<p>Curious how CP students are doing relative to the GPA they got in high school ?</p>
<p>We will be paying a substantial portion of D’s college expenses and want to set realistic and fair expectations on grades for the funds to continue - major “skin in the game” for us. We have no idea how tough it is to get decent grades at CP. She will be majoring in architecture. We were thinking a 3.0 average? She has a 4.3 W, 3.95 UW in HS but it’s hard to judge the rigor of her HS to what awaits her at CP. Thx</p>
<p>My son attended a high ranking California high school with rigorous academics and had straight A’s with random B+'s a couple of times. His HS gpa was 3.96 uw and I think 4.17 weighted. His grades at SLO have been similar. His first semester were all A’s and one B+ (in Healthy Living. He just didn’t want to put in the effort for that class). His second semester is all A’s. He’s still a freshman, so time will tell if it continues. Oh, and he’s a chemistry major. </p>
<p>Each & every kid at Cal Poly was a stellar HS student, motivated, no other way to get in the door. Freshman year is a step up from HS, but not a big one. For engineers especially, probably architects too, core classes start in the second year. There are some professors who take personal pride in being the gatekeeper who lets these (our) kids in the inner sanctum. These are tough classes, really tough. It’s a lot of pressure. Some kids are working to pay for school on top of that. More pressure. Not every kid will be on the President’s List every year. With these gatekeeper professors and the random & difficult registration process some kids draw a short straw occasionally. That is part of the price they pay because we didn’t send them to a high dollar private school. Pressure form the parent (me) may not help an already highly motivated student. They want the high GPA and family approval more than you know. They all need room to breathe when they hit some bumps in the road, room to get up & dust themselves off and move on. They are adults, some of what they learn comes from struggling with new things. The most important things I know came from my failures not my successes. They need room to struggle. It’s part of the process. </p>
<p>Boy do I give a strong second to slolearner’s post. If she’s worked hard in HS, it’s very likely she will do the same at Poly. Give her the benefit of the doubt and make corrections if need be. There will be enough pressure and more importantly, this is a test to prepare for her life on her own. Give her a little wiggle room to build resilience if it’s necessary. IF she goofs off, it’ll be very obvious to everyone. THEN you can make adjustments if necessary. Given what you’ve posted, there’s no way, baring some life altering catastrophe like drugs, alcohol, depression or pregnancy that she won’t be stellar. If any of those pop up, she’ll need you in her corner more than ever. She’ll appreciate the “We know you’ve worked hard for this, now go do your best and shine” speech FAR more that an implied threat. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for your feedback and opinions @slolearner and @eyemgh. What both of what you say is absolutely true - don’t dispute any of it. Perhaps my OP was misleading to some and I suppose the responses I was looking for was some sort of responses from current students or parents of current students that either a) Woah, CP is tough! May want to revise that GPA expectation downward considerably. I have worked super hard and have a 2.5 GPA!; or b) yeah, baring unforeseen circumstances, I think a 3.0 GPA is doable. Understand that many will not agree with our philosophy - our kid is actually quite agreeable and thinks it is a reasonable expectation at this stage of the game. Always subject to change and revision as life presents itself to her - and sure hope that drugs, alcohol (in excess ), depression or pregnancy aren’t her solutions!! Ha! From a couldn’t-be-more proud-and-happy-for-my daughter mom!</p>
<p>@swimdogmom Just a data point. My son is a second year at SLO. His high school GPA was 3.85/4.3. He’s a Computer Science major and currently has a 3.5.</p>
<p>I think there is a better way to skin the cat. Check out the website <a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com”>www.gradeinflation.com</a> In there somewhere is a list of average GPA for about 100 schools. You will notice that public schools have an average GPA about .3 below private school, even when equally ranked in USNWR. Something about “satisfying the paying customer”.</p>
<p>My guess is that Cal Poly’s average undergraduate GPA is about 3.1 That would probably be broken out further as:</p>
<p>I don’t write this with any factual basis. I am extrapolating from 1) the GPA scatterplot on <a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com”>www.gradeinflation.com</a>, and 2) the commentary on that site about the difference in Ave. GPA between Engineering, Math/Science, Social Sciences, and Arts/Humanities.</p>
<p>A few things to keep in mind: Some majors are hard and lots of work. No matter how much you study, they might get C’s D’s or F’s or they might have to re-take classes. Some will take too many hard classes at once, thus the grades might drop. Some teachers are very demanding of their assignments. For some classes, one class is the equivalent of two classes of work. So for some majors, a 3.0 GPA every quarter might be difficult to achieve.</p>
<p>Usually this is the student’s first time away from home, so there is no one to look over their shoulder or give reminders. Some freshman, and maybe 2nd years, will have trouble managing how much time to allot for playing/socializing vs. studying. For some, it might take a few years to realize the main reason why they are at Cal Poly or any university.</p>
<p>Hope you will be flexible about what GPA to demand. A student can be very stressed out or withdraw from you if they know they are not going to make your 3.0 GPA. Counseling Services probably see lots of stressed out, burned out, maybe even suicidal students at the end of each quarter (only a guess on my part). Just stay connected with and be there for your student.</p>
<p>The average first term GPA for freshmen here is a 2.7, this is what the school released.</p>
<p>It really depends on how hard you want to push yourself. Speaking from personal experience, the first quarter or two of college can be deceiving… often the rigor won’t be super strenuous because you are adjusting to a new environment and you’ll mostly be taking GE’s and a few intro level classes in your major to build up skills slowly… </p>
<p>Take a look at my first and third term schedules… notice the big difference in rigor in less than a year.</p>
), depression or pregnancy aren’t her solutions!! Ha! From a couldn’t-be-more proud-and-happy-for-my daughter mom!</p>