large Test score to GPA difference

College Search & Selection
1

<p>edit: this got turned into a super long rant so just skim it or something, sorry. (it felt good to write it though)</p>

<p>im wondering what colleges have strange point systems that weight more for test scores then gpa or maybe none at all to gpa.</p>

<p>im also looking for colleges that have odd teaching/grading/homework styles.</p>

<p>over the past few years, public schooling has made me forgotten that i am actually smart. 5th-6th grade i attended a private school, was top 5% in my class, got first in a regional problem solving math competition. IQ of 14x, etc. </p>

<p>however school really sucks now and i feel incredibly stupid. i happen to know for a fact i have gotten the lowest score in the class for my honors pre-calc math class, a 74 followed by a 64. </p>

<p>i have to drop AP Bio because i am getting a 66 in the class, having gotten a 70, 82, 53, and 50 on quiz, MP test portion, essay test portion and quiz respectively. </p>

<p>my procrastination is bad and led me to get a 0/30 on a bio lab when there were also 2 bio essays due the same day. poor organization led me to do the essays first which ended up only being worth 20 overall and took hours.</p>

<p>however it is not entirely my fault, everyone knows...the teacher sucks. i suck verbally and this teacher lectures 100% verbal. doesnt help much a combination of poor organization or below average social skills doesnt allow me to work in study groups or copy/view others notes. </p>

<p>for years and years i have been told i am lazy, and that i need to work harder. i just hate it so much. i have trouble learning by reading the text book, and i have trouble learning by hearing a verbal teacher lecture. </p>

<p>a tutor is very helpful to me, but they are in high demand at my school, and expensive if i were to meet everday. last year i had a tutor once a week, i think i will go back to that because sometimes 1 hr of tutoring can teach me everything i need to know from the whole week.</p>

<p>if you look at some things i like doing, i attack them diligently and willingly. i can suddenly absorb 100x as much from reading, and spend sometimes hours on the internet researching, etc.</p>

<p>anyways, im kind of confused. i dont want college to be like high school and middle school. if you put me in a relaxed, low stress classroom that is enjoyable, i am likely to put in way more work then required. i can remember back in 6th grade, we had a truly inspiring project, designing and building a house out of cardboard, calculating area and all that math stuff that went along with it. well i stayed up til 11 for weeks building a beautiful pagoda that was a work of art. the very next year in a public school, we had many similar projects and none of them did i put the effort into that i had before.</p>

<p>in 4th grade i joined a math club and our first meeting we got this super difficult problem solving problem. i believe out of 4th-8th graders i was the only one to get it right and it was a good feeling.</p>

<p>so i need a place i can fit in somewhere, i need a place i can feel smart again and not have to worry about the grades so much. </p>

<p>if you read that entire thing, i am truly sorry. it got turned into a pretty long rant.</p>

<p>oh, i just looked at the title of the post and realized i never actually followed that.</p>

<p>anyways i expect to get a 32, 2200 or something like that, with a gpa just about 3.</p>

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<p>are there any colleges in hawaii that are business/engineering/economics and arnt insanely expensive?</p>

3

<p>I'm not an admissions counselor, but low grades and high test scores would seem to indicate a bright kid who has lost interest in school. From what you say, that sounds pretty accurate. Since you don't learn well reading a book or hearing a lecture, but you work well with a tutor, you should definitely look for a place with a heavy discussion focus. The best bet for that would be a small liberal arts college. For a college that is different, I would check out St. John in Annapolis and Santa Fe. A heavy focus on discussion, but also a unique curriculum. </p>

<p>The most important question, I think, is what are you passionate about?</p>

4

<p>im pretty sure i want to pursue an MBA at a graduate school, but as for my undergrad degree im still open to suggestions. probably engineering, i dunno.</p>

<p>i hope to either start a business or become a CEO of one at some point. im still wondering what undergrad degrees would be most beneficial for this. the calculus i would need to take for engineering degrees is not exciting me.</p>

5

<p>I wasn't clear with my question. You said that when you are particularly interested in an activity, you really get into it. What sort of activities get you all fired up? If there is a particular subject you are passionate about, major in that. You don't really need any specific degree to get an MBA. Most people who get MBA's are going back to school after a few years in the business world. If you don't think the math in engineering will hold your interest, don't do it. From what you've described, you don't do so well when you aren't interested, but you do much better when you are.</p>

6

<p>thats a difficult question...</p>

<p>i guess i just like learning...lets take a subject i think i really hate, for instance, math.</p>

<p>now give me a class with a cool teacher, a small group of kids, and the purpose of the class is to collaborate on tough questions and ponder math in nature, art, music, w/e, and bring up crazy and cool math things. forget all the cramming and memorizing useless concepts i usually attribute to a math class. </p>

<p>basically: what i like = completely dependant on situation and presentation. i could easily turn everything i hate into a dream class.</p>

<p>im liking the discussion idea. i think a really relaxed atmosphere with discussions and stuff would be cool. </p>

