<p>Key point in above posts- upward trending gpa. My gifted son had a case of HS senioritis but found the honors math/science courses engaged him and he did well his freshman year and beyond at UW. A HS student not used to being challenged or studying can be in for a rude awakening at UW. Also a student who works hard to barely meet typical admissions numbers could be overwhelmed by the amount of work required to do well. Hence the attention paid to both grades and test scores.</p>
<p>Agree with wis75 – really comes down to the individual student. Was a lower gpa because of immaturity, social or other struggles, a rough semester? Or a student who really was over their head in high level courses in high school? Falling into the lower gpa range is not, on its own, a sign that student will not flourish. But, it is a warning signal to Admissions, and there hopefully is a story/explanation the student can tell. My son’s story included transferring high schools, and discovering that the highest level courses at his old school had not prepared him to step into the highest level course work at his new high school. Some scary grades in 10th grade, which were put in context with As in highest level courses (except for the stubborn math) for the rest of high school. </p>
<p>A long way of saying, it depends!</p>
<p>As the originator of this thread, I’ll admit I never expected it would generate this much traffic. Frankly, I was just curious to see what others’ opinions of his chances might be. But since this has veered into a discussion about academic rigor and the the possible reasons for his disturbingly low, “slackerish” GPA, let me offer some insight (I am his father, after all). On a long car ride to a campus visit at Michigan State, I asked him directly, “could you have done better, and if so, why didn’t you?” He was thoughtful in his response, and basically said, “there wasn’t a class I took that I couldn’t have gotten an A in, but the time and effort required to get from a B to an A never seemed worth it.” Probably not what any parent wants to hear, but true. As parents, we do the best we can to help our kids understand the implications of their actions, but in the end, they make their bed, and they lie in it. Having read all the posting’s here, I’m thinking his chances for admission are probably 50/50 at best. But if he does get in, frankly, I have no concerns whatsoever about his ability to handle the academic rigor. My sense is he’ll do what he needs to do to succeed (as he defines it, not me).</p>
<p>Quite the honest response from your son, cinemensch, refreshing in a way. And the ‘slackerish’ comment wasn’t meant to be personal, just an observation, as I was the same way back in the day. I just never admitted it to my dad, which would have probably resulted in a grounding… :)</p>
<p>If your S gets in, tell him to stay on top of the classwork best he can, don’t take TOO many hours, and enjoy Madison. Good luck.</p>
<p>I disagree with the above post. If he gets in he should take a full load of challenging classes so he won’t slack off because he doesn’t have enough to engage his brain. If he doesn’t get into UW I suggest he plan on transferring to UW or an equivalent school after he proves himself in a college. He will not do himself a favor if he settles for an easy schedule or college. It sounds like he needs a reason to do the work; it may be too late for freshman UW admission but worth his while later to transfer if need be. Reminds me of my son in some ways- not doing the AP Stats homework meant a B despite 100% on tests senior year, getting a 4.0 was never his priority. Our son never demanded that the system challenge him academically, we found out later how bored he had been in HS. I must also add that boys may think they could have done the A work if… but might not have, especially in writing/essay intensive classes we/they will never know.</p>
<p>Well, here’s the final outcome in case anyone’s interested…</p>
<p>We learned last Friday he’d been deferred by UW-Madison. I’m not terribly surprised given what I’ve read here and elsewhere, but disappointed nonetheless. What’s irritating is the apparent randomness of some of the decisions we’ve learned about. Kids from his graduating class with higher GPA’s and test scores were declined outright, and others with lower GPA’s and test scores were admitted. Go figure.</p>
<p>He got into Illinois and will likely end up there. Not a bad second choice but he had his heart set on Wisconsin.</p>
<p>While not an expert, I’ve watched this thread (Wisc) for nearly 3 years. I’m not surprised by what you’ve reported. I believe that admit decisions are heavily based on GPA’s, test scores, and rigor of courses…when fellow classmates and postings here pop up about people with high GPA’s, great test scores, etc. are declined…I’ve come to believe that essays can be a bigger determining factor than I orginally thought. I also think that grade trends are important.</p>
<p>If your son was deferred and has his heart set on Wisc, don’t give up. I believe the number of deferred applicants that eventually get accepted is pretty high. I strongly recommend that you submit 1st semester grades a well constructed letter expressing your continued interest in Wisc. If any additional recognition (state scholar, sports awards, extra curricular officer positons, etc.) can be noted…might help. I don’t think that EC’s have a huge impact, but describing something new is just another method of expressing your continued interest.</p>
<p>I remember well how much I wanted to make a decision and move on. Nothing wrong with IL but if you aren’t ready to give up on Wisc…keep battling.</p>
<p>What billywesty said. I think there’s still a decent chance of admission here. And UIUC is no slouch–either shingle should open doors for your son.</p>
<p>I have been posting here for three years as has Billy. I think billy can also tell you that the competition at UW is intense especially in the beginning classes. My son is very smart and he doesn’t work and studies his butt off. The slackers get killed in UW. My son is studying business and the beginning classes are hard the separation is a few point between grades, t tests are very hard and are usually multiple choice in very large classes. I know this topic isn’t discussed on these kind of boards, but slackers will have a very hard time at UW.</p>
<p>Justwaiting, you are preaching to the choir. </p>
<p>My D is a 2nd semester senior at UW-Madison, and I am crossing fingers that she will graduate in May–hopefully no later–with double degrees. On the face of it, she is a driven student. And I will say that early on the ‘beginning classes’, as justwaiting says, are some of the toughest, the ‘weed-out’ classes as folks like to say. But at least for her, although there was a ton of work, it was linearly organized and probably because of that allowed her to focus more intently.</p>
<p>Now, as she comes down to the finish line so to speak, she is pulled in many different directions simultaneously, from lab classes to media projects to club organizations to preparing for GRE’s & grad school, and I sense she is having a difficult time sorting out priorities. When she calls to vent, I try to help but the bottom line is that I can only speak in vague, global terms to her, with the realization that she knows her classes/priorities much better than I at this point.</p>
<p>So what I am trying to say is that I agree in that UW-Madison is not easy in so many ways, light years different than high school, and a student almost has to learn how to LEARN, and that aspect changes & morphs with more responsibility taken on. It’s good preparation for what transpires in the real world, I guess.</p>