Holistic Reviews of Applicants

There may be a high correlation but my 2 son’s disprove this assumption.

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You know that old expression - lies, damn lies, and statistics…

There is a reason many on here tend to disagree. Yes, across the whole range there is a reasonably high correlation. Now cut that range and assess in smaller bites - you may find the correlation is much lower. This piece explains well the concept of range of talent - see point 3:

ok :-). I also know my statistics. I don’t see why there is a great resistance to the idea. I acknowledge there is great resistance to the idea. If you cut the range, and confine the sample to a very small set of data points, then definitionally the correlation will look to be small. The whole point of taking larger samples is that one doesn’t want to peer to look at the trees and miss the forest. But I am happy to move on. I didn’t realize this is a sensitive topic.

I guess the better question is what happens if you cut the range but use a large sample - e.g., limit GPA to 3.5 - 4.0 but analyze a large sample size. I wasn’t playing cute with statistics’ definitions - I believe the result will be different. Not sure anyone’s particularly sensitive.

It’s fine. Whatever. Not important. In the original context of what I said, if kids were in the low 3 area of GPA, they don’t take on leadership roles. Because they are busy shoring up their GPA. They don’t have time. If they were in the high 3s etc. They do take up leadership roles. My son spent less than 10 hours a week on academic stuff outside of class. He was bored. He did other things in school that interested him. If you want SAT scores to give the same message, they will. This is not some mystical fact. It is just common sense.

This “study” appears to be a graph posted by a HS kid using a small sample of students from his/her HS. It was likely an assignment for his/her stats class. I wouldn’t read too much in to the specific correlation r number or the lack of extreme outliers, but yes, there is a significant correlation between HS GPA and test scores.

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I feel HS GPA score is over period of 4 yrs, like any normal life you can have ups and downs , health, financial , mental health of you or family members … but it does not discount for that … there is an assumption that you are :100: all through 4 yrs … which can be insane assumption

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Sure, but who ever said there are any guarantees against being anxious? It’s also anxiety-inducing to get up for the SAT and ACT. And, in what other areas of life do we get perfectly consistent or predictable anything? As much as people like to think otherwise, the work world remains full of ambiguity and, to one degree or another, situations that most of us would deem unfair.

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With all due respect, you continue to make a LOT of broad sweeping generalizations about what kids are doing. 3.0 kids aren’t volunteering??? Really? Only the high GPA kids do? Really?

I would suggest that your experience with your kids is just that…YOUR experience. To try to extrapolate that to the country at large doesn’t work.

I can tell you my experience is pretty much the opposite. And I’ve seen the same on CC. Perhaps looking on forums with state schools will show you this to be the case.

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I am saying at our school, kids don’t take on leadership positions if they are not doing well academically. In fact their parents encourage them to drop extra commitments. The school also encourages them. Because the school deems the GPA more important than the EC. I am just reporting. This is not an opinion. Nor is it a guess.

And I’m saying that you don’t understand that a 3.0 does NOT mean a kid is struggling. At all.

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YOUR school. Period. In one hyper-competitive and affluent part of the country where every kid goes to college, and where said kids are going is even part of the Realtors pitch over “why house A over house B”.

As long as you remind everyone of this qualifier, I agree with everything you have posted.

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We have different opinion on this. Also, the parents of those kids may have different opinions on these issues. You can litigate with them. The facts are that they drop a bunch of ECs.

As the recent posts have been dominated by a handful of users, I have put the thread on slow mode until morning. My hope is this will allow other users to join the conversation and prompt the more exuberant users to be strategic in postings.

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What I find interesting is the flavor d’jour of the extracurriculars considered “in” by AOs, and thus parents/students, until they become so oversubscribed that they are then “out” for admissions advantage. Maybe 20 years ago there was the mission trip abroad craze. Then that was replaced by the start your own nonprofit craze. I haven’t kept up with today’s favored activities, maybe circus arts are the new hidden gem for entrance.

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Not sure I agree. :slight_smile:

You think a 3.0 kid is struggling academically so much that they have to give up a job, a club, a sport? A B average student is struggling to you. ?

Also, all anyone is suggesting is that you qualify your responses with “at our school”. Its not applicable to the country at large with the school your kids are at.

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In what universe is taking out one measure of performance—SAT/ACT scores—makes the process less, not more, holistic?

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I don’t believe anyone said that it made it more holistic.

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