<p>mini: I'm not sure I understand your point, but you have the #'s reversed...its top ~12% of state and top 4% of HS</p>
<p>It said in the article that the calculus teacher wouldn't round a 79.8 to an 80, therefore making it a C+ instead of a B-. That is absolutely ridiculous and uncalled for, in my opinion.</p>
<p>I think it is time for that school to get rid of that calculus teacher. Either he should be able to teach such bright young men up to a B+ level or his grading system is off.</p>
<p>"While my son goes to UCSD and I'm a fan, it's simply not true in my opinion that there are hundreds of kids who can get into Harvard but not SD. Trust me, as a Hatvard alum and interviewer, I'm called on for advice and to write lots of letters, so I've seen over many years what it takes to get into each. A kid does need to be in the top 10% of their high school class for all UCs, but those from our area public high schools who get into Harvard tend to be in the top 2%."</p>
<p>That's true, but more than 10% of Harvard's admits are outside the 10% of their class, so I think you've just made my point, or ate least corroborated it. (The truth is, however, that Harvard's weighting system does not weigh grades and class rank as highly as UCSD does, relative to other criteria.)</p>
<p>But I don't understand WHY it is a problem if some kids can get into Harvard and not UCSD and vice versa? Does it hurt Harvard's rep? or UCSD's? The fact that lots of folks get rejected at both or either is not, in and of itself, any particular sign of quality. I just don't understand why this should be perceived as a problem.</p>
<p>Um, my kid goes to a UC, was NOT in the top 10% of a private high school, with a 4.0UW (had AP & honors, but I don't recall the UC GPA)</p>
<p>UC apps never asked for the actual ranking, they are designed ot take the top 12% in the state, not the top 12% at a school.</p>
<p>Our school ranked by your exact numerical grade 95.1, 94.3, etc., so you could ahve 4.0 and not be top 10%.</p>
<p>Luckily they also have APs.</p>
<p>One thought on the honors thing, does UC take your honors class (non AP) if you are not a CA high school with the course pre-approved? If so, that ought to give a bump to kids.</p>
<p>My guess is that those at Harvatd who were not in the top 10% of high school class are kids from competitive private schools. As I noted on another thread today, I was shocked to see that nearly 40% of last year's class at a small prep school went to any ivy.</p>
<p>Belmont may not have grade inflation. However, if the pictures are representative of their classes, they have class name inflation. Written on the blackboard behind the calculus teacher are formulae basic to <em>algebra</em>. (Yes, I know - the photo was probably just a set up.)</p>
<p>somemom: based on the higher ed Master Plan the UC gpa and test scores are designed to account for the top ~12.5 of the state eligible college Frosh in a given average yar. Thus, the state does not rank kids in totality but all HS are requested by UC to rank their top 4% = ELC. Actually, top 12% has been a misnomer in the last couple of years, the total accepted has been closer to 14%, when athletes and the ELC are added. That is why the UC Regents recently voted to raise the min gpa -- to get back to the top ~12.5% goal.</p>
<p>Mini: pls explain why/how a kid can get into H and not into the state U (unless the kid has a surname of Kennedy, Bush or Gates (as in Bill), that is)...</p>
<p>Mini: pls explain why/how a kid can get into H and not into the state U (unless the kid has a surname of Kennedy, Bush or Gates (as in Bill), that is)...</p>
<p>Well, since you've described a significant proportion of H.'s class (maybe 5% are significant developmental "tips"?). Add children of ambassadors, figure in the difficulty of out-of-staters getting into the better state universities (Berkeley, Virginia, Michigan); then factor out that the 12.5% goal is for ALL the UCs (including Irvine, Riverside, etc.), not the most desirable ones, and it is very easy to see how a significant portion of H admits (I'm not talking a quarter - maybe 10%) couldn't get in.</p>
<p>Doesn't make H any worse for it, or the UCs any better.</p>
<p>As to whether the kid in the 60% percentile at the private school is better than the one at 98% percentile at the public h.s. in Merced, well let's just say the former likely has more access to the things that count. To H., that is. (And if I ran H., I can't say that I'd do it any differently.)</p>
