<p>Hi - I'd like to ask for sugesstions with a HS GPA Calculation change.
My daughter is currently a senior in HS. In the past our school gave a out numeric grades based on a score of 1-100. Her HS GPA at the end of Soph. year was a 2.99. Yes I know not that great but we had some family issues. Jr year was going better but before the first semester ended the HS decided to change the grading system retroactivley. Her 2.99 was recalced to a 2.24 (ouch) and the transcript now only shows letter grades. At the end of her Jr year she raised it to a 2.48. After speaking with her guidance counsler I come to find out that the HS only send transcripts that include 9-11th it does not include grades from the 1st part of 12th.
I don't know what advice to give her - should she explain the grading change in the essay? Will the colleges even read her essay/application or will they automatically put her application in the reject pile, becuase she is below a 2.5?</p>
<p>Realistically, the choice of four year schools available to enroll as a frosh will be limited, although it may be greater than the empty set (perhaps depending on test scores).</p>
<p>However, another route if there selection of four year schools as a frosh does not include any suitable ones is to attend a community college, do well there in courses that are the frosh/soph prerequisites for the desired major at four year schools (probably state universities) and transfer to a four year school as a junior.</p>
<p>Do you understand the math behind the 2.99 becoming a 2.44? Did they start or stop counting pluses and minuses or change the grading scale, 93-100 being an A vs. 90-100? I would get a full explanation of the math behind it if you don’t understand it already.</p>
<p>There are schools that will accept her with that GPA. An upward trend is a good thing. Most HS around here only have semester grades on the transcript so if you request them this fall, this semester won’t be included. Some colleges will postpone a decison until fall grades are available and can be sent. She should do as well as possible this semester to continue that upward trend.</p>
<p>What kinds of colleges is she targeting? Will her SAT or ACT scores boost her at all?</p>
<p>At many schools you can go on their website and see what the typical GPA/SAT/ACT scores are for admitted freshmen.</p>
<p>Because of the differences in the way HS calculated GPA, especially because of weighted GPA, many colleges do their own calculation based upon the individual grades.</p>
<p>Most colleges want the transcript now, which does not include senior year first term grades. Unless you are applying rolling admissions, ED, or EA, they also ask for mid-term grades, which are sent in January/February. So, they will have the first term grades when making a decision.</p>
<p>Since you pay the application fee, I think all colleges will read the essay. That is the only way they can find the lump of coal on its way to becoming a diamond. Her GPA does put more pressure on the essays and recommendations to tell an amazing story.</p>
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<p>Many colleges (particularly in the less selective range that a <3.0 GPA student could have some realistic chance of admission) do not even have essays for admission. Those that do have application essays may only read the essays of applicants meeting some minimum threshold of academic stats.</p>
<p>What kind of college does she want to attend? There are large, public universities that offer open enrollment and will accept anyone who has passed all classes required for e admission. If she wants a smaller, LAC-type school, she will need to look harder to find one that will evaluate her.</p>
<p>Does she even want to attend college? If she apparently has earned mostly C’s in high school, it is a strong indicator that she is not terribly interested in an academic environment (alhtough there are certainly exceptions).</p>
<p>Will she consider a two-year community college program? If she is able to continue to raise her grades on strong upward trend, having two more years to prove herself to colleges would be helpful. She might be a much stronger applicant for more competitive schools at that point. This route will also ease the transition for her - and save you some money as well.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies:
I did the recalc myself to double check the school figures. For exampe on the old transcript she received an 86 in World History and the GPA associated with the 86 was a 3.2 on the new transcript World History shows a B and is associated with a 3.0. Old a 77 in Chemistry was a 2.3 new it shows as a C- and a 1.7. I would not have minded if they kept the numeric grades because then the colleges could have recalced off the 86 and 77. Her SAT is average 980, she is taking again.
The HS told me that when they send out transcripts (even for Feb app deadlines) they only send grades up to 11th and will only send a course list for 12th which seems a little screwy.
I looked on the College Board website for school stats - admission rate, GPA of incoming freshman & SAT scores and the open space report from last year. She has narrowed down to about 15 schools some large public oos universities and other smaller colleges that are nearby and oos.</p>
<p>rmldad: last year she did receive A’s and B’s 1 C in Algebra 2. She does want to go to college. She has always receved high marks in English and History. The CC’s around here are not that great but it is an option.</p>
<p>Out of state publics may be expensive without financial aid grants; with relatively low academic stats, merit scholarships are less likely. Check the net price calculators of all schools under consideration.</p>
<p>So originally did you strictly have numerical grades and then you personally extrapolated a 2.99 for her based on that, or did that school provide that conversion?</p>
<p>A 980 SAT,( I have to assume is just M/CR), to be frank really does align itself with a C average. The most important thing is to find a college for your daughter where she can be successful and a cc might be the best bet. If she handles the course load well then there will be many possibilities beyond there.</p>
<p>planner03 - no I did not extrapolate to a 2.99 the school provided. I figured this year she would have about a 3.2 not great but something to work with. She has a LD and does not do real well on standardized tests.
