Parents of the HS Class of 2016 - 3.0 to 3.3 GPA

Parents Forum Class of 20xx Community
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I’ve been posting on the other parents of '16 thread, but really cannot relate as much there… Good bunch of posters, but - I just can’t relate to posts hoping a student will bring Bs up to As - at this point, I’d be thrilled if my daughter came home with ALL Bs! My D has a nice mix of As, Bs and Cs!

However, this year, she finally has another A in an AP course (AP Spanish)!

That hasn’t happened since freshman year, with AP World History, and soph, with AP Trig.

She will probably get a C in AP Statistics this semester, but she has a B in AP Lit and AP Gov, so she’s doing better than last year. Stats might be her only C.

She thought about dropping Stats, but told me, well, if I am more consistent in doing the hw, it will help me on the tests. Glory be, I think she is finally getting it, lol!

A’s in all other non-AP courses, including her Rhetoric of Cinema class (thank you to the person on here, I think it was @SlackerMomMD , who suggested on another thread she actually take a fun elective of interest to HER, and not another science course because she wanted to make up for her C in AP Physics last year…)

Anyway, she is stressed again this year and still doesn’t get enough sleep, but it’s better than last year… She’s actually thinking about majors and looking up departments on college websites, etc.

And she called one of her schools admissions dept. today to ask a question, without my help.

I just needed a place to say this all out loud.

Thanks!

Best of luck to all of our kids on their apps, and in their final year of high school! And let’s hope they all get to have a little fun this year, too, and enjoy their friends, ball games, dances, clubs, or just hanging out and doing nothing once in a while…

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@BeeDAre; let’s hope that these B’s and C’s have prepared our kids for the reality of what all those straight A HS kids will face in college! Our kids will be better prepared to handle the shock of a low grade, right? That is what I keep telling myself!

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@BeeDAre I post on the other 2016 thread as well, and to be honest I don’t know where my son best fits . Ranking wise he’s in the top 1% of his class with a high unweighted GPA and weighted GPA. He has good extracurriculars, but hasn’t started his own company or developed an app or organized a seminar etc. like some of the children on the other thread. He’s taking a very rigorous load with 5 AP classes and has been a straight A student through high school. That is where the similarities end .He is not a NMSF or NMF , he scored much better on the ACT. He is not applying to any Ivies, Tier 1 or other highly selective schools . He has chosen to apply to only instate colleges and universities secondary to state run scholarships program. He gets good grades, but I wouldn’t necessarily call him “driven”. He doesn’t stay up late to complete work, he believes that balance of work, rest and play is crucial. I guess the biggest difference is he’s attending a southern school ( poor soul) He definitely has more in common with the kids on this website in terms of educational pursuits. Therein lies the quandary of where to post. Best of luck to your daughter.

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Thanks @carolinamom2boys . Good luck to your son!

One lucky thing despite all D’s stress and biting off more than she could (or was willing to!) chew with APs, etc - she never had a dream school she thought about for years. She also had no preconceived notions of the stigmas some kids attach to going to non-flagship state schools or an LAC that the general public may not have heard of… That’s good because we visited all kinds of campuses, and she vastly preferred the non-flagship state schools we visited and that’s where she’s applied so far.

And she seems happy and excited about her options so far…

Another local parent and I talked the other night at the band concert - his D is one year older and got a full ride at a regional public university in IL - she was a 4.0 student in H.S. He said she’s very happy with her decision to attend there, and finds the work challenging enough, but not overwhelming.

He also echoed my suspicions that our school district encourages kids to push themselves and take as many APs as possible, even if it’s something they don’t think they’ll get an A, or even B, in. I don’t know if this is political or not. The college-bound kids encourage each other to do this, and so do the GCs. Last year, when I met with the GC and my D to insist she drop one of her 4 AP classes down to three, she sided with my D! D still barely made Cs in two of the challenging AP courses she took.

Also, when she met with her GC in September to go over her college list, Gc told her her transcript looked “great”! D and I were both shocked by that! I still don’t know if GC is deluded, or I am… The kid has more than a few Cs…
But they were in challenging courses and she definitely had a “rigorous” course load - heck, yes, no question of that.

At one point, I was disappointed that she had let her GPA slip, but - Honestly, I’m starting to feel that may be a blessing in disguise for her, if she is happy where she ends up

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I usually post on the the other forum too, but my D is no straight A student either. And she’s applying to several schools I’ve seen referred to as a group as "less than " here on CC. She is very, very involved in EC’s but tries to strike a balance between school and fun. She’s reading The Great Gatsby for class while getting her nails done as we speak.