<p>Bluebayou, my son has been accepted to Yale, and is academically waitlisted at UMichigan pending his MidYear report which is now not needed for Yale. His academic grades for that term are a "D", "C" and an "A". Doubt Michigan is going to give him a pass on that one. His grades last year were good but sophomore year's were not. At his prep school, there is a young man who did not get into UVa despite very highSATs and the reason sited was that he is below a 3.5 in academic subjects and has no AP designated classes though he has taken 4 AP exams and will be sitting for 5 more. UCs are even stricter. There are a number of public flagship schools that feed in the grades by formula and do not take into account the grading scale. I know a young man who was my senior son's friend in middle school who goes to the Catholic school where my oldest son went. He is in UVA with a 4.0 average and lower test scores than my son's colleague. But I know that school well. About a third of the kids have a 4.0 and higher. And about 3/4 of the kids make honors. They are proud of that fact,. They may not fool HPY and some of the LACs, but they do get kids in there and they do get kids into better schools than their average SAT which is not 1200 (don't recall exact #) would indicate. My son made out going there his junior and senior years as his first 2 years gpa was not a 3.0 at a rigorous prep school. He was an AP stud with a 4,0 plus who knows with weightings. He got into schools like Davidson, Cornell, Claremont Mckenna, BC --just a sampling and got some nice merit packages. His peers at the old prep school with similar resumes did not fare so well. They were not getting into some schools a tier down unless they applied to some standbys that were well associalted with the school. Now the top students did get into HPY &co but I feel many of them would have gotten in whereever they went to High school.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>My main point was that conservative grading policies are a thing of the past and that it invariably hurts the students and does little for the reputation of the school.<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>That is very true. I don't have too much sympathy the kids at Belmont because if they have had students turned down by Michigan and accepted by Harvard, then I think they are aware of the difficulties the grading scale produces, and can leave if they choose. It is a tough thing for the scholarship student who needs merit money, no doubt.</p>
<p>What bothers me is that this is a sad commentary on where we are with competition for college. Maybe they should try Georgia or Florida as a safety?</p>
<p>As my kids attend one of the seven elite boarding prep schools, I have found that his GPA is much lower than what he would have got in his top 10 public schools in NY State. I see that his exams are as comparable or even tougher that some college level exams. Generally one or two kids get A, rest of them receive a lower grade. Initially we were concerned about his grade, but now after speaking to teachers and some info from CC, we have found that being in top 10% at an elite prep school with few national awards is not bad. Last year hiss school placed 34 kids in HYP. So that is an encouraging sign, as he will have a better shot in a good school.</p>
<p>I think the real issue should not be the Belmont kids as much as what grade inflation does to public school children who are not challenged academically. I breezed through high school, took 6 AP classes, honors classes, and graduated top 1% academically. The coursework never challenged because I could make straight As without studying or doing hardly any homework. While this might sounds great to college students, it sets them up for failure when they encounter an academically rigorious environment. Sure, some will adjust but grade inflation really cheats top kids of being pushed to truly excell.</p>
<br>
<p>It said in the article that the calculus teacher wouldn't round a 79.8 to an 80, therefore making it a C+ instead of a B-. That is absolutely ridiculous and uncalled for, in my opinion.</p>
<br>
<p>I keep trying to let these responses slide but I can't ... to me this is one of the inherent problems with a set scale ... I diagree with the thought above for a couple reasons ... the big one being, OK give the break to the 79.8 ... now what about the 79.75? ... and then the 79.7? ... then the the 79.6? ... someone has to be the first person with a C+; it might as well meet the expectation set before ahead of time instead of an arbitrary decision of how many kids did not meet the standard but who deserve a break.</p>
<p>Second time someone used the term "seven elite boarding prep schools." Which are they?</p>
<p>Andover
Exeter
Choate
Deerfield
St Pauls
HOtchkiss and I do not remember the last one</p>
<p>Andover and Exeter (I am not sure) have put around 34 kids in HYP last year</p>
