Parents of the HS Class of 2017 - 3.0 to 3.4 GPA

Parents Forum
1121

@kt1969 I get so thrown off by weighted GPA’s, an average of 3.86 sounds very high to me! Their CDS says an average GPA of 3.72 and my understanding is that is UW. However…they may recalculate on their own, you never know. But it shows 71% of the enrolled freshman (which isn’t the same as accepted) as having a 3.5 or greater which made me think of it as a match. their middle 50 on the ACT was so wide I wasn’t sure how to interpret it (22-32!)

We obviously haven’t visited either and it’s fallen off the list but I will say a very close friend was there with her D last week and her D LOVED it. Sat in on a class, and it seems to have moved to the top of her list.

@klinska sorry to make you nervous! If we tweak it, it is due to music and theater. And I can’t help but feel that section is stronger for him than others and we should leverage as best we can but…I may be reaching, I just don’t know!

Right now he is using all 10 lines.

  1. Theater
  2. Music
  3. Community Service
  4. Community Service (yes, 2 lines for it as we had to break it into types to get it all in)
  5. Student Government/Politics
  6. Work
  7. Work (he has 2 jobs)
  8. Environmental
  9. Academic
  10. Athletics

He can barely touch on what he’s done for the 1st two and to break them up and use more lines means losing important things elsewhere that can’t easily be combined so we are considering actually shortening what is listed in the activity section and putting “see additional information” and then expanding, succinctly, those 2 items and including a couple of youtube links on the music. That way we can avoid uploading a resume that duplicates everything. Items 3,4,5,8 are all beefed up and supported by his essay and LOR.

It may be overkill but they are such a huge part of his life, to be held to the character limits on those lines for those 2 items, it feels really thin.

How it reads now
Music: Instrumental
Trombonist: Jazz, Classical, Marching Band, XX HS
Active member in all performing bands at school with a constant upward movement in all bands.
9, 10, 11, 12
Timing of participation: During school year
During school year, per week: 15, per year: 36
I intend to participate in a similar activity in college: Yes

What we are considering instead
Music: Instrumental
Trombonist for multiple XX HS Bands and Community Ensembles
Musician in all HS performing bands, upward movement to top group placements. Band Council Member. Community Ensembles. See additional information.

And then under additional information something like this
Music: Instrumental
Trombone -8 years
-Jazz: XX Stage Band 9-10, Jazz Band 11-12 (audition based group placement), 5 hours/week, 36 weeks/year.
-Concert: XX Freshman Band 9, Symphonic Band 10, Wind Ensemble 11-12 (audition and performance based group placement), https://youtu.be/smallsegmenttrombone 5 hours/week, 36 weeks/year.
-Spirit: XXX Marching Band 9-12, Award Winning Traveling Band. List of awards won by year, 3 hours/week, 16 weeks/year
-Spirit: Pep Band 9-12 3 hrs/week, 8 weeks/year
-Community: XXX Band 11-12 performs at local venues & festivals, https://youtu.be/professionalrecordingofband

-Community: XX Band, 11, Founder. Created as a fundraising endeavor for XX. Contacted and negotiated with XX for permission to perform. Recruited members, selected music, scheduled rehearsals and performances. Performance synopsis.
-Community: XX Community Band. Recruited as temporary member for high visibility public big band xx, 11. Offered 1 week jazz camp scholarship as a result of involvement, xxx.
-Band Council: Trombone Representative 9-12. 1 hr /week, 9 weeks/year
-Private Lessons: Jazz and Classical Studies. 1 hr/wk, 48 weeks/year

We would do something similar for the theater stuff. Right now it’s kind of a list of big categories but if you can show the position by year it shows increasing responsibility and for those who are in theater, that will show progression and leadership. Or at least I’d think so. BUT we haven’t decided if we are going there or not.

1122

Yours probably includes the OOS scholarship.

1123

Looking at these lists makes me feel so happy. My older daughter graduated from the University of Redlands and it really did change her life. One of my nieces is a St. Olaf grad, and my nephew is currently at UVM and liking it a lot. Good luck, everyone!

