I’m trying to weed through some very opinionated comments regarding High Point. When I dig in I do see that the school took on debt some years ago in what appears to be a pretty big school transformation. Digging through the 990’s, it looks like that debt is being paid down.
The graduation rate appears to be in line with schools with students coming in with similar GPA’s and SAT’s. The placement rate seems high, although I’m not sure how you find an independent source to back this stat. There are comments regarding a lack of vigor with the academics but how is this quantified?
I do wonder how well the board works to ensure checks and balances are truly happening given what appears to be a very strong personality in the president’s office.
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Interesting question. I’m probably not wrong is suggesting that High Point is regarded as a bit of a holiday resort. If it’s reputation has changed in the last five years or so, I’d like to hear feedback on that too.
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That’s the crux of the question. As an example, it’s neighbor Elon has an average SAT score of 1250 for the latest incoming class while High Point’s average for the same class is 1281. Elon is often touted as an amazing academic institution while High Point gets snarky comments like calling it a country club.
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A friend goes to High Point and loves it. He was a B student at a very large, very competitive high school so I think his parents like the coddling he may receive at HPU. He is an athlete and had many (many) offers to transfer to a more prestigious school but he stayed at HPU, even for his 5th year of eligibility. He liked HPU.
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I am not sure what to make of those SAT scores because both Elon and HPU are test optional. I do know that the average GPA for Elon incoming freshmen is 4.0 while HPU is 3.3 which is a very significant difference. I am in NC and HPU does not have a good academic reputation here.
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Incoming Elon students have, on average, a perfect GPA? Do you work for Elon? It looks like you’ve been posting negative things on this board about High Point since 2012.
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I don’t know anything about HP but Elon recalculates GPAs since high schools are so different with the weighting they give to AP and honors courses. I have seen some snarky online comments about Elon but the students and parents I know are very happy with the school and its rankings have improved in the past few years.
I believe Elon is showing the average SAT score for enrolled students and HPU is showing the average for admitted students. However I’m having trouble finding HPU’s common data set to verify this.
I live near HPU and know several current and former employees and former students, maybe a dozen people altogether.
The current employees (non-instructional) complain about HPU, but they still work there so it must not be so bad. But the former employees (a mix of instructional and non-instructional) are very, very negative on their experiences with HPU.
One of the former students is very happy with his experience at HPU. This former student is a very motivated and self-directed person. I think that kind of person can do very well at HPU. But in general, at least among the former students I know, the view of the school is not positive.
Edit because upon reread, I feel my response was too vague: HPU seems to have a lot of resources. The people I know who have complained about the school do not believe those resources are being used wisely to further the purpose of education. But the student I know who was very happy with the experience was able to take advantage of the variety of available resources to pursue a very specific educational path that was ostensibly not even offered at HPU - and to emerge quite well-prepared for the career they were aiming for.
One last thing: @Lindagaf 's comment above accurately represents the local take on the school, at least where I am. I know, however, that the city of High Point has benefited greatly from HPU’s makeover.
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I also looked, and it doesn’t appear to be published. However, the combined mid-point of the two SAT sections in the IPEDS database is 1175 for enrolled students Fall 2020. The sum of 75% is 1240. The 1281 they have on their “Freshman Class Profile” does say “admitted students”. I do find it misleading to say it’s a “class profile” but not provide data for just the class.
As a comparable, Elon’s IPEDS 2020 numbers are 1230 and 1320, close to the 1250 noted (also listed for Class of 2025, with no qualifier). As we’ve seen with NYU going from 1455 (IPEDS mid 2020) to 1540 (“admitted”, 2021), these numbers can be of dubious meaning in a test optional year.
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Using the same source, it appears the figure for an inferred median SAT for High Point should be 1155 for attending students.
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=High+point&s=all&id=198695#admsns
The president of High Point U, Nido Qubein, gives me pause. But if you are into what he is selling then it might be a good fit. They bill it as “the premier life skills university” which as a slogan has kind of a finishing school vibe rather than an intellectual feel., but I’m sure a lot of students and families love it, just like a lot of them love Elon. Of the two, as a NC resident I’d pick Elon hands down, but neither are our speed. There was also a big scandal (frat death) at HPU a few years ago that Nido Qubein’s son may have been involved in. https://amp.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/education/article218933375.html
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Thanks everyone. The president’s income and, what seems to be, control of the school does cause pause. The massaging of stats is also of concern. This is all very helpful.
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Thank you for sharing that article, @Sweetgum. From that article, although the death itself was tragic and terrible, what appears to be a deliberate cover-up is absolutely horrifying. If the president’s control is as stated in the article, and he’s using it in the way the people quoted described, then I would never want a child of mine to attend there. Do you know if there has been any movement on the situation since this article was first posted?
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No, I don’t know any more about it.
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Elon GPA need to be looked at with scrutiny, because they do not tell you what kind of scale it is on. The accelerated Pathways show an average GPA of 5.01 for Physical Therapy with average SAT of 1214 for the class of 2025.
Fellows Programs , Honors have an average 5.17 GPA
This calls into question what the weighting of the GPA is. Are AP’s worth 6 or 7 points???
I cannot find this on Elon website anywhere
HighPoint Clearly states their GPA is unweighted
https://www.highpoint.edu/admissions/freshmen-class-profile/?algPos=1&algObjID=42-38&algQID=4140841c0570f5928576a50c30bd7a13
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My bad on saying the Elon average GPA is 4.0, I had no idea these calculations are so complicated! @krball no I don’t work for Elon or have any connection to the place, but confess I have been intrigued by HPU for a number of years and look at CC from time to time to see what;s being said. I know some former students and staff who had bad experiences there, but it seems HPU has found a market niche that works for them.
We lived in Greensboro and Charlotte; I have seen a big shift in reputation since 2016, especially in the Charlotte area. I know 5 current HP students; all were A/B students and all relo families from NY, NJ or OH. I think they all liked the idea of the small, private school experience over say UNCC or UNCW; although good students, they wouldn’t have been accepted to their programs at UNC or NCSU. One is in the combined athletic trainer program. They weren’t concerned about perceived reputation; they were only concerned about career preparedness and liked what HP had to offer. Three are athletes and compete for HP, so that obviously played a role. I’ve never personally looked into HP; I can’t give a personal opinion, but they all love it there. I’d say try to speak personally with current seniors or recent grads for feedback.
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A friend just shared this piece from the local paper on Facebook:
Is Mark Martin, one of the architects of the Jan. 6 Insurrection, the best person to lead HPU’s new law school?
Wow! That is crazy! They want this guy to head up their law school???