We have not paid for a baker’s dozen of applications or for a six pack of standardized tests. We mostly just roll along. We know many, many successful people who went to those "less than " colleges or state directionals. We try to keep our heads out of the clouds.

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I’m definitely part of this club! My son right now has 2 A’s, 3 B’s and a C and I’m pretty happy. I don’t think he’s ever been in such a good position with more than a week to go before the end of the quarter. Usually he’s digging himself out of a much deeper hole. These grades won’t get sent to his colleges – his transcripts are already submitted. The sort-of sad part is that he is ambitious and wishes he had a chance at the top schools. Beats himself up for poor choices and disorganization. He’s maturing, though, and could really shine in college. Tells himself he could make straight As and transfer. We’ll see!

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@BeeDAre , I have one of each: S is the type A driven one, and D is…well, among other things, another member of the “C in Statistics” club. It’s up from the D she had two weeks ago and far better than the “withdrawn failing” she had in AP Chemistry last year, so I’m not inclined to complain too much. Her sole EC is volunteering at the SPCA, though she has neglected to document one minute of this.

D has applied to three regionals, one of which is notorious for being incredibly easy to get into. The state flagship is her mega-reach . (I don’t expect her to get in, in part because of a whopping 19 on her ACT math, but she wanted to apply and I’ve spent $40 on far more frivolous things, so…hey, why not?) And honestly, I’m not entirely sure the CC is off the table yet.

But she’ll do fine, I think, wherever she goes.

She is very much her own person, and so’s her brother-- and thank God, because two of either of them would drive me insane!

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Our mottos at our house are “We may be smart, but we’re not Ivy League or full ride smart” and in close second" we may be smart, but there’s always someone smarter." That’s not meant to be critical, but to keep things in perspective during the whole admissions process.

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@petrichor11 @BeeDAre My daughter has dropped from the “C in AP Statistics” club to the “taking Pre-Calculus” on the online campus club. She changed with one week left in the quarter, and somehow has to cram in a test and quiz in the new class. She took Trig in the summer and that’s what the first half of the course covers, so I hope it will be OK. (Your AP Stats kids probably took Calc as juniors). My D said she’s willing to take college algebra and maybe an intro stats class at the local community college in the summer. She does better in math if she has a lot of time to work on it (she got an A in trig when it was the only class she had!)

Based on my dated experience with a large public university, the intro classes at some schools are about 100% easier than the AP Classes. AP World was a pain in the ass for my daughter. My intro history and social science classes had hundreds of people in them and multiple choice tests. If you did the reading, they were easy As.

D is enjoying her other classes, esp. Anatomy and AP Psych. Still only two college apps in, but it takes her school at least a month to send transcripts anyway. I’m not sure if the lack of rigor in her coursework will keep her out of places like Oregon State, Michigan State, Colorado State - (with a 3.46 GPA and 30 ACT), but if so, she’ll roll with it and find other places to apply. She’s only applied to Minnesota (a reach) and an impacted major at a Cal State school (probably iffy)

She has a ton of school work to get done before the quarter ends on 10/30, work all day on Halloween, and then three days off school. She wants to visit her boyfriend at his college during that time, so I think I can bribe her - she can’t go until she finishes the apps with the Nov. 1 early action deadline!

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My son is taking AP Stats concurrently with Pre-Calc. He’s breezing through Stats with an A and has a lowish B in PreCalc. I think it might be the different teacher styles (not saying the PreCalc teacher is bad, just a different approach). I know the Stats teacher has been there for years and has a good AP Exam pass rate, so it’s not that he’s easy.

My D, who’s now a College Junior, struggled mightily with math. She’s on her second go-round of Stats in college after earning a D first time. I really, really wish I’d had her take Stats at the local community college the summer after her Freshman year so that it would transfer in without affecting her GPA and she didn’t have to juggle it with her other classes. At her college, once you take a class offered at the school, you have to retake it there if you aren’t happy with the grade - can’t transfer it in. I don’t think she would have passed the AP Stats exam, so I’m glad she didn’t go that route in high school.

By the way, D was solidly in the 3.0-3.3 High School GPA group, and has excelled in college, with no grade lower than a B (except for Stats).

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Here’s the thing - My D is actually good at math! - she just sucks at motivating herself to do the hw! smh

She had the same problem last year with Calc. Once she motivated herself to actually do the hw, she then understood the material and did well on that unit’s test. And she got a 3 on the AP exam.

She even told me this today - she asked me to take her to the library every day from now on instead of just Saturdays only, because it would force her to address the math homework. She admitted herself that when she does the hw, she understands it - - when she doesn’t - because she thinks it’s boring and tedious - then she doesn’t grasp it and doesn’t do well on tests.

