How important are weighted grades(honors courses) and class ranking

Applying to College
1

<p>My son has a semester's worth of courses that are listed as regular courses instead of honors. I can get this fixed, but, school is out of session until fall and he will be a senior this fall. I have a process I have to do (same thing happened to my daughter but I already got hers fixed). I have to have the school they took the courses at send their transcripts to the school they attended next and then that school fix it in their records and then send on to the school my children are currently at. These are grades from 9th grade that, somehow, in transferring from the 2nd school to the 3rd, the "H" went missing from each. </p>

<p>IF I work to get it changed, his overall weighted GPA will go up by 2 points (I already put it all in on a spreadsheet and figured it out) and it will raise his class ranking as a result. He is straddling the 50th percentile line so it should knock him safely above that line. Plus, it will show he took the honors courses then. </p>

<p>Should I go back and do it? Or is this something that likely won't make much difference anyway? (I already did the work to get my daughter's fixed, but she is a top 10 percent child so this knocked her just below the top 10 percent so in her case, she really needed it fixed). It is not as simple as making a phone call. But I would hate for my child to get turned down at any schools over this. I worry that being in the bottom half of the class will exclude him from just about everywhere.</p>

2

<p>I would absolutely get this fixed - no question. It would be a real shame if your son missed out on a school (or a good merit scholarship) over this. Even if a college doesn’t consider weighted grades, they still look at the level of difficulty of the courses taken. Your son did the work, so he should receive the credit.</p>

3

<p>I am having a hard time because the children went from private school to charter school to local public school. It took a while to get my daughter’s fixed, and I am not done yet. The charter school said they would send the transcript to the public school. So…I want to see that done before I start working on my son’s. Originally, I could not get return calls from the charter school. Then, I asked the public school if I could send the transcripts from the private school directly to the public school and they said fine. I did that. But then, after a while, the public school changed their mind and said they can only take transcripts from the chart school. I left more messages at the charter school. Finally, I managed to get through to the proper person and just now, after months, the charter school says they fixed her transcript and will send it on to my daughter’s school. So…it is the same mistake for both kids. In both cases, the charter school transferred all the private schools’s classes in as regular classes, and did not put down the H designation. Then, when the children left the charter school for regular public school, of course, the transcript did not say H from the charter school and the public schools weights the grades and does class ranking. </p>

<p>I am hoping that because I have gotten this done once already that I can get it fixed again much easier. I want to see my daughter’s grades fixed first and then work on my son’s because I am scared they will back off and not finish my daughter’s. They (the charter school) has already been so stinky about so much (which is why we left them).</p>

4

<p>Rigor of high school course work is important at most selective colleges; class rank is important at some.</p>

<p>How this can affect college admissions:</p>

<ul>
<li>Colleges may look at whether the applicant chose the most rigorous available courses (e.g. honors versus regular).</li>
<li>Colleges may use class rank.</li>
<li>Colleges may recalculate GPA in their own weighted methodology which counts honors courses.</li>
</ul>

<p>Regardless of the resolution at the current high school, wouldn’t the applicant who attended multiple high schools have all of the high schools send transcripts to the colleges being applied to?</p>

5

<p>It’s hugely important. The more selective the college, the more important it is your student meet the “cut off” for GPA and test scores - and by the way, those are still the most important two items, with rigor of schedule/classes taken and class ranking falling right after. What you REALLY need to do is use the college GPA formula to calculate - add .5 for each honors class, and 1.0 for each AP/IB class taken. Remove all non-core elective classes (PE, Ceramics, music, etc.) from the GPA calculation, that “A” in dance won’t help. If the HS transcript doesn’t recognize a class as honors and it should be (I’ve never heard of a legit HS doing this, they all know the drill), it will impact two major decision factors - GPA and rigor. AP/IB is better than honors.</p>

