<p>S1 applied to Whitman with a 3.41 GPA a few years ago and was outright rejected. He was accepted at two more highly ranked schools (one a top 10 school). It does appear that Whitman cares more about GPA than anything else.</p>
<p>My perspective is that Whitman does not “care about GPA more than anything else”–but that of the numbers/statistics they factor in, they care more about GPA than test scores because it is reporting on something different that can be “quantified”, sort-of… Overall, they look closely for “fit” and that goes both ways. I imagine they have concerns that kids who are bright by test scores but with lower GPAs (and if circumstances of those are not explained somehow) might not prosper with the ongoing workload/requirements of everyday academics? </p>
<p>I actually would understand it better outside of the ED pool, because Whitman is aware that many bright kids apply to other highly ranked schools and Whitman is their “backup plan”–and they obviously prefer to get kids who really most want to be in Walla Walla. But that would not apply to the disappointed ED applicant. </p>
<p>If the report that they are wanting to decrease the proportion of kids that come through ED is accurate, then that may have been part of why they were being tougher on this element this year. It sounds like CalAlum’s son has moved on…but if more info is wanted I’d guess the school guidance counselor would be the one to do some investigation and find out whether the college has an accurate view of the high school and its level of difficulty.</p>
<p>CalAlum-- I was thinking of a taking a trip with my S up to visit Whitman this spring. We live in Cali so it is NOT an easy trip. It’s a 4 hour drive to Walla Walla from Portland or Seattle. After reading your post I am DEFINITELY going to rethink if it’s even worth it. My S will be lucky to end up at a 3.3 UW GPA… although all other aspects of his application are stellar. I also looked at that college website you mentioned that gives chances based on stats and he was admitted easily at colleges way higher ranked that Whitman. My S LOVES outdoor stuff so Whitman fits the bill there, but I’m thinking he may have to stick to his other choices. We will probably just stay in Portland and see Lewis&Clark and Willamette. Thanks so much for the info regarding Whit. I’m sure your S will have many great places to choose from come April. He sounds like a VERY top app. Has he looked at Colorado College? That’s my S’s #1 on his radar now.</p>
<p>Colorado College is a good suggestion. Someone who finds Whitman attractive is likely also to find CC attractive (and vice versa), as long as one is o.k. with the CC one-course-at-a-time block plan. CalAlum Jr’s GPA is a little on the low side there, but still in range if other qualifications are strong and he comes across as a good fit.</p>
<p>When we were going through the college search process a year ago I checked the common data sets for the schools on DS’s list to get a sense of what was important for that school and how it fit with his strengths. According to the 2009-2010 Whitman common data set, the “very important” admission factors are rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, application essay, and character/personality. The average HS GPA for this year’s freshman class is 3.78, with nearly 90% above a 3.5.</p>
<p>5boys – I am a a freshmen at Whitman and I had around a 3.2 uw gpa when I applied (EDII) and got in. I know a number of people that had similar experiences. GPA is more important than test scores but it is not the only important thing, and Whitman is exactly the kind of school where a weaker GPA can be overcome by other factors. Whitman cares a lot about the essay and what it reflects about the applicant as well as the applicant’s reasons for wanting to go there and what they would bring to the campus. If your son is interested in Whitman, I would encourage him to apply. Whitman admissions are hard to predict but you might be surprised. By the way, I’m from Wisconsin, so I had even bigger travel difficulties but its worth it. </p>
<p>Good luck to your son in his college search.</p>
<p>CalAlum - thanks for taking the time to share your story and information. I’m glad your son has moved on to his other applications. Most times, I think our kids are more resilient than we are!</p>
<p>swirlygirl— Thanks for the info. I guess you were one of the 10% that got in with a GPA under 3.5. I bet you were happily surprised. How are the academics and is it a stretch for you, as the OP stated the admission counselor has said to her son? I will talk to my S again and also take a look at the naviance for his school and see if it’s worth applying. My S goes to a very rigorous prep school where the average GPA is around 3.5. Most kids apply to very tippy top schools and get admitted pretty frequently. My S is just pretty specific in the type of school he wants. He has A LOT of leadership in many EC’s and has very high test scores. His GPA is the only negative… unfortunately most schools put this as the MOST important thing. He is just going to have to hope that some of the schools he is applying to will look at his application holistically.</p>
<p>5boys: my impression is that Whitman does try to take a wholistic look and they really want to know why a kid specifically wants Whitman. If your son is seriously interested he should certainly make the effort to see someone when there is a local admissions visit and talk about the GPA factor. You can also ask recommenders to address the GPA issue. They definitely look for “demonstrated interest” and evidence that a kid wants what they offer. They do take kids who are outside their “window” but I think they look for personally presented evidence of how and why the kid will do well in the Whitman community.
