<p>How bad is it to have a B avg as a 10th grader in a HADES BS? Is it difficult to rebound? What are the chances of getting into a HYP school with a B for the entire lower year? Is it better to just pull out my child and let them try for A's at the local high school? It would break my heart to do it, but I am worried about the future and college/med school acceptance. (Previously posted in the Parents Forum; would like a student's point of view who has been in the same boat).</p>
<p>I reckon it doesn’t hurt to stay in such a good school, unless your local high school has about the same academics, arts, or athletics, but boarding school definetly holds more options for your child, so you should keep that in mind. If the boarding school more or less equals the local school, then I would opt for the local school given the lower tuiton costs. That way when your child applies to college, you may not require as much financial aid as before, thus perhaps giving you a better chance. If you are full pay though, no need to worry about my previous comment. Finally, remember the theory of “top one-thirder”. If you didn’t know, this is the idea that schools like to take only kids in the top one-third of their class. If you think your child will be more successful and learn about as much elsewhere, pull out of the boarding school. By the way, all my advice is theoretical, as I have not been in this position. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Sorry to heap salt on the wound, but to say a 4 is a B is not exactly accurate. Since a 3 is a flat C, a 4 can be anywhere from a borderline C+/B- (think 79/80 percent) to a mid-high B (86/87). Solid B+ grade (88/89) usually earns a 5.</p>
<p>I see you’re referencing Andover’s grading system: not sure why since no one else even asked about it, but here’s how it works (though, at some teachers’ discretion, it can be changed to suit their needs):</p>
<p>100-93: 6
85-92: 5
84-77: 4
76-69: 3
69-60: 2
59-50: 1
0-50: 0</p>
<p>Also, as a student (and this is just my opinion! Just mine!) I would be MORTIFIED TO HAVE MY LIFE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN BECAUSE MY MOM WAS ANGRY AT MY GETTING B’s AND NOT A’s. Please, I urge you to look at Andover’s school profile - only 1% of seniors have a 6, or “A” average! That’s three kids in a class of 330! And yet a full 30% of kids go to the Ivies, Stanford, and MIT. You need to remember that colleges understand how much harder HADES schools are then most of the nation’s schools, and they take that into account.</p>
<p>Andover’s school profile: <a href=“http://www.andover.edu/Academics/CollegeCounseling/Documents/PhillipsAcademySchoolProfile2010-2011.pdf[/url]”>http://www.andover.edu/Academics/CollegeCounseling/Documents/PhillipsAcademySchoolProfile2010-2011.pdf</a></p>
<p>I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Andover’s GPA average of students accepted at Johns Hopkins is 4.5/6.0. Harvard: 5.19/6.0. You don’t need “A’s” to get into great schools! To pull your kid out because he was getting B’s - I’m not passing judgment on you, but that would be an ABSOLUTE TRAVESTY.</p>
<p>TTC, you are current over me by about 2 decades, but I’m glad to see I wasn’t too far off. An 85 a 5? “Well, back when I went to PA, we all had to walk up the hill from town everyday and Commons only served toasted shoe leather…” ;0</p>
<p>My mom says the same thing about old Commons! Good to see times have changed :)</p>
<p>She did have to walk up the hill, too - she lived in Abbot!</p>
<p>Tom, what about getting all 4’s? I think that’s what the discussion is about, rather than 5’s (which in college admission terms are much more like A’s).</p>
<p>To me, leaving HADES because of low grades/rank doesn’t really make sense… Although being “number one” may give your child an undeniable advantage during the application process, it’s not worth the experience and the education that s/he has at HADES… I’ve seen several FLAWLESS applicants (perfect gpa, team captain, comm service, student council, etc) who were on top of everything in my small school who were rejected by Ivyies for no reason…
Think about what the college admissions will think when they look at his/her transcripts? They are very smart people, so they might guess why a HADES student moved to a local high school.
