Is there any reason to try for Summa cum laude? Trying to advise my DS but wanted to get the perspective of others on the subject. He’s just finished his junior year and is heading into his senior year on track for SCL. That said he is majoring in CS with minors in chemistry and math paired with football and tutoring when possible. He’s starting his internship with UKG tomorrow. Should he ease up on pursuing the SCL designation and go into his senior year more relaxed and focused on enjoying other things or is there a legit reason to pursue the designation? I’d like to know what if any benefit there really is for graduating SCL. Thanks.
I don’t think it’s the designation, but those trying to get into selective schools/majors or who need merit tend to have top GPA’s/high class ranks…
Well he would at worse be MCL but that could be achieved relatively easy without over working yourself with studies. The SCL would be easy to maintain if he drops the math major as well.
I’d vote to not push the SCL – I’d encourage him to enjoy senior year and take the courses/pursue the activities he wants. Seems to me he has earned this privilege.
Congratulations to your son on his many accomplishments!
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I am guessing that you are referring to graduating university Summa Cum Laude, rather than high school. However, the same thoughts might be true either way.
I do not think that one or two B’s is going to significantly impact either graduate school admissions or job applications.
The one reason to graduate university with nothing but A’s (or in some cases A’s, A+'s, and perhaps an A- or two) would be to know that you can do it. It is IMHO something that you do for yourself.
I know someone who graduated with a better than 4.2 on an A=4.0 and A+=4.3 scale. It is an impressive accomplishment over four years of university, particularly when taking a tough course load. However, I think that it is one of these things that you do because you want to, not because it is going to actually make a difference to your life. It is safer and less expensive compared to climbing Mount Everest.
Also, the person I know who accomplished this has made me promise that I will never tell anyone who knows them. This is not something that you can talk about.
Congratulations on having a son for whom this is even an issue. This takes a lot of work. It also takes doing well even in your weakest class. Getting an A or an A+ in your strongest class is the easy part. Doing this well in your weakest class or the class with the tough professor (or tough teacher in high school) is difficult.
Whether your son tries to keep this up for his fourth and final year I think depends upon whether he wants to do so.
Depends what he wants to do next. If he’s interested in applying for prestigious scholarships like Rhodes or Marshall then it would likely make sense to have a very strong GPA (and a D1 football player with his profile could potentially be a strong candidate, especially for Rhodes). But be aware that if he does want to put in an application then internal deadlines for nomination are likely imminent (and it is a time consuming effort).
S18 has been reasonably careful to preserve his 4.0 through all four years and I think it has helped with these sorts of opportunities (he was a Marshall finalist this year).
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I didn’t realize it was a current college student. My oldest graduated with a 3.9, she’d a CPA and actually regrets working as hard as she did. Another daughter is graduating in a few weeks with a 3.9, she got into every graduate program she applied to, so she’s happy she out the work in. I have no idea what my 24 year old’s GPA was, I think he got on the Dean’s list once, he has a nice paying job in finance that he enjoys, had some executive functioning issues in HS ADHD related which kept me checking the portal way more than I liked, once he got to college it was don’t ask/don’t tell, I was done.
Yes, sorry I should have clarified that from the start. He’s a college junior and plays football for UF which incorporates a huge amount of hours besides his schedule.
I think the answer is “it depends.”
It depends on his plans following graduation, mental health, what he wants, etc.
He’s already doing well. Let it naturally take its course. A friend’s daughter at a known large public was putting so much pressure on herself to be perfect. It’s her M. O. She was complaining to her mom that all her friends are doing well but having fun also. Even her activities /clubs are academic. She got her first B and she is actually now relaxed. It took pressure off her and she just finished her Freshman year.
Mental Health to me is more important but he seems driven. So if it happens then awesome and if it doesn’t happen then awesome!
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IMO, perfection is a negative. The pursuit of excellence is a positive. Only he knows which one it is.
So to this point I haven’t really heard what the great benefit would be unless pursuing a selective school. So CS really has no need to have a masters degree but since he wants to continue playing football it’s more of a might as well get one while playing. UF has a very good scholarship specifically for athletes pursuing a masters with excellent grades:
James W. Kynes Scholarship - Graduate School | University of Florida (ufl.edu)
That said as far as job prospects etc…I haven’t seen where there is any significant and tangible reason for pursuing SCL.
Looks like the requirements for MCL and SCL are listed at UF Undergrad Catalog . For CS (in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences), the difference between MCL and SCL is a minimum GPA of 3.50 versus 3.80 (there are other requirements, like a thesis or project, and (for CS MCL and SCL) two additional approved CISE courses).
For the traditional colleges of Columbia University at least, SCL means top 5% of class, MCL means top 15% of class - so it helps someone to easily put whatever 3.x GPA number in perspective. Junior Phi Beta Kappa (awarded in Fall) is even more selective.
The problem - no one will ever know if it were those greek and/or latin honors that did open a door somewhere, where majority of students typically have to wait a year or two before eventually being accepted - or if the same outcome would have happened anyway just based on GPA and strength of the application and interviews alone.
Just posted the honors breakdown in a different post - don’t want to break rules by duplicating:
Let’s stick with the OPs question. They can research what it takes to graduate magna and summa at UF.
I wouldn’t mention this at all. Just let him do his college senior year and whatever designation he gets, if any, will just be what he gets. Don’t fret about this for one minute.
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Since the difference between MCL and SCL is just a different GPA threshold (3.50 or 3.80), the question about whether trying for SCL depends on how much extra work the student would have to do depends a lot on what the student’s current GPA is and how difficult grade-wise the planned course work is.
I.e. the higher the student’s current GPA is, the less the student would need to “try hard” beyond normal level of effort to stay above the SCL threshold, if that is the goal. Indeed, even if the student does not care about SCL, it may happen anyway if the student does well enough in senior year courses.
Have not heard of MCL versus SCL making much of a difference beyond college, although the GPA behind it can matter in some contexts (e.g. GPA sensitive professional schools like law school). Employers usually have cutoff GPAs for preferential interviewing, so high GPA is better, although the most common cutoff GPA used by employers is 3.0.
So current gpa is 3.87 with a 3.80 needed for SCL as noted. There remains required CS courses as well as chemistry and math for getting a minor. That is where the difficulty of course comes into play. If he dropped the math minor the courses remaining and path to SCL is much easier. He’s past the Orgo 1&2 and chemistry comes easy as well as the CS. The difficulty is the time dedication to football, tutoring, church etc…as well as the math course rigor heading into senior year. That’s where it’s possible to drop below the 3.80 designation if that makes sense.
Of course, the following could still happen:
- He could take the math courses and still earn a GPA >= 3.80.
- He could forego the math courses and still earn a GPA < 3.80.
Does he value a possibly greater chance of SCL over MCL to the point that he would be willing to forego the math courses (that he is presumably interested in)?
Scenario 2 may be the path leading to most regret afterward if it happens.
I’d say he has earned the right to seek the most rewarding and physically/emotionally healthy senior year possible. That should be the driver of his decisions - let the Latin Honors level take care of itself.
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