Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pitzer College. The acceptance rate is low, but the academic standards for getting in aren't as rigorous as the other Claremont Colleges (they're the only test optional member). You get access to all the other colleges within walking distance, their shared employment events/courses/social life (much more impressive/robust than a stand alone LAC), and you can even major in another member school altogether.

This is a very young school (founded in the 1960s) that has climbed the ranks and currently ranks #33 on US News and #59 on Forbes. It's going to continue climbing up and eventually be unattainable for an average-academic student to be admitted into, as the rest of the Claremont Colleges currently are.

Are you mad - Pitzer is a top college in CA. People on DCUM have no idea what average is. You know a kid who gets good grades, does activities, gets a 23 on the ACT - where does that kid go - somewhere average -

You wouldn't have to report the 23 since they're testing optional. If you're a good fit for the sort of student they're seeking, you could definitely get in with the profile described.

OP asked for an up and coming school, not an average school, where a student with average credentials could be admitted now that they wouldn't be later. Pitzer IS a great school- I acknowledged that with their good rankings.

"I completely disagree. MCPS kids have it so easy. They are one of the only districts I know that bumps honors courses up an entire whole point. They also average letter grades with the higher grade of 2 always winning out. No where in this world should a 79.5 and an 89.5 equal an A for a student. And then if it is an honors course, they get a 5.0? A child in another district gets 95 in all of their courses but only a .5 bump on honors and gets a lower GPA. It just isn't right.

100 point system shows who is the best, not who had the easiest system or played the system to it's advantage. It also eliminates strange ways colleges report their GPA grades which are also very inflated to look more appealing. If kids want to be more stressed, that is their issue but kids shouldn't be broken down into a 4.0 system. Kids that get 91's are not that much smarter than kids getting 89's.

And by the way, when I was growing up in NJ, only a 92 and higher was an A."

15:50 here - as I noted above, I'm not against some changes to MCPS grading policy. I am sure MCPS grading policy is hurting students but you can't believe colleges don't change what they are doing when MCPS changes their policy, do you?

"Kids that get 91's are not that much smarter than kids getting 89's." The 4, 3, 2, 1 grade system does NOT result in students who AVERAGE 91 over many classes and AVERAGE 89 as getting 4.0 and 3.0 final grade point AVERAGES only 4.0 and 3.0 grades for one class.

No one averages an 89 without getting something like 40-50% of their grades in the 90s. What actually happens is that somewhere around a 91/100 and higher your GPA is 4.0 uw and an 89/100 is something like a 3.8 uw.

By the way back at you, at my New England public school in the 70s, it took a 93 to get an A AND THERE WERE NO A-'s so a 92 was a flat B. We had 4 class levels and no GPA bump for higher level classes.

Yes, my class's valedictorian took the lowest 2 level classes, had a 99.XX GPA and could barely read. Of course, the colleges knew all about our school and didn't care about either what the school called the grade or our class rank.

I would guess that the more "appealing" MCPS grades become, the more MCPS students will be first judged against the top student from their school and the fewer second tier MCPS students who will get into selective colleges.

Pitzer has become very competitive. So, no way.

Anonymous wrote:Pitzer College. The acceptance rate is low, but the academic standards for getting in aren't as rigorous as the other Claremont Colleges (they're the only test optional member). You get access to all the other colleges within walking distance, their shared employment events/courses/social life (much more impressive/robust than a stand alone LAC), and you can even major in another member school altogether.

This is a very young school (founded in the 1960s) that has climbed the ranks and currently ranks #33 on US News and #59 on Forbes. It's going to continue climbing up and eventually be unattainable for an average-academic student to be admitted into, as the rest of the Claremont Colleges currently are.

Umm, no.

Anonymous wrote:Pitzer College. The acceptance rate is low, but the academic standards for getting in aren't as rigorous as the other Claremont Colleges (they're the only test optional member). You get access to all the other colleges within walking distance, their shared employment events/courses/social life (much more impressive/robust than a stand alone LAC), and you can even major in another member school altogether.

This is a very young school (founded in the 1960s) that has climbed the ranks and currently ranks #33 on US News and #59 on Forbes. It's going to continue climbing up and eventually be unattainable for an average-academic student to be admitted into, as the rest of the Claremont Colleges currently are.