He could always apply and then, if admitted, you could make the trek up from Portland. (You can actually fly into Pasco direct from SF now, I hear)</p>
<p>5boys: I live in CA, have a senior D., and was also concerned about the distance to see Whitman. I would strongly encourage you to take a look. We did, and it was well worth it. My D is trying to decide between L&C, where she was recently accepted, and Whitman, where she will apply for regular decision. Whitman is a very impressive school, and had we not made the trip, I don’t think I would have had an appreciation for the school. Anyway, I think it’s worth the effort.</p>
<p>@5boys,
You could email P.J. Petrone, Whitman’s California admission officer, and ask him directly whether there is a GPA cutoff for California residents. His contact info is here: [Admission</a> Staff](<a href=“http://www.whitman.edu/content/admission/contact-us/admission-staff/?name=petronpj]Admission”>http://www.whitman.edu/content/admission/contact-us/admission-staff/?name=petronpj). According to its Common Data Set report, Whitman considers state residency in making its admissions decisions. Just tell Petrone what you’ve read here in this thread. You can also pm me if you like, and I’ll be happy to give you my name. I’m a tenured professor at a small liberal arts college in California (it doesn’t offer much in Japanese, so it’s not a good fit for my son, unfortunately). Every time my son contacted Whitman early in this process, he was referred to Mr. Petrone as “the admissions officer responsible for California.” If Whitman is anything like my LAC, it’s possible that Petrone makes the first round admissions decisions for California. I’d ask the question before driving the 4-5 hours.</p>
<p>5boys --yes, I was very surprised when I got in. I was sure Whitman was too much of a reach but I applied because I would have regretted it if I hadn’t made every effort. I do not think the academics are a stretch. My hs GPA was low mostly because of math classes and math-related science like chemistry. This semester I didn’t take any of those classes, so the academics weren’t a stretch at all (and it is pretty easy to avoid math and hard sciences at Whitman if you want to). </p>
<p>I would say if your son is a strong writer and has good study habits, he should be fine if he gets in. Those seem to be the most important academic traits at Whitman. As for admission, if GPA is low, he needs to emphasize his interest in Whitman and why he would be a good fit there (definitely write the optional “why Whitman” essay). I think that helped me get in. I also sent an extra academic writing sample in addition to the required paper and the essays. </p>
<p>Also, I read Cal-Alums post and I the state residency qualification means that the admissions committee wants to accept out of state students. They are trying to branch out. Being from California won’t help much but I doubt they have a GPA cut-off for out of state students. You might want to check to make sure but Whitman is not the kind of school to have cut-offs like that.</p>
<p>Whitman is a great place and I hope you can arrange a visit sometime.</p>
<p>CalAlum and swirlygirl-- Thanks so much for all your help. CalAlum I will pm you if my S does decide to go ahead and apply. He is only a junior so he still has some time. I think the idea of applying, seeing if he gets in, and then visiting makes sense. We will also be able to finally take a look on naviance when he returns to school next week. That will help a lot. Like I said a lot of kids with W GPA’s around 3.4-3.6 get into top schools. His GPA may also change a lot in the next two years because this is the first year he was allowed to take AP’s and he has 4 of them. That may help his GPA. Like swirlybird his GPA has been brought down by math classes… thankfully he does great in science. Also his school is VERY hard and only the very, very top kids get a lot of A’s. He really likes what he has read about Whitman. He is a free-thinking, unpretentious, independent, down to earth kid and wants a school that will embrace that. He loves the outdoors, is an Eagle Scout, OA Chapter Chief, Volunteer Fireman, and already has 500 community service hrs( that he does because he loves, not to look good for college). I know he will find the right place for him. We just have a lot of LAC’s to look.</p>
