DS19 is really bummed out. I told him that it wasn’t enough to just get A’s that he had to get high A’s if he wanted any chance of being in the top 10% of his class for college scholarships. They do class rank on the unweighted GPA and there are kids not taking the gifted or advanced classes that will have it much easier. He didn’t listen… and now the transcripts have come out yup a 95% GPA is barely in the top 20% of his class… he now has an uphill battle and he knows it.
It can go in either direction.
DD19 has mentioned about West Point or the Naval Academy. Her GPA was good enough to get her as the lone #1 student in her class. However, I told her that she couldn’t rest on her short-term laurels because she still has 2 1/2 years to screw it up before college applications are submitted. She now has more motivation to maintain her high level of work. Fortunately, her motivation is internal and doesn’t really require any nudging from her mom or me. DD16 is the same way.
DS23…he’s a different story. Ugh!
@me29034 We live in the south, Texas. The land of open carry, where a class rank of top 10%/7% is the end all, be all. (Texas A&M/ UT Austin) Club soccer takes a break while high school is in regular play. (Thank goodness! 3 nights of practice and games on the weekends really cramp my style)
@GKparent2019 @carolinamom2boys It wasn’t like this for us, was it? I remember bellyaching about stuff, but not the serious travel sports and all the rest. Kiddo is not a machine, when health issues resurface we just try to keep her head above water. My helicopter pretty much gets refueled mid-flight…
@MichiganGeorgia an unweighted 95%GPA doesn’t get you into the top 20%??? Holy Moly… brutal!
@2019hope - Yep. I’m thinking of having DS19 sign up next year for weight lifting for zero period to give him a GPA boost…
DS19 came home from school today and told me that his Biology Honors teacher recommended him for Chemistry Honors next year , but he said that he thought about it and wants to wait until Jr year to take it after he takes Algebra 2 H and his first AP World Geography next year. He requested that she place him in Earth Science Honors instead. I was very proud of him that he showed responsibility and maturity in identifying his strengths and didn’t get caught up in the GPA game. I think he will actually end up with a higher GPA by waiting another year to take a science AP class .
We finally managed to get the PSAT 8/9 scores from the College Board. Took us over a week. (!!!)
Hello all. Joining in here. My youngest is S19. I also have a D15 in her first year of college and loving it and a D16 who has been admitted to the only 2 places she plans to apply.
We are in the middle of course selection here too. S wants to take all the toughest classes because he likes having classmates who are serious about school. On the other hand he hates doing homework. I’ll be curious to see what his teachers recommend him for. The only one I’m anxious about is Pre-Calc Honors which at our school is the pathway to go straight to AP Calc BC. S thinks he is ready so if his Algebra 2 teacher agrees I’ll let him do it but this course seriously kicked his older sister in the butt. He’s a different kid but…
Welcome, @mom23travelers! I am mom24travelers! 
S19 will take AB Calc next year, which sounds like it’s similar to your Pre-Calc Honors course since he’ll also have BC as a junior. We can call worry together next year…and the year after.
Your S19 sounds savvy, @carolinamom2boys! Good self awareness at age 14-15.
Requesting suggestion and feedback. Our student, class of 2019 goes to well known public HS in CA that is highly competitive, the school has one of the highest NMSF in the state, more than 60 NMSF out of about 400 graduate to give an idea. he is talented enough to be here but not motivated to match the competition. He takes Hons courses but grades are mostly B. With such low GPA he is likely to have big problem during college admission to UC Public Univ where he wants to do engineering. I believe he will do well in SAT though and reach 99 percentile. Are we better off moving to another HS in same city where only 2 or 4 becomes NMSF, as comparison to the competition. We expect that in that school, even with his motivation ( As in no of hours for study. He takes it easy, sleeps at 10PM, the HS kids from his school sleeps between 12-2AM, depending on grade, our elder son who went to the same school was awake upto 2AM, mostly studying, did get 99% in SAT 1st try , 99+% in PSAT but still lower GPA )
@replyback I can’t even imagine that type of environment. Are you allowed to just switch to the other school? What does your son think? Is he unhappy where he is? Or does he have lots of friends that he wants to stay with? Does he want to switch schools?
I agree with @me29034, @replyback. I can’t imagine trying to drag an unwilling child to “perform” and get As for another 3.5 years…no matter which school he chooses. I guess my philosophy is that you explain to your child that his behavior has consequences, show him believable and compelling examples of the results of those consequences, and then allow him to make his own choices. Hardest thing to do as a parent, imo.
We have to admit it was our choice that we came to this school district being top ranked school. We have the option to switch HS. The son would not like to move, he has friends here, though he knows some at the 2nd HS too, but is not as worried. We parents are worried thinking of future! The positive take in present HS is there are enough evidence that when this students go to University, they are better prepared, able to handle the workload much better, This we regularly seem to get as feedback from many non related university students from other HS students). So are we better off going to a much better University and feel the “pressure” there, as opposed to compete with the toughest, cope up with pressure, “no life” , go to lower tier university and hopefully find that easier there. How much the university ranking would affect the end outcome. It may come to will one trade UCLA or UCSD for UC Riverside or even lower rank state university! It is a personal choice, but wanted to hear how other parents feel!
