<p>Newengland2012-3.4 is not good for Engineering (what my DS is trying go into). They told us at the Open House that you need a 3.5.</p>
<p>Emmacat-How are you recalculating it: just core courses? any electives? hard to know what exactly are electives. The engineering and technology courses my DS took?</p>
<p>Honestly, high SAT scores are much more important and a determining factor than say a 3.4 GPA compared to a 3.8 GPA. Not sure what the requirements are, but even if your daughter didn’t meet the minimum GPA requirement, she could still get in as long as she has high SAT scores (in this case for engineering I would say 1300-1400 is good.</p>
<p>TylerNark - is that true? I’d think four years of work would be more important than a standardized test. I’m curious to know your source. My son has the opposite - decent SATs (1260 on the two) but a very good gpa - 3.8 unweighted. Thanks!</p>
<p>Remember that UMass accepts almost 2/3’s of all applicants.</p>
<p>So this means that if you are anywhere close to average or above in GPA and SATs you are almost certain to get in - probably 90%+.</p>
<p>Even if you aren’t accepted into Engineering from the get-go, just follow the engineering curriculum so you don’t fall behind, and if you do well you will be able to get into Engineering after the first year.</p>
<p>And if you don’t do well… maybe you are not cut out for engineering. They don’t call them weed-out classes for nothing. ;)</p>
<p>
GPA is way above average, and the SAT is just short of 75th percentile. I’d be <em>shocked</em> if he doesn’t get in.</p>
<p>Thanks, notrichenough. He would love to go to UMass so we’re keeping our fingers crossed.</p>
<p>Confusedmom - I have a lot of free time so I actually did a search on how exactly UMass calculates it. It is on this page, <a href=“http://www.mass.edu/shared/documents/admissions/admissionsstandards.pdf[/url]”>http://www.mass.edu/shared/documents/admissions/admissionsstandards.pdf</a>
You do us electives and such, but if it’s only worth a half a credit, multiply it by 1/2. If its an honors class, add .5. Ap class, add 1</p>
<p>Also to prove the fact that sats are more important, I know someone who was accepted to umass with a 2.2 gpa (he did not do anything in school), but had a 2370 on the sats. Accepted. With scholarship. Sats are what matter.</p>
<p>That’s so interesting, emmacat. There are more and more schools who are moving to “test optional” so I assumed that standardized tests would be the least important piece of the puzzle.</p>
<p>I think it’s a fair way to go. People can cheat in school, schools can have easy classes or weird grading scales, or students could just memorize for every test. Not to offend anyone, because I personally didn’t do amazing on them either, but sat’s are a base measure of intelligence. You can’t really study for them. You either know the answer or you don’t. Gpa can much more easily be cheated.</p>
<p>Generally, a low GPA with a very high SAT is considered to be a sign of laziness or lack of motivation or some other problem in a very bright student, and doesn’t usually work in your favor for admissions.</p>
<p>Of course there are no hard and fast rules, and exceptions abound.</p>
<p>Well, in his case, he was obsessed with debate team. Spent all his time on that rather than school. But it payed off because they won so many tournaments and competitions. And it showed on his application I guess. He took all aps, got just a high enough grade to stay on the team, and then did debate. It worked out well for him</p>
<p>That’s good - very interesting. And also thanks for the link - it’s very helpful.</p>
<p>No problem, I spend more time than I should googling things like this. While I’m sharing, there is a facebook group already for students interested, applying, and accepted to UMass Class of 2017. It’s been a great experience for me to meet some of the people who are in similar situations. A lot of people are also already finding their roommate there. You should tell your kids!!!</p>
<p>Well, my DS has a 1380/1600 1980/2400 SAT score and is trying to get into engineering so it’s tough. He has already been admitted as an Undeclared during the EA round but we asked them to take a 2nd look at his record after his most recent SATs scores became available and after the 1st semester of his senior year was completed. We are still waiting to hear their decision.</p>
<p>emmacat-will go look at that link. thanks!</p>
<p>@BTMell
Search for SAT scores and you’ll notice that generally (not true in all cases) the higher the rank/prestige, the higher the average SAT scores. The concept of GPA is just so hard for admissions officers to judge because some school are easier than others (at my school I got straight As without doing homework at home a single day, nor studying for tests). Think about it this way, who has a better chance at getting into UMass, a kid with a 3.0 GPA with 1900 SATs or a kid with a 4.0 GPA with 1500 SATs. Obviously the one with the 1900 SATs. Many schools are shifting over towards a stance that SATs shouldn’t be a determining factor, notably University of Chicago, which claims they value GPA and course rigor more than SATs. However, you’ll still notice that 90% of students there have at least a 2200 SATs, with many students with say a 2100 and a 4.0 GPA getting rejected.</p>
<p>@emmacat1234
I disagree with what you say about not being able to study for the SATs. Sure many kids are naturally good at them. Others like myself studied our asses off for them (well not so much me but I still studied a good amount). I went from a 1190/1820 to a 1400/2050 by studying.</p>
<p>@ConfusedMominMA
What’s your kid’s GPA? Looks to me like he has a really good chance of getting.</p>
<p>TylerNark-Thanks but his GPA is the problem. At an Open House they told us that they are looking for 3.5 to be admitted to Engineering. My DS’s is 3.36 and if I try and refigure it the way UMass does I come out to a 3.45. So, we are keeping our fingers crossed.</p>
<p>His sat’s out of 1600 are over like a 1250, right? If yes, I’m sure he’ll get in. I just wish that they would release the decisions! They probably have them done. I really hope the release them march 1st</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure they have a lot done already. The guidance counselor at my school already told a kid who applied RD that he got in. The kid hasn’t gotten any official word yet though.</p>
<p>How did he find out? Because that really isn’t fair to the rest of us who have to wait.</p>
<p>Are any students ever accepted or rejected between February 1st and the Mid March decisions I have noticed that my D’s application states “under review” is this the same as “in progess” very confused.How long is this Under Review status last?</p>