program), so would like DS to go there, but kid would be ok in UVA or JMU, which we have visited. We would be full pay.

With a 3.2 I don't think any of those schools are on the table.

Not even JMU?

Possibly not a bad chance (I think the 3.9 avg cited by a poster above is probably weighted. But I wouldn't treat it as a safety. UVA and Duke are far, far reaches for your kid. Also, I'm not sure that Duke counts MBAs for legacy status. They might, but many schools count undergrad only these days.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So does it help if we are full pay AND a protected class?
DS will have a 3.2 unweighted, no SAT yet; but with all honors and 5 AP from a FCPS. DH is a legacy Duke grad (MBA program), so would like DS to go there, but kid would be ok in UVA or JMU, which we have visited. We would be full pay.

With a 3.2 I don't think any of those schools are on the table.

Not even JMU?

I'm looking at the Naviance data for JMU from my kid's NoVA HS. Average accepted weighted GPA is a 3.9. I don't see many acceptances below a weighted 3.5...Do you have access to Naviance for your school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So does it help if we are full pay AND a protected class?
DS will have a 3.2 unweighted, no SAT yet; but with all honors and 5 AP from a FCPS. DH is a legacy Duke grad (MBA program), so would like DS to go there, but kid would be ok in UVA or JMU, which we have visited. We would be full pay.

With a 3.2 I don't think any of those schools are on the table.

Not even JMU?

Anonymous wrote:So does it help if we are full pay AND a protected class?
DS will have a 3.2 unweighted, no SAT yet; but with all honors and 5 AP from a FCPS. DH is a legacy Duke grad (MBA program), so would like DS to go there, but kid would be ok in UVA or JMU, which we have visited. We would be full pay.

With a 3.2 I don't think any of those schools are on the table.