Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...Straight As are not necessary, but too many Bs won't help. My son has good test scores (34), but a combination of insufficient weighted classes in 9th and 10th and a few B/B+ grades in 8th and 9th puts the 4.2 weighted GPA out of reach. No UVA, W&M or (possibly) VA Tech for him! (He'll probably have a 3.75/4.0 after junior year).

Someone please tell me 8th grade grades won't matter!!!

8th grade grades won't matter.

Seriously, if you're in APS, you can have your middle school grades for high-school classes removed from your transcript, if you care.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD got into UVA and W&M from NOVA with a C+ on her transcript, and with a completely fair assessment (as in, I'm not saying this b/c I'm her mother), I don't think she was on the lower end of the accepted spectrum. I think your son has a good chance.

I suspect that was a few years ago. A lot has changed with the Virginia universities (and other instate schools like the CA system). More parents see the value of paying $24K a year versus $72,010. The SCHEV reports have the top 25th percentile at 4.44, median 4.20, and bottom quartile at 4.13, or something close to that. And median ACT of 33. http://research.schev.edu/enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

$24k a year? Ok that information is few years old. I was just on W&M website last week and was shocked that it's almost $40k a year! With a little merit aid from out of state, I would think many private & out of state colleges wouldn't be much more expensive than W&M.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does your son do besides study?

volunteer (average about an hour a week) with disabled kids
marching band (and drum line in spring)
community theatre (summer)
honor society

Anything else?

OP here. That's it. Marching band starts in August and goes through November. Drum Line goes from December through April - so just those two things take up a good deal of after school and on weekend. There are hobbies (drawing/art) and some scattered things here and there (like awards and such), but no other activities on a regular basis. Is that insufficient? How many activities should one have?

Job.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD got into UVA and W&M from NOVA with a C+ on her transcript, and with a completely fair assessment (as in, I'm not saying this b/c I'm her mother), I don't think she was on the lower end of the accepted spectrum. I think your son has a good chance.

I suspect that was a few years ago. A lot has changed with the Virginia universities (and other instate schools like the CA system). More parents see the value of paying $24K a year versus $72,010. The SCHEV reports have the top 25th percentile at 4.44, median 4.20, and bottom quartile at 4.13, or something close to that. And median ACT of 33. http://research.schev.edu/enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

It was last year.

When we dropped our kid off at W&M a couple of years back, in his welcome talk the college president noted how few of the incoming freshman had perfect GPAs -it was a very very small number. So the class was not made up only of straight A students.

Anonymous wrote:My DD got into UVA and W&M from NOVA with a C+ on her transcript, and with a completely fair assessment (as in, I'm not saying this b/c I'm her mother), I don't think she was on the lower end of the accepted spectrum. I think your son has a good chance.

I suspect that was a few years ago. A lot has changed with the Virginia universities (and other instate schools like the CA system). More parents see the value of paying $24K a year versus $72,010. The SCHEV reports have the top 25th percentile at 4.44, median 4.20, and bottom quartile at 4.13, or something close to that. And median ACT of 33. http://research.schev.edu/enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does your son do besides study?

volunteer (average about an hour a week) with disabled kids
marching band (and drum line in spring)
community theatre (summer)
honor society

Anything else?

OP here. That's it. Marching band starts in August and goes through November. Drum Line goes from December through April - so just those two things take up a good deal of after school and on weekend. There are hobbies (drawing/art) and some scattered things here and there (like awards and such), but no other activities on a regular basis. Is that insufficient? How many activities should one have?

The "Änything else?"question makes me laugh. As if he isn't doing enough. What have we come to with this college nonesense? How I long for the 80's when applying to schools was so much simpler!

+100
PPP, please ignore the "anything else" poster. S/he was simply trying to intimidate you into thinking your son needs more activities. He doesn't. He's just fine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...Straight As are not necessary, but too many Bs won't help. My son has good test scores (34), but a combination of insufficient weighted classes in 9th and 10th and a few B/B+ grades in 8th and 9th puts the 4.2 weighted GPA out of reach. No UVA, W&M or (possibly) VA Tech for him! (He'll probably have a 3.75/4.0 after junior year).

Someone please tell me 8th grade grades won't matter!!!