6

<p>Yes, you’ll end up sending all three transcripts in, with some exceptions. Yes, adcoms at schools that view 9th grade will look at the private school’s transcript and see the honors classes. And, btw, many subsequent hs cause the same headache. Sometimes because they don’t distinguish levels of classes in the same way that the private did. (Or when, eg, what the 1st school considered H is what the final hs considers regular.) I’ve seen some that ignore grades from prior hs in calculating current ranking. (When that’s the case, there is usually some clue in the GC letter.)</p>

<p>At some hs with reps for being highly competitive, top 50% can still allow a shot at some very good schools. Without knowing the rigor of the current hs, class size and whether he has continued to take challenging classes, incl AP, and done well, his scores, or what colleges you are thinking of, it’s hard to guess what “extra” impact squeezing into the top 50% will offer. It’s good to hit that mark, but the GC usually reports the numbers, eg 48/100 or 145/300. So, a lot depends on what the rest of his picture offers to the colleges you have in mind. Good luck. It’s a tough decision. But, if he thinks it’s important, that would determine it, for me.</p>

7

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<p>The “college GPA formula” varies by college. For example, GPAs calculated for UC and CSU admissions are calculated in a way different from the above.</p>

8

<p>Agree. There is no standard formula. We don’t even recalculate. We look at the actual classes taken and grades. Plus, the rest of the applicant’s story. </p>

<p>GPA and test scores…are still the most important two items, with rigor of schedule/classes taken and class ranking falling right after. </p>

<p>Not always. Gpa is important, but a high gpa in less challenging classes? </p>

<p>I suspect OP and DS are looking for a “good fit” college where he can thrive.</p>

9

<p>ucbalumnus, do you know how the UC’s calculate the HS GPA of applicants in respect to +'s and -'s? It looks like an A- is worth 3.7 for their own undergraduate students, so I was wondering if they follow this same policy in calculating the HS gpa’s. Our large CA school district does not distinguish + and - in the gpa, although those are indicated on the transcript. Any type of A is 4.0 (5.0 if AP/IB)</p>

10

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<p>Many schools don’t recalculate at all. And weighted GPA is far less useful than unweighted GPA. It’s the transcript as a whole that matters.</p>

<p>As for the OP’s question, though, I’d definitely suggest getting this fixed, given that it impacts GPA, class rank, and rigor of coursework. You don’t want to sell yourself short.</p>

11

<p>The importance is in direct correlation to the selectivity of the college. It is worth getting it changed but in all reality for the level of schools you should be targeting , it probably won’t make a difference in where he gets accepted.</p>

12

<p>lmkh70, does your son know which schools he’d like to apply to? Another thing you can do is contact the admissions officers at those schools, explain your situation, and ask them about the best way to proceed. They may be able to save you an awful lot of hassle.</p>

<p>I did this for both my son and daughter and was able to get very good information from the colleges (and saved my kids from a lot of trouble down the road).</p>

13

<p>I would go through the process to get the current transcript adjusted so that schools see the rigor of coursework. My senior son applied to 10 schools and only 1 asked for the original transcript from his first high school. The Common App requires an explanation if you check the box that student attended more than one high school; however it does not require the original transcripts. So, you want to make it easy for admissions to see his high school record in one place. I know it is time consuming and stressful, but you will feel more confident going into the admissions process with those details taken care of. Good luck!</p>

14

<p>Most major public universities calculate this way, but I would never say it’s common to every university (and I know this because my S applied to several major in-state and OOS universities). Speaking as one who met with several admissions directors, they all said basically the same thing. Unless it’s a regional HS they are very familiar with, the actual academic teaching levels vary greatly from HS to HS - for example, what is “honors” at one school may be a regular level class at another and vice-versa. The only real way they can compare academics across thousands of high schools across the country is via achievement in the same content - i.e., AP and IB test grades are the true indicator. I am speaking from what admissions people told me directly, not conjecture…take it for what it’s worth.</p>

