<p>GPA calculation .... what could be harder than this? </p>
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<li>University of California (Thanks for transparency). </li>
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<p>1.1. "UC uses courses taken between the summer following 9th grade through the summer following 11th grade in calculating a student’s GPA. In calculating the GPA, UC does not include courses taken in the freshman year, regardless of the level of the course.
Translation: only grades 10 and 11 are used for GPA"</p>
<p>1.2 "UC uses all “a-g” courses"
Translation: only English, Math, Social Science, and Science are used for GPA calculation. Nothing else.</p>
<p>1.3. "In addition, UC calculates a weighted GPA limited to 4 years of courses with no more than 2 years of 10th grade courses.:
Translation: Maximum of 2 classes (4 semesters) are weighted in 10th grade. The total maximum of weighted classes in grades 10 and 11 - is 4 (8 semesters). </p>
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<li>Stanford and Ivy league</li>
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<p>Common Application guidelines? Where are they? "school will be looking at your transcript" .... and? What are they looking for? </p>
<p>The bad news, as you have discovered, is that every school is different and may calculate GPA differently. They also look differently at various components of your application. </p>
<p>The good news is that although they may be different the themes are pretty much the same:
1). All schools look at rigor as a Most Important factor of admission. Specifically they are looking at college level classes like AP or collegenow and how you did on them. So these are the most important classes to have on your record and do well in.
2). After that, colleges are looking at core courses…english, science, math and social science. Do well in those and adcoms are happy,
3). Class rank/overall gpa is looked at, so try to do #1 and #2 while maintaining that. </p>
<p>One other thing to keep in mind. Admission isnt the only purpose of your transcript. Its used to transfer in courses as well. Look at how coursework can transfer into the coleges you are looking at. By the way, ivies do this poorly. </p>
<p>Thank you very much. I am very surprised by the lack of transparency. Most colleges publish median GPA, yet they don’t publish a method they use to calculate this GPA? How is it possible? It is so un-scientific … </p>
<p>Amazingly, applicant’s GPA is used to rank colleges. In other words, colleges generate a non-transparent number that is used to rank colleges. Am I the only person, who smells something fishy?</p>
<p>I really think you are overthinking this. Every admission presentation I’ve heard from every top school says the same thing. They want to see kids challenging themselves and doing well. Translation: Take a schedule that is the kind of schedule the top students at your school take, and do well in the classes. What more do you need to know? Multiply by 20? Whatever they choose to do with the info doesn’t matter, you just want to supply a sufficiently competitive input to their evaluation scheme, and they say what that is.</p>
<p>You keep looking for the magic formula, and people keep telling you that for many of the top schools you talk about, there is no magic formula. </p>
<p>There is no magic formula, because they are not looking for the sum of math and science GPA times 1.5 plus English and history plus 1/2 or language except add 3/4 of language if they took more than 4 years. They are looking for future leaders who are academically strong and there is no formula, no test, no GPA that is going to indicate that. Yes, they are also looking for academic superstars, but for those kids, the measures you have such as GPA and SATs aren’t really sufficient.</p>
<p>“Take a schedule that is the kind of schedule the top students at your school take, and do well in the classes”</p>
<p>That is not possible. You need to focus, somewhere. A know plenty of kids who took ALL AP TESTS (not just offered by school, but all of them), got perfect scores, and denied entry in the colleges they liked. </p>
<p>There has to be some trajectory. Biology, Honors Biology, and AP Biology could be all the same animal, but with a different weight. Computer Science may mean mastering MS Word or advanced coding. Yet it is called the same. Fine arts … my D could get perfect easy grades with Fine Arts classes (she is good in them). Get perfect easy GPA. On a top of it, (forget HS), take classes in community college (much easier than HS) or take one-two serous college level classes at the local UC. </p>
<p>Sometimes I think that my D. should take a HS diploma, ASAP, with minimum classes, and get accepted to some college at the South of Border. Than get a transfer. Would save her tons of time, effort, and money.</p>
<p>I’d stop worrying about getting your D IN to college and spend more time helping her think about what she wants to get OUT of HS – and education more generally. At least that would be productive, healthy, and something you can influence. </p>
<p>Workload in HS is so high, that a student should choose, where to focus. </p>
<p>For example, you can’t take programing online in Art-of-Problem-Solving, because you won’t be able to highlight an online class on your resume. On the other hand, you can take JAVA programing in Community College (much easier class) for shining credit. </p>
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<li><p>Nobody knows how Ivys calculate GPA. It is not a public information. Thus, it may mean anything.</p></li>
<li><p>It is better to take a minimum of HS classes per semester. Take advanced classes, but don’t take many of them. Stretch things, as much as possible. For example, try to take as much math as possible in the middle school, (ideally, Geometry and Algebra 2, grades don’t matter), and than stretch it as slow as possible. Honors Algebra 2 - Pre-Calculus - Calculus AB - Calculus BC … go as slow as you could, but get perfect grades. </p></li>
<li><p>Move second language into middle school. Again, it will give you an extra free slot in HS. </p></li>
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<p>"spend more time helping her think about what she wants to get OUT of HS – and education more generally. "</p>
<p>Really? If education would be the only objective, she would drop several classes altogether. PE, for example. Fine arts going the same drain (she is doing much better with private tutor). Science (there are better options to learn science than her HS is offering).</p>
<p>If she would follow her passions and good education (only) she won’t be able to graduate HS. Forget college, altogether. Do you suggest that HS diploma is not important, as long as you have “knowledge”? </p>
<p>Yes, it is, because it shows that the Ivies look beyond the number of x a candidate has taken towards a more whole picture of a person. Something you seem utterly unable to do.</p>