At my school a student’s GPA can vary greatly depending on the classes they take and the teachers they get.
Unfortunately, I know a student has achieved a 4.4 by transferring out of classes with difficult teachers and taking AP/Honors courses that are extremely easy at my school. On the other hand, I know students that have around 4.1-4.2, but have achieved these marks in very difficult courses at my school such as AP Bio/Stats/Gov/Econ with difficult teachers. I feel cheated in some ways because I have pursued a difficult course load and have had many difficult teachers, resulting in a lower GPA than I could have achieved if I took the easy route.
Do colleges recognize this grade inflation/variation? If so how do they do it? Do they care?
Do SAT/ACT scores help colleges differentiate between students with ‘bogus’ GPA’s and students that have actually challenged themselves with difficult courses?
I live in the northeast where there are a lot of colleges and universities. I’ve talked to a few admissions counselors and I get the impression that they are well aware which high schools are more competitive than others as well as what the various grades and classes really entail. HTH.
College admissions people will recognize if your schedule is rigorous. They probably won’t split hairs between a 4.4 weighted and a 4.2 weighted. What is your UW GPA? They won’t recognize difficult teachers, but will notice if a school generally prepares its students well for AP exams.
Most admission counselors have a particular territory to cover. They get to know the schools within that territory, how the grades tend to run, and how kids from those schools tend to perform at their college.
If there are 2 students from the same high school and one gets an A in AP Bio with an easy teacher and one gets a B with a tough teacher, colleges will have no way of distinguishing this
The adcom will get that info from the school profile report submitted by your high school. However, there is no way for them to know the grading scale of a particular course or teacher. Your grade will be evaluated in the context of your school and course rigor.
While true, one grade in an AP class will not have a meaningful impact on a 3.5 year GPA. So colleges will certainly understand if there is rampant school-wide grade inflation by their own knowledge of the school, analyzing the school profile, looking at standardized test scores, etc., they won’t know that Mrs. Gomez “never” gives A’s. However, it’s highly unlikely that Mrs/ Gomez’ grading policies will be the reason a student is not admitted to a particular college.
“I feel cheated in some ways because I have pursued a difficult course load”
Well, you’ll have to get over that. You chose your courses knowing that they would be difficult and challenging. Colleges will look at the rigor of your courses and assess your grades as objectively as possible considering the variability of teaching competency, standards, and outcomes at each and every school in the US. They know these things you speak of and use other information such as SAT/ACT scores, AP scores, school profile, etc to help them arrive at their decisions (as skieurope state above).
“Unfortunately, I know a student has achieved a 4.4 by transferring out of classes with difficult teachers and taking AP/Honors courses that are extremely easy at my school.”
This is what students are encouraged to do. To take the most rigorous courses they can that fit well with their interests and abilities. A student does not have a " ‘bogus’ GPA" because they took “extremely easy AP/Honors courses” (this is an oxymoron BTW). Colleges will look at the courses students take and consider whether the curriculum fits with the standards of the college and the major that the student intends to study. They will assess the grades and course selection of a engineering applicant differently than say, a foreign language or communications applicant. I’m sure they would not feel that an engineering program applicant was unqualified based on a couple of B’s in a transcript full of AP Science and Math courses. In the same vein, they probably won’t look negatively at a foreign language or communications applicant whose transcript is light in advanced science and math courses.
So, you need to quit worrying about and judging the choices of your fellow students. Their goals may not be the same as yours and their abilities, strengths and interests may not be the same as yours. Many of them won’t be applying to the same schools as you or competing with you in the admissions process.
My daughter is a rising junior. She has a 4.0 UW/4.3 W GPA and is in the top 3% of her class at a school that weights a AP A+ a 5.5. She has taken mostly all honors courses with only one AP so far - Environmental Science (A with a 4 on the exam). Reading and writing intensive courses (History, English) are her weaknesses, so she does not plan to take any AP courses that have that requirement. Honors level fits her abilities in those types of courses and she does very well in them and from what I have seen they are not “extremely easy courses”. She plans to take AP courses in Bio and Stats next year (and AP Chem and possibly AP Calc as a senior). She is very good in science and wants to major in Biochemistry. She has carefully considered her strengths, weaknesses, and career goals in planning her curriculum and is certainly not trying to “cheat” anybody at anything by her course selection. She is just doing what is right for her. Will she be admitted to a top 50-100 school? Very unlikely since she doesn’t plan on applying to any - she doesn’t want to endure 4 years of stress. It seems like you feel that students like her should take rigorous courses in areas of weakness just to be “fair” to students like you who I assume has taken many more AP classes than she. I don’t think you are being fair to students like her by harboring grudges and judgement about their academic choices that won’t affect you in any way. You will find yourself in the college that recognizes and rewards your choices and efforts and she will find herself in one that is a fit for hers.
AO’s or AdComs know the difficulty of courses in your school. They will see grade inflation. Example 100 Avg, but 2 on the AP exam? doesnt match up(no matter how much of a bad day you are having). 75 Average yet you got a 5(or luckily a perfect score) on an AP exam? doesnt match up.
“I know a student has achieved a 4.4 by transferring out of classes with difficult teachers and taking AP/Honors courses that are extremely easy at my school.”
What do you mean by AP/Honors that are extremely easy? While adcoms think certain AP/honors subjects are harder than others, I’m not sure any would be considered easy unless the teacher is really diluting the syllabus. But then it would show in the AP or SAT 2 subject test scores.
Adcoms look at the transcript, see your classes and grades. They know which AP courses, in general, are light, which are strenuous. Not which teachers are easy or not. And they don’t know every single hs in their territories. Nor do they guess a teacher is tough because a student didn’t ace the course or the AP test. Your record is what it is.
On the School Report, the GC reports his/her view of rigor of your courseload. He or she also writes a recommendation and is free to say your choices were more challenging, thus some kids who chose easier ended up with higher rank. Or gpa.
Rigor, grades, and unweighted matter more than W gpa. (Weighting schemes vary.) And it’s not always possible to know, from the school profile, what grade distribution is.