<p>Milton and Groton are other prominent school which have very high placement in elite schools. However, if someone need a money for financial aid Andover, Milton, Exeter, Deerfield and Choate are best. Our kid did receive the full financial aid from all these schools. Groton aid is very poor as it is a small school. BUt these are my private views. Another parent may have different view.</p>
<p>This is our first kid in a prep school. We have no idea about prep school till few years ago when another kid who is best friend with my kid got accepted on a full fin aid to one of these schools.</p>
<p>I would think St Andrews and Lawerenceville should be on the list too</p>
<p>"but many prep schools also have kids on full or partial scholarships for whom paying full fare for a private college will be impossible (think of Chinaman's case)."</p>
<p>Marite, I'm not sure of your definition of "many" but I can tell you from personal knowledge that here in the Boston area, fin aid is pretty limited. Most is directed at diversity admits. </p>
<p>This thread has been interesting, but I think shows a sad misunderstanding regarding the admissions process both at flagship state U's and at the Ivies. The thread also leads me to believe that many posters think prep schools are some magical Ivy like place populated with genius level kids. Some observations:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>We took my D out of one of the Boston area's so called top prep schools because the academic aim point of the local public school was higher. Indeed, even with Massachusett's famously high NM cutoff score, the local public school had a higher percentage of NM finalists my D's year than the prep school. Keeping in mind what others posted regarding prepping for the SAT, and keeping in mind that most test prep starts after the PSAT, you can see a pattern...In fact, my D's former prep school actually has test prep classes at the school starting Jr. year. </p></li>
<li><p>the ancecdotal, anomalous cases where someone got into Yale while rejected at U. Mich don't adress the host of other factors that go into admissions, foremost being athletics, legacy and minority status.</p></li>
<li><p>grading standards, indeed competitiveness, vary dramatically from HS to HS. To accuse adcoms, even at large schools, of ignoring this is just dishonest. Even U. Mich, in its last published formula, had a correction factor for difficulty in its formula. And, if one cared to do the math, I think one would find it does address the problem. (not that I expect anyone here to do so...)</p></li>
<li><p>Most interestingly, there's some interesting academic research that found that kids attending competitive, selective schools like public exam schools, magnet schools and prep schools ARE handicapped in the admissions process for top schools, but not because of tough grading. The problem is class ranking.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>So, to the degree that the article was on to something, it is that ALL kids from competitive schools are being handicapped. But not because of tough grading standards.</p>
<p>Hi Parents,</p>
<p>I always read this board before the others because I find the parents are much better at answering questions that high school students. You have the experience.</p>
<p>Anyway, I just wanted to comment on how scary these high grades seem to a foreign student. It seems like every student in the whole of the US gets at A's. A is the average grade. I did British A-levels and the average grade is C. A student with CCC will still get into some middle ranked universities in the UK. Maybe even high ranked ones if they apply for unpopular courses (students have to apply for a specific subject at the start. No minors, no switiching.). </p>
<p>I'm at Oxford and in sciences at least it's not that unusual for students to have achieved AABB grades in their A-levels and have got in. These are still really high grades. An A grade begins at 70-75% in most subjects. Grade C is 50%-ish (it varies from year to year depending on how hard the exams are judged to have been.) I've never heard of anyone getting 90%+ apart from the occasional maths genius. A-levels are marked nationally by someone the student does not know/will never meet so the grades are comparable across the country/world. They are also worried about grade inflation here though and the government is going to make the exams harder (but they do say this every year!).</p>
<p>I've read this thread and I think it's totally unfair that students are penalised due to the marking systems of their teachers/school. Is there no consistancy in marking between schools? What if a student has a teacher who just doesn't like them and therefore gives them low grades? Many students post here worried that (for example)one C grade in 9th grade will doom their college applications. It's actually really scary.</p>
<p>I think I'd be at a community college in the US!</p>