<p>My s looked at both Whitman and Grinnell along with other schools like Carleton, Oberlin, Claremont, Pomona etc… </p>
<p>I would highly recommend looking at Whitman if interested. It’s a wonderful school and although our S got admitted ED to Grinnell and will be attending, we were very pleased with Whitman. Whitman is an amazing school and there was much that we liked about it. Although my s is not going to be attending Whitman, I feel like it was still worth the trip.</p>
<p>CalAlum, I feel your pain. My daughter had a similar experience with Occidental, which at the time was her first choice by miles. It was awful. She was crushed. But in the end, it forced her re-examine her choices in a different, and in my opinion more thoughtful, manner, and she ended up falling in love with Whitman. Would she have been just as happy at Oxy as at Whitman? I don’t know. But my sense is that most kids turn out to be very happy where they end up for college. Somehow it will work out, even though it doesn’t feel good right now.</p>
<p>For the majority of selective colleges, big and small, the strength of the academic program and GPA are among the most important selection criteria. I don’t think Whitman values GPA above all else, or any more than the typical selective college, and I would be surprised if they had a strict GPA cutoff. As some posters have said, I think they do a holistic review of the applicant and will pay attention to notable performance or accomplishment in other areas.</p>
<p>The fact is that high GPAs are the norm these days, and a B+ GPA is more of a rarity than it used to be. Colleges like Whitman receive tons of applications from kids with higher GPAs AND exceptional performance in other areas. My daughter is a senior at Whitman. She went to a very rigorous private high school in the S.F. Bay Area, took 6 or 7 honors or AP classes, and ended up with a B+ GPA unweighted (which I’m sure would have put her in the bottom 50% of her class were they to rank). Her class was overflowing with Nat’l Merit semifinalists and superkids with very high GPAs. However, she had very strong leadership skills, interpersonal skills & “presence” which translated into excellent recommendations, and she is a very strong writer, and I’m convinced that’s why Whitman accepted her – absolutely despite her GPA.</p>
<p>It was clear she was not at the top of the admit pool, as she was initially admitted for the Spring term (she found out early in May she could start in the fall). When we asked why she was admitted for Spring, her GPA was mentioned. At the time, I was indignant about the fact that they wanted her but not enough to admit her directly for the fall, and I wondered if it was because they just didn’t want her GPA in their fall profile. I have to say that at the time I was indignant about just about EVERYTHING related to the college admissions process. A few years later I have some perspective and the angst has worn off. I think the bottom line is that her GPA made her a less strong candidate for admission but happily they found something else compelling enough to offer her a space.</p>
<p>The process stinks, and you can be upset with a college because they weren’t able to see that your kid was exceptional enough to admit – or maybe they could but they have hundreds of kids that they can clearly see are exceptional and they just can’t admit them all – but if your child didn’t get admitted it’s typically NOT because the people in the admissions office don’t know what they’re doing or because they only look at numbers and scores, or because the school you formerly thought was a great place is now a horrible place. I work in this field and I know admissions people agonize about their decisions and for the most part do a great job in what has to be a very difficult task. The admissions process is imperfect, but Whitman is still a wonderful school. And there are lots of wonderful schools like Whitman.</p>