So, I would love for her to be able to test out of her math requirements in college - she seems to only have this issue in math classes.

Otoh, a refresher course in Stats might not be bad idea if she does decide to go into Anthropology or History…

The kicker is this - she doesn’t even need a fourth year of math for the colleges she’s applied/applying to!

But she would never drop it, it would hurt her pride too much.

@eh1234, I also took Stats at a large state uni and got a B - and I hated math, and never did well in high school math. (I did have my Math major sister tutor me, :). ) I do think many of the high school AP courses are probably tougher than many of the Intro courses in college.

@mamaduck, thanks for sharing your story about your D - that’s the kind of story I like and need to hear, re: turning around and excelling in college.

I know that, as a HS senior, I decided to slack more than I should have, and gave my Mom fits. I got an F one quarter in English - and I wrote as a hobby! I just hated all the hw. I went to college the following fall, and did fine, all through college.

i think the difference between high school and college is there is less “busywork” in general, the schedule is more flexible, fewer classes to keep track of, and the classes taken are focused toward one’s major and completing that program…

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@eh1234 Well…not exactly. D took Algebra II last year as a junior. The next step in our school is either a sort of “pre-calc lite” class for kids who just need another math credit, pre-calc, or calculus. She could have taken pre-calc this year, but it would be with a teacher who very much adored her brother . She decided she’d rather avoid S’s shadow if at all possible. So of course, they’re in Stats together.

Ironically, she has done fairly well on her AP tests, so I’m hopeful she’ll pull a 3 and won’t have to retake the class in college. And if she does…well, at least it won’t be unfamiliar ground.

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College Confidential is a treasure trove of information, however, it can have the unfortunate affect of making otherwise fine students (and their parents) feel inadequate. What I like about this particular thread is that normal students going to normal universities can be discussed. The schools the kids on this thread are interested in are fine schools with great programs. The students are smart kids, just not the top in their respective classes. There is a vast world outside the top 1-10% and I think no one (regardless of how strong of a student they are) should feel stuck going to Ohio University etc.

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Ok I am curious and I have to ask what is wrong with Ohio State?

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lvvcsf mentioned Ohio University, NOT Ohio State. Nothing wrong with either of them!

But some of our kids here on this thread may, or may not, be admitted to Ohio State, whereas Ohio U, in Athens, is a surer bet for a 3.0 kid.

And some kids may feel like Ohio is a lesser school because of that…

Fwiw, my D applied to Ohio U in Athens, was accepted (thank you Ohio for being so quick!) and would be happy to attend there. She loved the campus and town. She knew nothing about the school before visiting and applying, other than they had the majors she likes.

She wouldn’t even look at OSU (or U of MN, or Mizzou, or UIUC…) because of the size of the student population. OOS tuition at OSU is more $$ than we want to spend, anyway, so it’s all fine…

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@BeeDAre, our son has failed a couple of quarters in English, and ended up with D’s the last two years. He got a 4 on the AP exam, though. His English grades are the big reason I post on this thread. We’re holding out hope the honors and AP classes will make his weighted GPA high school enough for Temple’s full tuition scholarship (the way the school calculates it is easily high enough). It’s the only school that is not too close to home, in an urban area, and potentially affordable.

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@mstomper, I hope your son can get the scholarship!

I suggested Temple for my D, as one time she wanted to leave the Midwest for college, but she’s since decided to stay within half a day’s drive from home - and I’m not going to argue with that, :).

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@BeeDAre, thanks for the positive thoughts. There are a lot of kids from his HS at Temple, and a lot from the DC area in general. If it turns out to be affordable, it’s everything he’s looking for. Howard is too close (5 miles or so from home) and Ole Miss isn’t urban enough. Both second choices would be extremely affordable, as in less than is in his college savings account.

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Thanks for the clarification @BeeDare ! It must be for the sake of confused souls like me that they refer to ohio state as THE ohio state.

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One other thing I thought I would mention is that I know a student a few years older than my kids. His mom would get so frustrated because she knew he was smart but he either did not do his homework or forgot it. This resulted in bad grades and due to the rules of the school he was in he was not allowed to take AP or other accelerated courses. He eneded up at a huge state university did very well there and got into one of the top law schools in the country where he also has done very well. I saw him about half way through his college career and asked how it was going and he mentioned it was so much easier to stay organized and get his work done when he was taking interesting classes that he actually cared about. I don’t know if that sounds at all like any of your kids, if so bear in mind that there are kids like that who find success in college rather than in applying to college.