@me29034. We have to admit it was our choice that we came to this school district being top ranked school. We have the option to switch HS. The son would not like to move, he has friends here, though he knows some at the 2nd HS too, but is not as worried. We parents are worried thinking of future! The positive take in present HS is there are enough evidence that when this students go to University, they are better prepared, able to handle the workload much better, This we regularly seem to get as feedback from many non related university students from other HS students). So are we better off going to a much better University and feel the “pressure” there, as opposed to compete with the toughest, cope up with pressure, “no life” , go to lower tier university and hopefully find that easier there. How much the university ranking would affect the end outcome. It may come to will one trade UCLA or UCSD for UC Riverside or even lower rank state university! It is a personal choice, but wanted to hear how other parents feel!
I don’t know the answer @replyback. If he doesn’t want to switch I can see that backfiring. But if he’s unhappy… Maybe he’d like to switch schools?
@replyback I have been thinking about this and your sons behavior doesn’t make sense to me. He is so focused that he already knows he wants to be an engineer and go to a UC. But then he doesn’t seem to really care about getting B’s when they aren’t high enough to get into the colleges that he wants. You say that he is happy at his school now and doesn’t want to transfer. While the school has a very competitive environment, he doesn’t seem to be falling under its influence and is still maintaining good sleep habits which is great. The whole thing about the school being really competitive doesn’t really seem to be the issue to me. The issue is that your son says he wants one thing but then acts like he doesn’t. You are suggesting moving him to a different school to get him the better grades without him having to change what he is doing. I think instead that maybe you should talk to him and see if he still wants to be an engineer. Maybe he has changed his mind and that’s why he doesn’t care so much about getting A’s. Maybe he thinks going to a lower ranked UC would be OK? I think you need to find out why he doesn’t really care about getting B’s when they don’t seem to fit his goals. If he does still really want to be an engineer at a high ranked UC then I think you need to talk to him about how he will do that. He either needs to get better grades where he is or switch to where it might be easier. I hope this helps.
@me29034 @2019hope @EastGrad and other, Thank you for caring to feedback. One thing I am trying to break his his getting glued to comptuer, which whenever I turn back goes to FB or something, It is difficult to “control” a 9th grader out of computer habit,as that is needed for homework and “research” too. yes, I see your points and it helps me to share my mind out as I am getting pretty stressed inside my mind, so communicating and hearing feedback helps!
@replyback College admissions heavily weigh class rank in their decisions, especially when merit opportunities are at stake. If your son remains at his current school, his acceptance into competitive schools may be compromised. I guess as a family, you need to decide how long you’re willing to wait to see if he can make the changes needed to turn his grades around.
@replyback I managed to forget he is a new Freshman! I believe you are zoned to a crazy competitive school - that’s tough. Organize your thoughts and then lay it all out for him. Maybe present more than one option. If you show him data that might bolster your argument. Instead of “Mom and Dad think this”. A reward system coupled with consequences?? Carrot then The Stick ?
@replyback I’ll share our story with you to give another side to think about. When DS16 was in eighth grade he felt that needed to attend a magnet school or charter school to get a “good education with lots of peers” He applied to a magnet school for science and technology and was waitlisted despite being a straight A student because they only took 6 kids that were not zoned for that school into the program. He also applied to a charter school that was affiliated with the local community college. Admission to this school was based solely on lottery and legacy. He again was waitlisted. He was devastated. He told me at that point , if either school contacted him to come off the waitlist once school began, he would decline the spot. I told him we would evaluate it if the time comes. DS16 was somewhat shy and did not do well with change. 6 days after school began he was called by the Science and Technology school and offered a spot. After much discussion and against my wishes for him to take it, he and his father decided to let him remain at his zoned school.
As much as I hate to admit it, he made a wise decision. He enrolled in all Honors classes and AP classes when they were available. He joined the science and academic teams. He found his peers. He did well in his classes and on the ACT and SAT. He has gotten all 5s with the exception of one 4 on his AP exams. He is ranked 4 out of 462 in his class. He was granted provisional acceptance to our state flagship in his Junior year because of his academic record and test scores.He applied to 5 colleges and been accepted to all 5 including Honors programs with substantial merit offers. I’m not telling this story to brag on his achievements. I’m sharing this to let you know that a child does not have to go to a super competitive school to have options or do well. Lower rankings may hurt his admission prospects or merit opportunities . He will be competing with kids all over the country who may have not attended such a competitive school, who will have the benefit of a higher rank. I would seriously sit down and discuss options as a family and look at what is truly best for your son. He’s only a Freshman now, but if these issues aren’t rectified soon , it could truly affect his college search. Good luck.