Yes, exactly, @juleval. We are at a huge high-achieving suburban high school with almost 900 in the graduating class. Something like 90% typically going to a 4-year uni.
@cshell2, your situation isn’t unique in that no one’s applications would get done if the student didn’t take initiative. No one “helps” with college applications at our school, especially not the counselors (except for outlining the process and telling students what THEIR responsibilities are if they are interested in attending college). They don’t meet individually with the majority of students, though I imagine a counselor would help if the student wasn’t getting support at home.
I get it that your kid’s school is different. In this case, when the GC completes the school report (trust me, she does it for other students), it will make it clear that the high school isn’t a college prep environment and that information is useful for AO’s to see. It will reflect favorably on applicants from that school because it puts their level of achievement in context.
@mom2jgd - It actually is a private college prep school, just very small and also a boarding school so 1/3 of the 50-60 students that graduate every year are international students, many of whom go back to their home country for college. That’s why I was saying it’s probably different for the ones applying to the more elite schools. We had kids accepted to places like Princeton and Carleton and such, but that’s not the path DS was on.
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We’re right there with you. Our kids go to a HS with a very diverse student population. Most people on CC would be appalled at the lack of rigor. S20 is taking four classes this year and one is gym.
The GC’s spend most of their time helping kids graduate. And what time they have to help with college apps is spent with kids who are the first in their families to go to college and such. There are very few kids applying to elite schools. I read the posts on here about whether it’s okay to slack off by taking only 4 APs senior year and whatever, and I can’t relate to that world at all.
@Octagon They are usually sent after the first marking period is complete. Is your S20’s HS on trimesters? And they wait until after the 2nd trimester? I guess just another case of ‘it depends’ then.
@bigmacbeth thanks for the response dc didn’t do so hot on a couple of the mid term exams but overall grades were consistent with past grades so I am happy they won’t see the individual mid term grades.
Another question I have is does your child’s school waive the final exam if your senior has a particular grade in the class and what is that grade? Do they waive the final if student taking an AP test ?
Not in our school - College Boards AP tests and school AP course grades are completely different/decoupled. HS grade is based on school assignments and tests. Seniors need to take final-test or project even in ap courses. The only difference for seniors is they complete the school/tests 2 weeks before rest of the school (1st week of June this year).
In most of the AP courses - they don’t do much after AP tests in May - for seniors they conduct final tests/projects right after ap tests and excuse them from school (they have a series of activities in those two weeks till graduation).
At our school seniors don’t take any final exams. Their last four weeks of school they do an internship instead of being at the school. Graduation is first week of June. Final exams for 9-11th grade are the following week. AP tests are during that four week time so the kids taking AP tests skip their internship that day to take their test instead. AP test scores have no bearing on their grade in the class.
DS still Waiting to hear from a number of his regular decision colleges for comp sci. Very strong in Science and Math with a 15-10 SAT and a 34 act lots of a peas and dual enrollment college classes in science and math. However, not a lot of extracurriculars and other things that make him stand out other than academics. His team did very well at the regional Science Olympiad competition yesterday. Projects he worked on were awarded a number of medals. Other than band this is his only significant extracurricular activity. Should he provide this supplemental information to colleges? Or is it too insignificant?
For mid-year reports, our school reports the 1st marking period grade, 2nd marking period grade and the midterm grade. On the initial transcript from 9th-11th it’s only the final grade for the course. So senior grades are much more “exposed”. Midterm exam grades are there to see. They made this clear to the students in the fall. If it was just the average of the three there would have been less stress over grades here! Glad midterms are over!
For us, the official transcript shows semester grades. For a full year course, it has a semester 1 grade, a semester 2 grade, and a final grade. GPA is calculated on semester grades. (Of course, a 1 semester course only shows a grade for that one semester and a final which is equal to the semester grade.)
eta: The mid-year grades that go to colleges shows the semester 1 grade for a full-year course in progress.
re: finals, at D’s school, seniors do not take any finals at all. Classes finish a month or so before school is over, and seniors work independently or collaborate on a senior project during that month.
@Musicmom2015 I think that is very unusual. I’ve never heard of a transcript with exam grades on it. I wonder why they would want to be this transparent to colleges.
I think there has been some confusion with what ‘midterm’ meant. To some it seems to mean an ‘exam’, to others it mean ‘quarters’ of a semester.
No finals at D20’s HS, but I’m not sure if there is a grade cut-off or not. I’m sure she won’t be taking finals. Seniors get out a week or two earlier than other grades.
At D20s school everyone takes finals. In some courses the “final” is a lengthy research paper instead, but that applies to students in all grades, not just seniors.
S20 is taking four classes this year and one is gym.