<p>sorry i cant answer your question...i just dont know. ive been fired up about art, math, science, history, etc. sometimes its just a single unit or activity that really sparks me up, rarely is it an entire course or subject. </p>

<p>a few things i would kill for in a college.</p>

<ol>
<li>ban the use of pencil and paper.</li>
<li>learn by discussion, role-play, activities, and hand-on stuff.</li>
<li>ban homework</li>
<li>ban grades</li>
<li>surround me with other like-minded tactile/kinesthetic learners & teachers</li>
</ol>

7

<p>"Common pursuits (of kinesthetic learners)</p>

<p>Pursuits that involve the physical style include general physical work, mechanical, construction and repair work, sports and athletics, drama and dancing."</p>

<p>well i cant exactly major in any of that stuff, but im definitely into the sports + athletics and drama and dancing, possibly even mechanical. not so much construction or repair work.</p>

<p>i guess mechanical engineering is possible. im also looking at computer engineering although i hear the field of programmers is overcrowded.</p>

8

<p>I suggest you post your question on the parents forum, but tighten it up first and change the thread title bec it's confusing. Lots of parents, with Ss and Ds with similar preferences to yours, have probably gone through or are searching for colleges with alternative teaching or grading styles. Some of what you describe as your preferences in learning/teaching styles are methods that work well for students with certain learning disabilities (not that I'm suggesting you have a LD) and you might read through some of the threads in the forum on LD to see if there are colleges mentioned that foster the kind of learning environment you're looking for.</p>

9

<p>hehe as you say that is 6th grade for goodness sake! and you're shall be grateful that you even experienced that, in my country, from 6-17 years old, the whole education system is like your middle school style, and moreover we have national exams that determine whether u go to top uni or u suck in society. Me too is suffering from what you mention! suck in GPA but possible great test score...
I bet you wouldn't like the ivies or top 20, coz they are mostly cut-throat heavy courseload and grades are definitely the most important thing!
Look for LAC that offer "learning for learning sake" ideology, you'll be happy there! GO MENSA~ hahaha</p>

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<p>what is LAC?</p>

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<p>LAC stands for liberal arts college.</p>

<p>I don't think their is a school that fulfills all of your criteria (or anyone's for that matter). For small classes and sheer different-ness, I'd read up on St. John's College and Deep Springs. At St. John, there are no majors or electives, everyone takes the same core classes, which have a Great Books focus and a very heavy emphasis on discussion. It really has to be your cup of tea for you to enjoy it, but it seems very rewarding if it does. Check out [this[/url</a>] and [url=<a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/profiles/generalinfo.asp?listing=1022705&LTID=1%5Dthis%5B/url"&gt;http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/profiles/generalinfo.asp?listing=1022705&LTID=1]this[/url&lt;/a&gt;] for more info. (you'll probably have to do the free registration at the Princeton Review to see more info).</p>

<p>For an even more different college experience (yes it's possible), look at [url=<a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/profiles/generalinfo.asp?listing=1025008&LTID=1%5DDeep"&gt;http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/profiles/generalinfo.asp?listing=1025008&LTID=1]Deep&lt;/a> Springs](<a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/profiles/generalinfo.asp?listing=1023237&LTID=1%5Dthis%5B/url"&gt;http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/profiles/generalinfo.asp?listing=1023237&LTID=1), where students split time between classes and running a ranch in the middle of Nevada. This definitely has to be your thing, but it also would be very rewarding for the right kind of person.</p>

<p>Since I don't know you personally, those two schools are probably way off, but I hope they at least help you think about yourself.</p>

12

<p>ha thats some pretty neat stuff... i dunno about this though:</p>

<p>no majors or electives, all male, and an enrollment of 27...</p>

<p>im definitely into the idea of a totally different college experience, but also looking into more subtle differences that might be found at Olin, drexel, cooper union, harvey mudd... just a few i have heard.</p>

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<p>I dont recommend Drexel at all bro. It's nothing near what youre looking for.</p>

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<p>okay. i know nothing about any of those that i listed other than maybe one fact that makes them unique. drexel is a co-op isnt it?</p>

<p>also...i can definitely handle anything that is as or slightly more difficult than my HS right now. (top 5 schools in missouri) i wont get any kind of stellar gpa, but i just want to make sure i dont rule anything out at this point.</p>

15

<p>Check out the book "Cool Colleges: For the Hyper-Intelligent, Self-Directed, Late Blooming and Just Plain Different" by Donald Asher.</p>

<p>It has a chapter on colleges that de-emphasize grades. Some schools described are Prescott, Marlboro, and Hampshire. It also covers the following co-op schools are University of Cincinati, Antioch College, Northeastern, and Kettering. I don't know anything about these schools, but you might want to see what the book says about them.</p>

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<p>I would check into Hampshire. It sounds like just what you're looking for.</p>

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<p>thanks shedevil, johnshade, i will definitely check them out.</p>