1124

@eandesmom The 3.86 for Juniata is out of 5.0. :slight_smile:

@klinska My D17 doesn’t have much for ECs either. Seriously, they could be twins. :slight_smile:

@rosered55 Glad to hear your D liked University of Redlands. Would be happy to hear anything about it you’d like to share…it’s not one that comes up a lot here.

1125

@eandesmom OMG! The music activities are amazing! I can see how it could take some work to get that presented the right way. Good luck!

@kt1969, too funny! :slight_smile:

1126

@klinska I think UMass is a match for your D. Have you been to visit the campus?

We are also having trouble trimming our list. Currently at 13 schools but quite a few have low-ish acceptance rates so that lends much uncertainty. Also he is applying to ME which is very competitive, has no hooks and just normal ECs. List is
Reach
USC (Ca)
Lehigh

Match
Purdue

Likelies
Clarkson
UMass

1127

SOOO bummed. Just got a text that the AP English teacher felt the personal statement was too much like a resume (I disagree but whatever) and didn’t answer the prompt.

GRRRR

Pretty annoyed that the kid got totally different feedback from the paid editor (not that we’ve paid him yet lol, but he does it as a career…college test prep, essays, etc). UGH.

@jmek15 are those the “definitely” applying list versus ones that might or might not make the cut?

@klinska I don’t know about amazing, probably pretty standard for many music kids (or at least with his crowd) but it is more than just one band class to be sure and is a lot of his time. As is the theater stuff.

1128

@jmek15, from your lips to the AdComm’s ears. We did visit the campus and D liked it very much. At least until all her friends started chirping about how “everyone” from their school goes there (maybe 15-20 kids per year actually enroll). And until she saw American. I think she could be happy there, though. We’ll just have to comb through the options once the decisions come back.

Right now I’m encouraging D to get her Siena application in before the priority deadline (Saturday). No essay required, it’s low on her list but is a likely admit. She could ostensibly have an admit before Thanksgiving. And it would be a good excuse to make sure the rest of the CA is in good shape.

1129

@eandesmom Sorry about the mixed feedback. Before rushing to change anything, I suggest that your son think it over and that you maybe have a follow up conversation with your paid consultant. Does it sound like his voice? Is it sincere? Does it, in fact, answer the prompt? Finally, did the teacher provide specific constructive suggestions about how to change it for the better?

We are extremely lucky in that two of the GCs at D’s school have prior experience working in admissions at a mid-tier and upper-tier LAC. Between them, they have read thousands of essays and I trust their feedback. There was only one supplemental essay that D wrote that I wasn’t entirely sure about and it came back with some really good input about how to strengthen it.

Today D submitted her application to WWU’s honors college as well as St. Olaf and College of Wooster!

1130

My Midwest D thinks most of the country is too hot or too cold. She wants coastal Pacific Northwest. 3.1 unweighted, 3.6 weighted. 29 ACT with English and reading high but math and science not high.

Reach - no, D has no intention of being rejected

Match
Western Washington U her #1 applied yesterday
University of Portland applied
Augustana applied
University of Portland Sound

Likely
Portland State University

Accepted
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
both instate schools with easy apps and rolling admissions
D does not love her accepted schools but sees the value in financial safeties.

1131

@brindlegreyhound: I don’t see SIU mentioned much on this forum. I’m an SIU-C alum. I loved the school! Congrats to your D on her admits and good luck with the rest!

1132

@kt1969, my older daughter did not particularly enjoy high school, socially or academically. Her GPA was good (3.5ish by graduation) but it was falling, not rising. She did have a high ACT score, which is kind of ironic, given that she hates taking tests. She hates taking tests so much that in her search for colleges and universities to apply to, she zeroed in on schools that had alternative-grading possibilities. One of those schools was Redlands, specifically its “school within a school,” the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies. Johnston students are allowed to enter into “contracts” with their instructors, in which the student and the instructor agree as to how the student will be evaluated. This was perfect for my daughter.

