Anonymous
Post 05/06/2026 05:59     Subject: Rejections
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Having such a high SAT score with a relatively low GPA makes him look low effort.


I agree with this statement. It makes him look like a "good test taker" except that he likely didn't prepare for his tests in classes. Aren't there remedy pathways to correct low grades? I'm estimating that the OP's kid had a couple of Cs on his transcript to have a 3.58 gpa. I thought there's a way to fix these types of grades at nova high schools--am I wrong?


This high test score and lower GPA is a classic sign of ADHD. Super smart, as evidenced by the test score, but executive function drags down the grades. My DC had a 35 ACT and a 3.0 from a big3 private (no APs). This is a really high IQ kid that teachers loved, so the recommendations were likely good (but honest about the struggles). ADHD made grades lower, especially in 9th and 10th. Didn’t hide the ADHD in the application. Attending a top 40 university and getting almost all As and the occasional B or C.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2026 23:01     Subject: Rejections
Anonymous wrote:I’m really sorry. I’m sure the rejections sting. Your kid will be great and have great opportunities wherever he lands.


+100
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2026 12:26     Subject: Rejections
VCU now ranks in the top ten percent for STEM programs nationally and has the fourth best art school in the whole country. It moved up something like 29 places in two years in the USWNR rankings? It now outranks JMU. People get ruffled by the high admission rate and urban setting, but the academics in key fields are rigorous and it's a beautiful, multicultural campus with brand-new science buildings. It's an R-1 research institution which matters greatly if your kid is in STEM. Richmond is an opportunity for your kid to experience something other than NOVA.
Anonymous
Post 04/18/2026 11:45     Subject: Rejections
Anonymous wrote:I’m really sorry. I’m sure the rejections sting. Your kid will be great and have great opportunities wherever he lands.


Thanks
Anonymous
Post 04/18/2026 11:44     Subject: Rejections
Anonymous wrote:Op here
We are not.
Applied to few rolling admission.


Was referring to pp who asked about URM
Anonymous
Post 04/18/2026 11:44     Subject: Rejections
Op here
We are not.
Applied to few rolling admission.
Anonymous
Post 04/18/2026 11:42     Subject: Rejections
I’m really sorry. I’m sure the rejections sting. Your kid will be great and have great opportunities wherever he lands.
Anonymous
Post 04/18/2026 10:50     Subject: Rejections
I am sorry and shocked to hear about these results, many of these kids work extremely hard and you have my empathy…I am still working my way through the comments and haven’t read all…out of curiosity are any of these high-stat rejections URMs?
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2026 21:18     Subject: Rejections
Op here
I have asked my son to ask the counselor if she would/ and if it’s a good idea if she can contact the AO, and let them know that he is interested and will attend if accepted. Also to update them on his recent accomplishments.

Thank you for all the updates and insights, they are very helpful.
Also to those who are posting still open admission schools.

Anonymous
Post 04/08/2026 15:01     Subject: Rejections
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op here.

I understand his gpa isn’t good.

But I have seen a lot of these statements below and thought perhaps there is hope somewhere.

“Colleges would rather see a B in a challenging class than a B in an easier class.”

“They want to see you have challenged yourself to the hardest classes your school has to offer.”

We know better now and yes have learnt a lesson.

To a pp, his only EC was not only a Scioly.
He has awards from his sports which he has done since Freshman, has leadership role, TSA, and more.

His scioly medal was from state level after getting the gold in regional.
I am not saying that he is excellent, he is not; but am clarifying to a pp that he did have more than one EC.

He picked 2 Stem teachers for his recommendations in classes he got As in and had good rapport with.

Again, I see the biggest issue has been his unweighted gpa. I honestly don’t see whats wrong in his app, except his gpa and that he didn’t take 4 years of a foreign language.



Hi OP,
Unfortunately these schools are not transparent in terms of what they are really looking looking for, especially from unhooked kids. Statements like "we'd rather see a B in an AP" don't apply equally to all applicants and probably have to be taken with a grain of salt for anyone not FGLI or rural. It's not reasonable to expect students and parents to do the level of research some on this forum are chiding you for.
On hopefully a more helpful note, do research strong letter of continuing interest and ask your counseling office to make an advocacy call for your son to their top waitlist choice- while it is a long shot there are things you can do that will improve chances of getting in off of the waitlist. Don't look back, move forward.
Good luck


Hello,

Do counselors really do advocacy calls?
Should I ask ds to ask his counselor for that?

Thank you.


Yes, they do, it is pretty standard for private school counselors to call for WL students. You should make the request. It can help, what the AO's want to know is that the student will attend if offered, they already know he can do the work that is why he got the waitlist spot.


Op here,

He is not in a private school though.
( Although is in a magnet.)


Still worth asking-they should do this.
I understand why they don’t in RD, unfair to other kids, but at this stage that is not a concern. Call and ask, it can help because they can signal he’ll take the spot in a way the LOCI can’t
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2026 14:46     Subject: Re:Rejections
Anonymous wrote:The schools rate your grades and stats against other kids in YOUR high school. So if OP's kid has a 4.1 but other applicants in his high school have a higher GPA, then guess who they're accepting? That's the thing that sucks about being in a magnet or in schools with lots of high achieving students. My DD got into UMD with stats lower or the same as her friends at Poolesville HS (MCPS), but those friends didn't get in.

Probably because Poolesville has more higher stats kids than your Dc's school. They look at each HS.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2026 13:47     Subject: Rejections
UT-Dallas regular applications open until May 1 fyi...
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2026 11:48     Subject: Rejections
Op, I agree with the recommendations to have your DC look at the WL choices and see if there is one that they really want (and you can afford at full pay) and then ask the school counselor to weigh in. Also keep in mind that lots of kids are applying to 15 colleges, so there will likely be lots of WL movement due to declining offers. So you want your DC to be at the top of the WL list when those declines come in.

And I get the disappointment. It's really hard to make a list these days as the competition gets harder and admissions don't rely on test scores as much as in the past.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2026 11:16     Subject: Rejections
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:4.1 GPA means mostly Bs, maybe some As and Cs.

The results were consistent with what we know.


NP here. My FCPS child has a 4.2 weighted and she had a B+ and a B- in 2 APs and a B in an honors course. The rest were a combo of As and A- in AP, honors, and DE. Nary a C in the mix.


This math isn't mathing.



PP here. You're right. I went back and looked and there were 4 variations of Bs.

Honors: B and B+
AP: B and B+

Weighted GPA per FCPS website is 4.213 and I think unweighted is 3.8x.

Anonymous
Post 04/08/2026 10:38     Subject: Rejections
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:4.1 GPA means mostly Bs, maybe some As and Cs.

The results were consistent with what we know.


NP here. My FCPS child has a 4.2 weighted and she had a B+ and a B- in 2 APs and a B in an honors course. The rest were a combo of As and A- in AP, honors, and DE. Nary a C in the mix.


This math isn't mathing.