I’m saying this because I had precisely same question in my head a week ago.After analyzing this issue for a little while, I realized that no rank is worth the HADES experience.</p>
<p>TomTheCat (and others, too numerous to mention),</p>
<p>‘then’ =/ (does not equal) ‘than’.</p>
<p>Why is it that ‘then’ so often usurps ‘than’ and vice versa?!!!</p>
<p>Look for the culprit here:</p>
<p>“You need to remember that colleges understand how much harder HADES schools are then most of the nation’s schools, and they take that into account.”</p>
<p>Now, class, which of the sentences below uses ‘then’ and ‘than’ correctly?:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If today is Tuesday, than this must be Paris.</p></li>
<li><p>‘Objects in mirror are larger then they appear’.</p></li>
<li><p>As we are travelling through the Sahara Desert, I’d rather have a camel then a horse.</p></li>
<li><p>Oh, so English is your first language – than why is it more difficult for you to remember the difference between two simple four-letter words then it is for a non-native speaker?!</p></li>
<li><p>Oh, you say English is not your native tongue, well than, I apologize most sincerely.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Those who get the correct answers will be held in the very highest esteem.</p>
<p>Of the students I know that have gone to Ivies, especially HYP, many have something else going on for them other than stellar grades and perfect SAT scores. It’s often sports, or some strong artistic talent, really strong leadership, or just true genius types. Like Yazmie, I see many amazing kids turned down. It is truly a bit of a crapshoot. </p>
<p>To the original poster, think carefully about the fascination with Ivies and whether it is a realistic option for your son regardless of private or public school? What does he bring to the table if he switches schools, despite a GPA that might rise, at his local school? How does his local school do for Ivy placement? If it is easier to get a high GPA at his local school, the colleges are likely to recalculate his GPA downward while many colleges will recalculate an Andover GPA upward. As another posted stated, won’t it be more difficult to get leadership positions if he transfers now?</p>
<p>I’d rather be chased by a lion THAN get a grammar lecture from leanid. :)</p>
<p>Wow - one incorrect keystroke and I get a full lecture from leanid! Uh… thanks?</p>
<p>Thanks Tom. I think you answered the OP’s question. From the school profile link you gave, the top 30% have GPA 5 and above and they are heading to IVY+SM. A GPA of 4.4 and below which is the case for OP’s child will place them in the bottom 30% and it is fair to say that they are not going anywhere fast. As a PA senior, you should look at the data, analyze it first before painting a rosey picture which is invalidated by your own data. Now I see why you may have chosen politics as a major and we need more of them. :D</p>
<p>Dewd…idevices make those kinds of misintended correctums all the time.
So if it’s none of the above, I guess your givin no love?</p>
<p>pulsar - what you don’t get is some of those kids getting into HYP from Andover and other top BS aren’t in the top 3rd. They have other things going on for them besides GPA and test scores. Also, it isn’t unusual for some of the students with top academic standing to choose to go to top LACs or other great colleges over Ivies. Some kids don’t even apply to Ivies at all. The data doesn’t tell the whole story. Again, what is your agenda here, pulsar? You claim to be an applicant yet spend all your time bashing boarding schools, boarding school students and boarding school parents? You have visited the site under different user names?</p>
<p>Bingo, Big5!</p>
<p>The rest of you, commit it to memory.</p>
<p>“wrong keystroke”…gawd, how many times have I heard that one?!</p>
<p>People going to HYP are not necessarily in the top 30%, though very likely they are, they are not in the bottom 30% either (below a full 70% of the class in case of the OP’s child). If this is not a cause for alarm, I don’t know what else would be. This is not my opinion, just an analyis of the data Tom presented.</p>
<p>"I’d rather be chased by a lion THAN get a grammar lecture from leanid. "</p>
<p>Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be chased by a lion, THEN get a grammar lesson… – assuming you are still alive?</p>
<p>Doschicos, wouldnt you rather get lectured by leanid since it will only give you annoying headache, rather THAN get chased by lions since THEN you may become those lions’ dinner?</p>