I recall that during her senior year of high school, I had one main hope: that she could regain her love of learning, whether at college or in some other activity. At Johnston, she did. She loved the social atmosphere in Johnston and also, to my surprise, joined a sorority, which further expanded her social life. She graduated from Redlands three years ago; leaving college was one of the hardest things in her life. She loved it so much!

1133

@eandesmom, regarding the essay, sounds like it might be a case of too many cooks. Is the personal statement actually being graded? Does your S have to incorporate the teacher’s feedback in order to get a good grade? It might be worthwhile to sit down with your consultant and share the feedback to see if there’s anything that should be incorporated–but if S is happy with it as is and it’s gotten the blessing of the consultant, I would be loathe to change it for the teacher.

1134

D17 asked me what I’m going to do with myself after all this college stuff is over. Excellent question! :slight_smile:

1135

… “Just got a text that the AP English teacher felt the personal statement was too much like a resume (I disagree but whatever) and didn’t answer the prompt. Pretty annoyed that the kid got totally different feedback from the paid editor (not that we’ve paid him yet lol, but he does it as a career…college test prep, essays, etc).” …

@eandesmom … As others have mentioned, I would share with the consultant the AP teacher’s comments about the essay reading like a resume & not answering the prompt. We paid a consultant to review S17’s essay (she has worked as a private school counselor & in the admissions office of a private U). My husband got involved (late in the game) & made numerous changes to S’s essay. We showed the changes to the consultant and then she shared her opinions of why she disagreed w/hubby’s changes. In the end words were changed & sentences were tweaked, but not the essay itself. Good luck!

1136

GPA 3.33 / ACT 25 / new SAT 1130:
Applications to be submitted (in alpha order)
Appalachian State U, Christopher Newport U, East Carolina U, James Madison U, Ohio U-Athens, Old Dominion U, U of RI, U of SC-Columbia, Towson U, WV U – ACCEPTED…

1137

My son submitted his U of Denver app yesterday (I was worried we’d be up late on 11/1 trying to finish by the EA deadline). I said something to him about all the nagging I’ve been doing, and he said, “Let’s be real, Mom. If you hadn’t been nagging me, I wouldn’t have done it.” So I guess that counts as appreciation??? Now we just have to hope he gets in (and gets a nice financial aid package)!

1138

** Current List **

My son’s SATS are a 3.1 GPA (3.5 UC GPA) and a 1520 SAT. Commended National Merit. Strong in math & science. And yes an upward trend, second semester freshman year grades weren’t very good. At this moment his is applying in CS. All his schools are large state schools.

REACHES

UC Davis
UC Santa Barbara
Cal Poly (for CS major)

MATCHES

UC Santa Cruz
Oregon State
University of Orgeon
University of Colorado, Boulder (CS in College of Arts & Science)

SAFTEY

Cal State Humboldt

Unless he messes up the application I expect to see him get in at Humboldt. And I would be surprised if he didn’t get into Oregon State.

1139

@eandesmom Thanks for the breakdown of your son’s EC’s. It sure looks like a lot. I’ll have to look over what my son has done, it could be broken down that way. But I expect that since most of his schools are public schools he won’t be breaking it down in such detail. Plus he doesn’t have any leadership in the Band.

It’s easy to be thrown off by weighted since schools vary a lot by how they weight classes. How many classes count. At our school is follows UC GPA rules, so it’s a very limited set of classes that weight. UC GPA is a very rigid formula and I post it since it is relevant to many of DS’s school. At our school for example unless you are more than 2 years ahead in math you can’t take ANY weighted classes.

1140

@rosered55 Glad to hear Redlands was such a good fit for your D. Around where I live Redlands isn’t very popular even though it isn’t that far away. I think we underestimate it locally. D12 threw a visit to Redlands on our plans 5 years ago because we were going to be in the area. I was very surprised and if it had been a better fit for D12 I would have encouraged her to apply. I did encourage other people after our visit. Interesting programs and a beautiful campus, totally took me by surprise and clearly the right place for some lucky students.