Oh well my oldest did very well and was accepted in to all the colleges on her list except for Bates, so this is a different experience.
The local CC has a 1.3% 2 year grad rate and a 40% freshman return rate not counting transfers.<br>
The main reason I asked the question was to get opinions about working the recalc into the essay, if it was a good idea or not? I guess it couldn’t hurt.
Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>In my experience, the essay should be about your daughter, not the recalculation her school did. Her essay should be her voice about something that relates to the prompts given on the common application. Personally, I think writing about the recalculation will end up sounding like it is the school’s fault that her GPA isn’t higher.</p>
<p>If you think this GPA recalculation really was an issue, the perhaps the school counselor can address this in his/her letter.</p>
<p>You need to work with your school GC to identify colleges that accept students with your child’s GPA and SAT score (which sound like they align to me). There are four year universities that will accept this student. And she could also go to the community college for a year or so to show she is a capable college student.</p>
<p>There are many reasons the second year return rate is lower at community colleges. One reason is that some students transfer to four year schools. Others need to leave to work to save money for future courses. There are many successful four year college grads who began their college schooling at a community college.</p>
<p>I agree with thumper. I cannot imagine any possible way that an essay on the recalc would reflect positively on your daughter.</p>
<p>The GC letter would be the proper vehicle for addressing this (if at all), and the school might even have a standard letter already since there are likely many students affected.</p>
<p>I’m not sure the re-calc matters. Colleges are going to take a look at the letter grades on the transcript and calculate their own version of your D’s GPA. Some will use every class she took. Others will exclude “non-academic” courses such as Phys Ed, music or art, and calculate a GPA based on core academics - math, history, science, English, foreign language. Different colleges also weight honors courses differently, but from what you’ve said I think your daughter has been taking college-prep level courses, so that may not apply.</p>
<p>I agree that essays should not be about the re-calc. No matter how she spins it, I fear it will look like she’s blaming someone else or making an excuse for her grades. If she’s overcome a LD to succeed in hs, that could be a legitimate essay. Her essay should be about something positive that she has done or an activity for which she has a passion, not about something negative that someone else has done that has affected her. </p>
<p>Also agree that if a four year school doesn’t work out, attending a community college and doing well there will set her up nicely to transfer to a four year school for her bachelor’s. It’s also generally a lot less expensive.</p>
<p>There are some colleges that specialize in helping so-called “underachieving” high school students get back on track. For example, look at Dean College in MA. It’s private and not cheap, but they have a 95% success rate for their graduates going on to 4 year colleges, and they offer a few bachelor’s degrees themselves. There are other colleges that are known for working with kids with LD’s - there’s one in Connecticut but I can’t think of the name. (sorry)
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<p>Based on post #7, I think that lisacdm should speak with the GC and also with the teachers. For example, under the old grading arrangement, the chemistry teacher felt that the student was receiving a C+ (with a 77). The new scheme converts it to C-. The chemistry teacher might well have thought that the work was of C+ caliber, but would not have rated it as a C-.</p>
<p>This change must be adversely affecting a very large group of students. Probably there are many students whose GPA’s have suddenly dropped by 0.3 to 0.5. That is a big change. Perhaps a set of parents could get together and have more impact.</p>
<p>It seems fine to me to have the new grading scale apply to grades assigned now and in the future, but it should not apply ex post facto to the old grades.</p>
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CR+M+W or CR+M?</p>
<p>Our high school recalculated GPA and class rank the year my daughter was a rising junior. Old timers here will remember that I was the one who spearheaded this change. The old formula had weighted GPAs with honors and AP courses LOWER than unweighted. Clearly something was amiss…and it was changed.</p>
<p>The recalculation and change resulted in a shuffling of class ranks for some students. The number 2 student became the number 3 student. Oh…and the school also made the decision to report specific class ranks for the top 20 students only…and everyone else in deciles.</p>
<p>The person whose kid “fell” to number 3 blamed me personally for her kid not being the class sal. Oh well.</p>
<p>As noted above, many colleges recalculate GPA anyway. I seriously doubt that teachers from years past will be permitted to go in and change the grades to reflect any “thought” that the work was a higher grade. Think about it…they would have to do this with every student in the school. The school made a decision to recalculate GPA…and that is that.</p>
<p>At this point, your efforts would better be spent on looking for colleges for this student given her 980 SAT score and C average in high school. There ARE colleges for this student. I would strongly suggest looking for schools with good student support centers (tutoring and other academic assistance as needed). But more important…this student needs to know that in college the STUDENT will need to access this assistance if needed.</p>
<p>There are many students with less than shiny high school stats who find their niche in college and do well.</p>