<p>CC does not publish the HS GPA of entering freshmen. My son is in 10th grade and very interested in CC. He tests well on standardized tests, but his GPA is low (3.68 unweighted/3.98 weighted) compared to his standardized scores. </p>
<p>Of course, he still has time to up his GPA, but I don't want him to attach to a college that he has little hope of acceptance.</p>
<p>Can any current/accepted students tell us if GPA is in range?</p>
<p>GPA is not too meaningful without context. How competitive is your son’s school? Do you know (or can you predict) his class rank? Is he taking challenging courses?</p>
<p>At some schools, 3.68 would be considered a high GPA. With rampant grade inflation in many places, it is not. I think those grades, combined with strong test scores, should be high enough to have a shot at CC (especially if there is an upward trend).</p>
<p>Longhaul… My S who is currently finishing up his Junior year has been infatuated with CC for awhile. His GPA is also lower in comparison to his high test scores… probably will end up with somewhere around a 3.5 UW… school calcualtes GPA with academic classes only. Top rigorous private prep. He also has an upward trend. He will be applying EA this Fall. I didn’t discourage him because of his GPA. He is a perfect fit for the school and I do think they will thake that into account when they are reading his App. I met with an admission rep from CC last week at a college fair at my S’s school… my S wasn’t there as he has been in Vermont at a school for this past semester. She was very encouraging about having my S apply after I explained the kind of kid he was and how well he seemed to fit CC. If you stay posted to his thread next Fall, I will report back his outcome so you can have some idea how your S might do. </p>
<p>What are your S’s passions? It will be important for him to be able to articulate that both in his words and actions. I feel that is what CC likes to see.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies.</p>
<p>His school does not rank. It is a private prep school, but not very competitive. We are within 30 miles of some top prep and boarding schools (Lawrenceville, Peddie), so in the big scheme the school may be better than I give it credit.</p>
<p>His HS definitely does not have grade inflation. He has to work for every grade and there is little extra credit (2-5 points on some tests, unlike our public high school where 30 extra points is the norm). He has taken the most challenging courseload in his grade for both 9th & 10th, but will step it down for 11th. He took DE and AP courses in 9th & 10th, but others in his grade did not. In 11th grade, other kids will take these courses. I don’t expect an upward trend in grades.</p>
<p>5boys - I will definitely watch the results next year. My son has 2 great passions - Search and Rescue work and guitar. His outdoor experience with SAR may be a nice boost for CC admission. And I certainly won’t discourage him from applying anywhere due to his GPA, but I want him to have a realistic view of his chances. I wish more schools followed the 1 course at a time schedule. CCs schedule and location are huge attraction for my son.</p>
<p>Longhaul… that is funny… my S also volunteers on a search and rescue team. He can’t officially be a member until he is 18, but they let him volunteer. He is also an Eagle Scout, First Responder, rescue diver, and will do an internship with Student Conservation this summer. He has over 1000 hrs volnteering on trails/conservation all over the US during his summers.He is also anxiously waiting till he is 18 so he can be a Wilderness First Respnder His passions are obviously the outdoors, conservation and emergency medicine. He is also an avid backpacker/rock climber who has already climbed all the highest peaks in CA… by himself I might add. He is fiercely independent.</p>
<p>So he is a REALLY good fit for CC. He LOVES the idea of the block plan as he likes academics, but also likes to do a lot of other things, and the block plan wil allow him to have a lot of time off every month to do all of his outdoors stuff. He was also looking for a school with small classes and group discussions with intellectual peers. CC looks perfect in the regard too… AND it’s in CO… an AMAZING place. SO here’s hoping CC will look past his not perfect GPA and see what a great fit he is. We be visiting in the Fall… class visit and overnight… so I will keep you posted on how that goes… I’m almost afraid to take him because I’m afraid he will be even MORE in love with the place and I have begged him not to fall TOO hard for one school…sigh</p>
<p>Oh also… since our boys seem similar, I will give you a list of some of the colleges my S has been researching and really likes. They run the gamet on selectivity… which is good. </p>
<p>University of Vermont… visited and LOVES this school
Whitman
Lewis and Clark
Sewanee… University of the South… has this great thing where you can volunteer for the town EMT and Fire and then all of the kids live in the same dorm on campus…
Bates
Colby
Middlebury/ Bowdoin…LOVES these schools too, but has almost no chance.
St. Lawrence… this is a great school for the outdoorsy kid… look it up
University of Puget Sound</p>
<p>Hi, I just wanted to tell you to tell your son to not be discouraged because of his GPA. I was admitted this year as a transfer (which is a lot more competitive), and my HS GPA was 3.49 (on 4.0 scale). I received lots of Cs early on. CC particularly looks at the essays to see if the applicant has passion and drive. Also, my test scores were awful, definitely not comparable to what CC typically admits. I think showing interest and writing good essays are very, very important if the stats do not match up. It is definitely doable!</p>
<p>I got in with a 3.5 unweighted gpa. That put’s me in the 12% of my class. Your son definitely has a good shot.</p>
<p>I got in-heading there in August!- with a 3.5 GPA weighted, i don’t know what my weighted GPA was. Also, I had few little community service hours. I did howver have many extra-curriculars and fairly effective essays(I went to a multi-cultural event and ran the idea by an admission counselor). I agree with skippedabeat about the essays/passions. And it sounds like you son has some. It seems like he would be an awesome CC candidate.</p>
<p>I have almost the same list as your son, 5Boys! I love a lot of the schools but I think I would benefit most from the block plan. What if my school doesn’t rank? I have a 97 GPA but I don’t even know what that is on a 4.0 scale.</p>
<p>outdoors12… My S’s school does not rank either. Are you a rising Senior? I think your GPA sounds great! WAY better than My S’s. My S is a B/B+ student, but he has top test scores/ 2200 with a 790 CR, will have great LOR’s and has tons of atypical and passionate EC’s. He has really know idea how colleges are going to look at him. He may have great success or get rejected everywhere. That is why he has a very broad list of colleges and no “dream” school. If he has horrible results, he will just take a gap year and try again… He is very level headed and self-assured. What other passions do you have that make CC a fit? I think colleges take this seriously. They want to know how you will enhance their campus and how it is a great fit for YOU.</p>
<p>I am very passionate about the outdoors and have been on two wilderness trips over the summer. I am also a varsity rower. I am just worried that most of the kids that apply to CC are also outdoorsy and adventuresome and share the same passions, therefore I won’t really seem that unique. I have average test scores (2030 on SAT).</p>
<p>Outdoors… you seem to be a good fit… I would just concentrate on the essays and try to convey what it is about you that will make CC a good fit. I think CC is one of those colleges that really looks at things beyond scores and GPA… they are a unique school and want to know that kids will fit their unique block plan. Why does the block plan appeal to you? My S loves learning, but also loves to balance that with all kinds of activities and passions.</p>