My kid too is doing well so far at Davidson. After a short bout with impostor syndrome, he now feels he fits right in. He does say his fellow students are pretty much all high achievers and work hard. A good crowd for him to be around in my book!
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Should one infer, that you are speaking about a WEIGHTED GPA of <4.0?
Otherwise, if your HS grading allows for A+ grades, and if those are scored at 4.0, etc. then someone’s unweighted 3.9x could very well put them at the top of the class.
Rather than focusing on GPA, maybe it would help in discussing class rank! Does your HS rank in deciles or similar? Where did past admitted students rank - how does this compare with your child?
Naturally, historic data can indeed give you a sense on how likely admittance will be.
But your targets of “top 50 universities” and “3.5-3.9” is fanning out far too wide, on both axes, to give a summary response.
For one, there can always be the surprise scenario where a particular talent, activity, national achievement/award, etc. makes your child stand out to the admissions officer at that particular college - especially if they use an “holistic” approach.
You’ll know your child’s full profile to assess, if they can offer something major to “offset” whatever their GPA is.
Outside of that - I have to admit that I keep re-rereading your post and struggle to comprehend some aspects:
I’m not sure that HS “size” is what makes a University decide on a cut-off GPA.
More likely it is some experience/statistical facture, on how the grades at your HS compare against others’.
My daughter was a top student at her high school, aced every single AP Exam, 35/36 ACT (without tutoring), never had any grade <A in any class the entire 4 years - but her “weighted GPA” never even approached some of those “4.rediculous” figures that I’ve seen posted elsewhere over the years - and her unweighted GPA was “only” some 3.9x figure.
All these very precise 40/41/42/4.0s went right over my head. How can a “top 40” anything rank 41, etc…
My 3.9x U/W GPA daughter applied to 3 Ivy Leagues and was deferred/denied by 2 and accepted at 1. She also applied to various of the top 40 LAC and was accepted there. But then there were some safety schools that did not offer admittance, likely because they figured she’ll accept “better” offers.
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Some colleges are “reach” for everyone - so I feel I may share.
I had the same concerns, because you hear so much about “grade inflation” on the High School level. So I was worried, how she would deal with “less generous” grading at a top college.
And she was apprehensive until the last possible week before eventually deciding to enroll at her college, because she was worried it would be the beginning of another 4 years of epic struggle - and how out of place she would be when surrounded by all that excellence.
Almost 4 years later - she’s kept her grades, kept her class rank, and ironically: now can’t figure out how she ever had survived the rigor and schedule of high school.
So my feedback is: If the GPA, the SAT/ACT and the AP scores tell you that your child is able to keep up academically, they’ll likely have the discipline, studying and time management skills that will carry over to their college years. If they know how to “hit the books” to prepare for exams, and produce well-graded papers in high school, there’s no reason to think that will suddenly stop.
It’s a little like applying for a job - if you presented a realistic and honest picture of yourself, trust the person across the table to know their organization to judge whether you’ll be a good fit. If the admissions officer had picked your child from among thousands, they’ll had a strong sense that your child is a good match.
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You know, I don’t often say this, but that was a great story. Thank you for sharing. I would have felt as did you (with the back and forth) and worried that admissions would be, at best, annoyed. And then he gets in!!!
Wow. What did the private counselors say about the result?
His counselor was very nice about it and admitted he was wrong. The owner of the company (who had also communicated with my son on this subject) was silent. Not even a congratulations. They had really been pushing him to apply ED to another less competitive school. I actually began to wonder if they had some kind of side door arrangement with them.
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My D22 was accepted at Barnard her dream school ED. She had a 3.7 UW from a small private school, no weighted GPA, no APs (not offered at her school). No test score. I believe she was accepted because she represented herself very authentically in her personal statement and in the 3 supplemental questions (this is where I think she nailed it). Her ECs - mostly research/academic, no real leadership - all lined up with her interest areas. I’m certain that her teacher recommendations would have really reinforced everything she was trying to communicate, it’s a small school and her teachers knew her quite well. She also had a glowing recommendation from a summer program she did at Barnard (have heard these carry no weight). Truly, I believe she was just the kind of person they were looking for this year and for this incoming class. There were other students from her school that were denied ED, and they had higher grades and more advanced courses. Again if I had to guess I’d say the supplements sealed the deal, so if your kid has a reach that has a supplemental question, they should focus their energy on learning about the school’s culture, its priorities, get to know its language etc. so they can make a strong case for why it’s the right school.
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