<p>And EVERY college he applied to - that would be 7, public & private, in-state and OOS - recalculates grades based on their own criteria. Again, the issue of relying on the an individual HS to determine the GPA would lead to major challenges for admissions - some HS are on a 4.0 scale, some 5.0, and some even higher. That’s the reality from the admissions side.</p>

15

<p>Not doubting what you heard, but can you imagine the work involved in recalculating? For thousands of students? I think the UCs are an exception because aspects of the school system are so standardized it can be automated, no? Not so at all colleges. Especially not colleges that review applicants from, say, a thousand school districts across many states- with a smaller total staff. And for most, transcripts come in as another page on the CA- not a download like SAT scores.</p>

<p>Agree, you cannot rely on weighted. At some hs, and A in AP adds a point, at my kids school it merely moved you up .3. Plus, at some hs, getting an A is ridiculously easy, at some it’s misery. Some have higher level tracks that are more competitive, some don’t. Some force kids into x misc requirements that crowd their schedules and limit other choices (health, D ed, ethics, local history, etc.) The actual transcript speaks for the wisdom of the courses the kid did accrue, the challenges and the grades, as they are. You can rework the numbers, but there is no standardization of the hs educ experience. </p>

<p>Btw, AP courses are not standardized. There is material that is meant to be covered and the course structure at a given hs, in theory, needs to be approved by the AP folks. But, there is great variation. One of my kid’s APs wasn’t even approved til April of the year she took it. Another AP never reached the end of the lesson plan. And, this was a fine hs.</p>

<p>Now add in that many hs simply do not offer AP, by design. Or have only a few courses or severly limit students, eg, one in 11th and two in 12th. How would you recalculate “gpa” to consider that? How could you see those kids penalized for not having as high a recalculated gpa as those who can cram in 9? How would you account for dual enrollment?</p>

<p>So, in the end, admissions decisions are made by people, not machines. The more competitive the school, the better your overall package better look.</p>

16

<p>“The only real way they can compare academics across thousands of high schools across the country is via achievement in the same content - i.e., AP and IB test grades are the true indicator. I am speaking from what admissions people told me directly, not conjecture…take it for what it’s worth.”</p>

<p>…since no college I know of requires AP and / or IB test scores for admission I really don’t see how this can be accurate. Perhaps what you meant is SAT / ACT scores?</p>

17

<p>OP, I know you said you wanted to finish the corrections to your D’s records before starting on your son’s but since he is a rising senior perhaps his record should have the higher priority. There’s no reason you can’t tell the schools involved “and while you’re at it I need the same thing done for my son”.</p>

18

<p>The work in recalculating is easy and minimal, and they ALL do it. Your own HS GPA is not used in any major university admissions decisions except for class ranking. </p>

<p>Rather than listen to varying opinions, this is really easy to verify. List your top 10 schools and then contact the admissions departments directly and ask them how they calculate GPA. Trust me on this one</p>

19

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<p>No. Senior-year AP scores aren’t available until after the admissions decision has been made. IB scores from the May session don’t become available until July, well after incoming freshmen have enrolled.</p>

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<p>False. Many skip recalculation and just look at the transcript. The University of Michigan used to recalculate before it went to the Common App. It no longer recalculates.</p>

20

<p>I beg to differ 100% - you obviously applied to lesser schools as all of your info is completely and wholly inaccurate.</p>

<p>Time for a reality check - your AP scores count and are reported thru junior year, only a buffoon waits until senior year to take AP classes. They also want to see that you are taking the hardest schedule possible, so AP classes in senior year are important for admissions to see.</p>

<p>Don’t take some random poster who has too much time on their hands as the gospel - that advice and $1 will buy you a cup of coffee and aacceptance at your local junior college.</p>

<p>Some of the info on here is downright laughable - every decent college, believe it or not, reviews every single application. How do I know this? My bother is an admissions director at a major university. Opinions outside of an admissions department are worth the paper this is printed on.</p>