The only 8th grade classes included in HS GPA (and on the HS transcript) are any high school math and foreign language classes taken in MS. FCPS puts these on the transcript, but I suppose that is not the case everywhere.

Algebra I?

At least in APS, Algebra I and Geometry (if an advanced math student), World Geography, two years of a foreign language and possibly another elective like Robotics could all be on a HS transcript.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...Straight As are not necessary, but too many Bs won't help. My son has good test scores (34), but a combination of insufficient weighted classes in 9th and 10th and a few B/B+ grades in 8th and 9th puts the 4.2 weighted GPA out of reach. No UVA, W&M or (possibly) VA Tech for him! (He'll probably have a 3.75/4.0 after junior year).

Someone please tell me 8th grade grades won't matter!!!

The only 8th grade classes included in HS GPA (and on the HS transcript) are any high school math and foreign language classes taken in MS. FCPS puts these on the transcript, but I suppose that is not the case everywhere.

Algebra I?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does your son do besides study?

volunteer (average about an hour a week) with disabled kids
marching band (and drum line in spring)
community theatre (summer)
honor society

Anything else?

OP here. That's it. Marching band starts in August and goes through November. Drum Line goes from December through April - so just those two things take up a good deal of after school and on weekend. There are hobbies (drawing/art) and some scattered things here and there (like awards and such), but no other activities on a regular basis. Is that insufficient? How many activities should one have?

What the admin offices are searching for is an example of unique leadership skills and grit. They see far too many students who have high grades and scores but upon reaching college don't know what to do with themselves. They are looking for the leaders of tomorrow. So they want to see a national award, national merit, Seimans, national science awards, eagle scouts, American Legion School Award, prestigious or unique summer activities and mastery of foreign languages and skills. The drum skills might get you a good shot at schools with big emphasis on football and band, but that's not W&M. It's worth a shot to try for drum line at UVA, although the GPA scores (weighted ) for even lowest 25% of the class is still over 4.0. You do know you can send in a link to a youtube showing your child's drumming skills, right?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...Straight As are not necessary, but too many Bs won't help. My son has good test scores (34), but a combination of insufficient weighted classes in 9th and 10th and a few B/B+ grades in 8th and 9th puts the 4.2 weighted GPA out of reach. No UVA, W&M or (possibly) VA Tech for him! (He'll probably have a 3.75/4.0 after junior year).

Someone please tell me 8th grade grades won't matter!!!

The only 8th grade classes included in HS GPA (and on the HS transcript) are any high school math and foreign language classes taken in MS. FCPS puts these on the transcript, but I suppose that is not the case everywhere.

Anonymous wrote:...Straight As are not necessary, but too many Bs won't help. My son has good test scores (34), but a combination of insufficient weighted classes in 9th and 10th and a few B/B+ grades in 8th and 9th puts the 4.2 weighted GPA out of reach. No UVA, W&M or (possibly) VA Tech for him! (He'll probably have a 3.75/4.0 after junior year).

Someone please tell me 8th grade grades won't matter!!!

It was a big stretch for my seesaw kid (good but not perfect grades, high SAT, OK extracurriculars) and he was waitlisted, which surprised me (in a good way).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does your son do besides study?

volunteer (average about an hour a week) with disabled kids
marching band (and drum line in spring)
community theatre (summer)
honor society

Anything else?

OP here. That's it. Marching band starts in August and goes through November. Drum Line goes from December through April - so just those two things take up a good deal of after school and on weekend. There are hobbies (drawing/art) and some scattered things here and there (like awards and such), but no other activities on a regular basis. Is that insufficient? How many activities should one have?

The "Änything else?"question makes me laugh. As if he isn't doing enough. What have we come to with this college nonesense? How I long for the 80's when applying to schools was so much simpler!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does your son do besides study?

volunteer (average about an hour a week) with disabled kids
marching band (and drum line in spring)
community theatre (summer)
honor society

Anything else?

OP here. That's it. Marching band starts in August and goes through November. Drum Line goes from December through April - so just those two things take up a good deal of after school and on weekend. There are hobbies (drawing/art) and some scattered things here and there (like awards and such), but no other activities on a regular basis. Is that insufficient? How many activities should one have?