<p>I don’t know if when we’re talking about B+ GPAs, whether there really is much of an issue in terms of the potential to do college level work at Whitman or a similar school. (Particularly if the high school is rigorous, and the admissions people generally know that sort of thing.) My daughter remains a B+ student, although her GPA in her major is quite a bit higher. By the way, per an article in the Whitman school newspaper in Feb 2008, the average GPA at Whitman was 3.414, which is a B+ – so B+ is evidently the new C. :)</p>
<p>Here’s an interesting article from the school paper about class of 2013 admissions:
[Accepted</a>! – what it takes to get into Whitman College » The Pioneer | Whitman news, delivered.](<a href=“http://whitmanpioneer.com/feature/2009/04/09/accepted-what-it-takes-to-get-into-whitman-college]Accepted”>http://whitmanpioneer.com/feature/2009/04/09/accepted-what-it-takes-to-get-into-whitman-college)</p>
<p>(5boys, where in California are you from, and were you planning to combine a visit to Whitman with a visit to other schools in PNW? Been there, done that. May have some travel tips for you, depending upon where you are coming from.)</p>
<p>rix— Thanks so much for your post. It really was informative, and I also read the article about Whitman admissions 2013. One of the last lines it stated that the LOWEST acceptable GPA being 3.89. I was confused by that. Are they saying that they don’t admit anyone under that GPA? And is that W or UW. I’m really confused on having my S apply with a B+ average. Like your D he is at a VERY rigorous prep school and has many amazing leadership positions. I think he would be a “fit” at Whitman but will they overlook the GPA??? Yes, we are going to combine our PNW trip and try to see Lewis&Clark and Willamette. (He likes Reed too but I think it is too academically intense for him. He loves to learn but is pretty laid-back.) I think he has a pretty solid chance at those 2 schools. His #1 is Colorado College though, and he will probably apply EA there. His GPA is low for CC too but they seem to prefer high test scorers, something that my S is good at. We will see. If you have any travel tips for the PNW please let me know. We are thinking of flying into Portland, then driving to Walla Walla, then back the next day to Portland. We have 5 days but I want to see the schools when they are in session, not the weekend.</p>
<p>5boys - We did PNW trip last year at spring break. We flew into Portland, and out of Seattle, visiting L&C, Whitman, Gonzaga, and Univ of Puget Sound (6 days, including an extra day in Seattle). We took enough time to explore each of the cities, in addition to the colleges, because that was important for S2.</p>
<p>Tourist hints:
- Take your time along the Columbia Gorge, and stop along the way. It is absolutely beautiful, especially in the winter / early spring. (Great photo ops!)
- If you enjoy wine and good food, visit some of the wineries near Walla Walla, and check out the gourmet restraurants in town.
- If you do get up to SeaTac area, don’t miss the Glass Museum in Tacoma (especially the live glass blowing) and the Seatle library.</p>
<p>rix - Thanks for posting that link! S2 is still applying to Whitman, even if it is a stretch for him, but this article helps explain a lot. He really fell in love with the school when he visited. (I also have the W / UW question about 3.89 GPA. If kids have 3.89 UW GPA, that means only 1 B in all of high school!)</p>
<p>mom2sons— My dad lives in Seattle and was going to meet us in Walla Walla, but I like your idea of flying into Seattle and then out of Portland. That may save some driving time. I guess I could rent a car in Walla Walla. We have been to the Seattle area a lot and did visit Uof Pugent Sound last summer and UW. They are both beautiful schools, but didn’t get to get a true feel of them because it was summer. How did your S like L&C? Is Gonzaga worth seeing?</p>
<p>The Common Data Set is probably a more helpful source re this:
CDS 2009-2010
Percent who had GPA of 3.75 and higher 66.33%<br>
C11 Percent who had GPA between 3.50 and 3.74 22.96%<br>
C11 Percent who had GPA between 3.25 and 3.49 8.42%<br>
C11 Percent who had GPA between 3.00 and 3.24 1.53%<br>
C11 Percent who had GPA between 2.50 and 2.99 0.76%</p>
<p>The Pioneer article could have been quoting an “average” GPA of all applicants I suppose but I would not use it as any guideline. The data above are from the field of applicants admitted for 2009-2010</p>