Are you mad - Pitzer is a top college in CA. People on DCUM have no idea what average is. You know a kid who gets good grades, does activities, gets a 23 on the ACT - where does that kid go - somewhere average -

All you have to do is look at the Naviance data for your high school. There are plenty of kids getting Cs/Ds.

From our HS in MD looking at Salisbury scattergram as an example and there are numerous GPA's under 2.5 and some under 2.0. There are even a bunch for UMD CP under 2.5, of course none of those got in but still there are kids out there with those types of grades.

The poster did not say "college prep kids" GET C's & D's, she was responding to the comment that public high schools in the area don't GIVE C's and D's, that is wrong.

Anonymous wrote:Not sure whey 17:18 thinks public schools do not give C's or D's. They definitely do. At least in Montgomery County, and I suspect VA also.

Sounds like your child got a B+. I know it is frustrating to get that close to the next grade, but teachers have to be objective. If they do not round, they do not round. Hopefully, they are consistent with everyone. And, the colleges probably know this is their practice.

I hope that you are not encouraging your child to be so grade-obsessed. It would not be good for their self-esteem or mental health.

Not the PP but most teachers in public are not consistent with everyone. You do realize that? Parents step in. Principals step in. A student begs for extra credit but the teacher doesn't offer it to everyone. This happens all the time.

And no, college prep kids do not get C's and D's in MCPS all the time. Come on. To get that as a final the way the curve system works? No way.

Pitzer College. The acceptance rate is low, but the academic standards for getting in aren't as rigorous as the other Claremont Colleges (they're the only test optional member). You get access to all the other colleges within walking distance, their shared employment events/courses/social life (much more impressive/robust than a stand alone LAC), and you can even major in another member school altogether.

This is a very young school (founded in the 1960s) that has climbed the ranks and currently ranks #33 on US News and #59 on Forbes. It's going to continue climbing up and eventually be unattainable for an average-academic student to be admitted into, as the rest of the Claremont Colleges currently are.

Denison?

Find a regional liberal arts school with small classes for undergrad if you plan to go to graduate school. Big campuses are scary and anonymous. Almost all undergrad classes are taught by grad students.

What about southern state flagship schools like Ole Miss? Auburn, Alabama, LSU...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christopher Newport for the conservative student. Demonstrated interest/their yield protection is very important.

CNU is definitely up and coming. This was a little known commuter school 20 years ago where most Virginians hadn't heard of it. It has steadily risen in the rankings year over year as well as student admit GPA/SAT scores. Most high school students haven't heard of CNU or don't really consider the school until they start serious college planning. I would say CNU competes with JMU, GMU and UMW for solid above average students (or average students that have taken a rigorous course of study (AP/IB)) that are serious about their education, want a small private school-feel and really nice facilities (almost all of the buildings on that campus are less than 20 years old). I would say that CNU is one of the best kept secrets in Virginia and the south east region; however, many students and families from Northern Virginia and New Jersey are starting to find that out when they visit the school, talk to the students and look at the credentials of the professors. I agree with the other posters that JMU is also an up and coming school but not for an average student, the competition to get into JMU by most of the students that don’t get into UVA, W&M and VTech drive the GPA/SAT scores above what most average students have.

CNU's president is a very well connected Washington and Lee grad. His long term plan is to model the school after W&L. Obviously it will take a very, very long time, but I believe the school will certainly improve in status.

Anonymous wrote:Not sure whey 17:18 thinks public schools do not give C's or D's. They definitely do. At least in Montgomery County, and I suspect VA also.

Sounds like your child got a B+. I know it is frustrating to get that close to the next grade, but teachers have to be objective. If they do not round, they do not round. Hopefully, they are consistent with everyone. And, the colleges probably know this is their practice.

I hope that you are not encouraging your child to be so grade-obsessed. It would not be good for their self-esteem or mental health.

+1 They do give C's and D's in public school. Most students in DD's Honors PreCalc in 10th have gotten C's. Two even failed. Of course some A's too but C was the most frequent grade-teacher provided distribution graph.

Not sure whey 17:18 thinks public schools do not give C's or D's. They definitely do. At least in Montgomery County, and I suspect VA also.

Sounds like your child got a B+. I know it is frustrating to get that close to the next grade, but teachers have to be objective. If they do not round, they do not round. Hopefully, they are consistent with everyone. And, the colleges probably know this is their practice.

I hope that you are not encouraging your child to be so grade-obsessed. It would not be good for their self-esteem or mental health.