One more question-We are in Colorado as well. 
An issue we seemed to have with my daughter applying this year, was that our school does not weigh honors classes. I think she had 13 classes or so. Our school doesnât seem to think itâs an issueâŠSeeing all of the other kids being accepted to schools and giving stats, saying how many honors classes etc, my daughter was DEFINITELY at a disadvantage. She only had 4 AP classes and a few Bâs in high school, but her GPA still looked so much lower than others (still a 4.0)âŠthoughts on if you think itâs a factor and were yours weighted here in Colorado? Thanks again!
There are two parts to this. First, are âneed-blindâ schools violating the promise that admission is made without knowing if a student has applied for financial aid.
Second, is the admissions department (not the the financial aid department) of need-blind schools trying to determine a studentâs SES, and giving a bump to those that it thinks are low SES, without knowing whether the student actually applied for financial aid. In other words, are they âneed affirmativeâ.
The Harvard lawsuit revealed that the answer to the first question is no, and the answer to the second question is yes. Harvard provides a bump for those that it thinks make less than the median US income. Which IMO is the way it should be.
This is separate from the many dozens of kids my son knows who got into multiple HYPSMs this year. Very few would qualify for the âaffirmative needâ designation that Harvard used.
As I said earlier, multiple paths.
By the way, the data for exactly how much of a bump that Harvard provides was fleshed out on the now shutdown Race thread. When it didnât get out of hand, it was extremely informative. @skieurope , is there a plan to open that back up?
Anyway, I think we are getting sidetracked. There is likely much others can learn from Ethan if they are willing to listen and absorb rather than assume he didnât deserve what he got.
Agree this is sidetracked, just addressing your comment directed to me.
Ethan will be a star wherever he decides to go!
Ethan, just donât straddle yourself or your parents with debt because you donât have to with all your credentials. This is what we learned with our first out the door!
If one of these schools asked you what makes you stand out from the rest, what is the first thought that would come to your head?
Several questions:
(1) were either of your parents HYPSM or otherwise Ivy legacies?
(2) what was the success rate of your high school placing kids in similar schools as yours?
(3) did you use a college consulting firm?
@COmama24 Thanks for your question COmama24, I tried to max out on the classes offered to me, but every high school is difficult, and I think they try to be really understanding of that. I donât think itâs a huge factor personally. I could totally be mistaken though.
Hi @hopedaisy, I shared whatever information I felt comfortable with in my stats document. Have a good day!
Thank you @ethancollege2020 - What I was trying to say was did you schools weight honors? My daughterâs As in all of her honors classes were all 4.0, but a large high school close by it would have been 5.0âŠ
@chrishudson1 Hmm thatâs a good question, I think probably having a consistent theme across extracurriculars.
@publisher1 I shared the information I felt comfortable with in my stats document. Please refer to that if youâre curious. Thanks!
@COmama24 Ah my bad for misunderstanding the question, honors and AP classes are both weighted as 5 grade points at my high school.
Thank you @ethancollege2020! Yes, so her GPA would have been MUCH higherâŠso my son will have this same issue, trying to get into a school like Duke. 4.0 doesnât cut it anymore, but not every school weights honorsâŠsighâŠ
@COmama24 Oh sorry to hear that, I know right it gets confusing how different high schools calculate GPA different ways. Good luck with your son applying to Duke, that sounds super exciting. Have a nice day
The adcoms receive your high schoolâs profile which will explain how the school grades and the adcoms will review & adjust the GPA accordingly when they evaluate applicants from his school. He should not be at a disadvantage if his school does not weight honors classes. Also, a couple of âBâsâ in high school is ok and wonât be the reason for a rejection. FWIW, you mentioned Duke, if you can take advantage of ED, do it, as the acceptance rate is 21% vs. 5% in RD. While the ED applicants will include legacy, URM, athletes, etc. I am now a believer that ED at highly selective colleges is an advantage over RD.
Colleges are generally aware of each schoolâs grading system (the high school provides that information). So your kids shouldnât be at a disadvantage.
I was specifically told by a University that they are aware that each hs calculates GPA differently and so they do not even look at GPA. They instead look at each class the student took, compare it to what the highest rigor that was offered at that particular HS and then look at the grade earned in that class. Then they calculate their own GPA so that it should be fair to all applicants. I hope that helps you. My sonâs school did weigh AP classes but doesnât give extra weight to Project Lead the Way classes even though I was worried because a nearby HS does give weight for those. It did not hurt my son because he was admitted RD to Northwestern.
And FYI he did not have college counseling, or anything additional than his HS offered. He did not even take a test prep class just did Khan academy and other free online sites. He is not URM, legacy, or college athlete and never competed in national competitions etc. He did not gear his classes and activities to someday apply for college. Just always had internal drive to do his best and take the hardest possible classes even back in elementary school. I also think his two main activities helped him: competing year round in an intense sport and then oppositely competing on a winning debate team. I just wanted to let people know it is possible for the extremely bright but regular high school kid to still get into their dream school. I had been so nervous for him over the past year or two as I read threads about needing national competitions etc when he had never had time for those because of sports. I am so relieved now that he is on the other side of acceptances and wanted to give hope to others out there.
Thatâs interesting. The range of schools is not something Iâve seen often.
Thank you @socaldad2002 - that is really helpful. I think heâs probably do ED if it came to that but I didnât realize the difference in acceptance rates. Thatâs huge. The idea of going through this brutal process all over again is exhausting after my daughter this year. LOL The sad thing is I now know going into 9th grade isnât too early. People may roll their eyes at it, but we know what my son is in forâŠmy husband went to Duke for law school and we are huge Duke fans in the house. He may go visit and hate it. Haha! But for now thatâs his hope⊠appreciate all of the feedbackâŠ
Thank you all for the great questions. And THANK YOU @ethancollege2020 for taking the time to provide helpful answers and share your story with our community.
As we want to make sure this discussion is easy to follow and every question is addressed, we need to stick to the AMA format. Therefore, all off-topic comments will be removed.
Considering your Computer Science interest and strengths, did you consider applying to Carnegie Mellon Univ., a top Comp Sci school? They have a unique program with CS and Public Policy.