<p>My daughter is interested in a couple of colleges that say, according to published info, that of those students who submit their class rank, 97% are in the top 25% of their high school class. Well, she's in the top 33% but might not be able to pull herself into the top 25%. She's got a 3.38uw/3.53w GPA and 2240 SAT. How can she feel it's worth going through the effort of completing apps and doing essays and interviews ... to remotely be in that measly 3%?!?</p>
<p>thats a pretty low GPA to even be in the top 50% at most schools. I would try and raise your grades either way but i doubt it would help</p>
<p>at my school to be in the top 20% u would normally need a a 4.0 (weighted of course)</p>
<p>(and grades arent inflated where i go)</p>
<p>That SAT score and GPA don't seem to match up well at all. There might be hope if she's shown an upward trend in grades (meaning, she's got that low GPA because she didn't focus freshman year, but now her grades are up to the level that her SAT says they should be).</p>
<p>Also, how difficult is her course load?</p>
<p>Does your daughter attend a top private prep high school? At some high schools, more than 50% of the students get into top 25 universities and top 15 LACs.</p>
<p>It really depends on the school your looking at i think.</p>
<p>i would say, unless your daughters SATs are significantly above the 75% range, and she has knock out ECs, you're going to have problems getting into the school (if your just at ur local public school). This also poses the problem because most schools with a percentage of students that high in the top 25% have very high SAT scores.</p>
<p>For example, say your daughter is applying to Bucknell University - which ahs 94% of its studnets in the top 25% of its class. Its 75% SAT score is only 2070, therefore your daughter is significantly above the 75% SAT range - and may have a slight chance.</p>
<p>However, I think you'll find it difficult getting into schools that have that high a percetage in the top 25% because usually the ones not in it are athletes or special admits.</p>
<p>Not sure comparing GPAs from one school to another is as reliable as looking at class rank. Fact is, she's only in the top 33%. Yes, she's taken many APs and Honors and has had an upward GPA trend, but at the end of the day ... she's only in the top 33%. From prior comments, I understand GPA/rank is far more important (and should be), so the takeaway is she shouldn't bother looking at a college that says 97% of its students were in the top 25% of their class. Still, given where she is in her class rank at 33%, I'm wondering ... where/how does a strong SAT factor in?</p>
<p>Alexandre, tho I've seen a ranking that puts D's HS in top 15 publics in Illinois, I don't think it sends kids to the top tier anywhere near the rate you mentioned, but I appreciate your point.</p>
<p>jags861, I get your point as well. Will look more closely at the margin.</p>
<p>Obv, she's not relying only on her SAT, but her GPA/rank is somewhat rate-limiting, isn't it? (And as it should be.)</p>
<p>Bumppo, which university are you referring to...that has 97% of its student graduate in the top quartile of their class?</p>
<p>Davidson, for one. There are a couple others she's interested in that are in the mid-90% range as well.</p>
<p>Bumppo:</p>
<p>Look, her SATs are outstanding. That's the good news. The bad news is that her grades aren't. That's a red flag for many admissions officers, as well it should be. Now, if she has a strong upward trend, they can look at the trend and think, "Well, she's very, very skilled, and she's obviously getting her work ethic and head together. She's taken the toughest course load, too, so that says something good about her willingness to take on challenge, even if she was late in learning to rise to meet it."</p>
<p>So, let me say that I don't think this is an impossibility for her.</p>
<p>"at my school to be in the top 20% u would normally need a a 4.0 (weighted of course)</p>
<p>(and grades arent inflated where i go)"</p>
<p>It's amazing to me that someone would consider 20% of a class with a 4.0W GPA not grade-inflated. A 4.0W GPA at my hs was top 3% not that long ago. 3.53W low for the top 50%? That probably would have been top 13% of my school. What is the point of a four-point scale when everyone is shoved into the top point of it? </p>
<p>I would think a 3.38UW is not that low, but maybe it is if it's only top 33%. However, those SATs I would guess are 97%+ile, so would think she could have a chance at a Davidson, but may have a much better chance a little lower down (Lafayette, Union) level of selectivity.</p>
<p>gellino:</p>
<p>Grade inflation comes in many flavors. My HS valedictorian had a 3.6 something or another. But the grading scale had no weighted grades, and in order to get a 4.0 for the semester, it required a 98% or higher in all classes.</p>
<p>Some grade inflation comes from lowered standards. Either the classes are easier, or more As are given. Other grade inflation comes from tougher courses that I ever say in high school. To me, those are different issues.</p>
<p>There are basically two ways to assign grades:
- Everyone who knows the material (and does his work) gets an A. In a relatively easy class, 90% of the students should get As, in a harder one (e.g. organic chemistry at my school) no one would get an A. That system is bound to grade inflation.
- The best (e.g. 10%) students in a course get As. Using the examples above, as no one fully grasps organic chemistry, the best students who only understand 80% of the concepts still get As. On the other hand, you might take an easy class and understand everything and still only get a C because you are just average in that course. Depending on the curve used, that system might turn out grade inflation or deflation or neither.</p>
<p>Colleges know what the student body is like at prep schools and outstanding high schools. If you are at a high school that sends many kids to Ivy League schools, the 33% is okay.</p>
<p>To the OP: Your daughter's SATs are outstanding and her GPA is fine. Many bright kids do better in college because they get to choose most of the courses studied, as compared to high school's mostly mandated curriculum. Regarding Davidson College, they would probably love your daughter if she applied ED I or ED II. Focus on your daughter's strengths-don't obsess over perceived weaknesses.</p>
<p>Garrity, I hear what you're saying, but ... my D looks to me for sound thinking help and can read my face like a map. I don't know how I talk with her about applying to Davidson when, per stats, she's in that 3% group. Candidly, I'm inclined to suggest she think much more about it before investing the time and hope. Obv, someone makes it into that 3%, but I expect they've got extraordinary circumstances the likes of which my D just doesn't have.</p>
<p>I have a lot of experience in this field and can assure you that your daughter is a strong applicant to, for example, Davidson College if she expresses strong interest and applies early decision one or two. If you want further assurance, call Davidson admissions after this application cycle and ask them. But don't do this without solid reasons for wanting Davidson or whatever college is your daughter's first or second choice.</p>
<p>Garrity, I'm amazed EDI or II could make such a difference. I wonder whether the reasoning behind an applicant's decision to apply ED to a college should really have more weight than the passion and potential of many applicants who don't apply ED for whatever unknown reasons.</p>
<p>My impression is that schools give less financial aid to ED applicants because they're locked up, and schools that profess it doesn't affect the aid offered are being disingenuous. The ED process seems to discriminate against kids who have less financial means. The more I learn about ED, that more I don't like it as a process ... but regardless, it is my D's college life we're talking about.</p>