<p>The 3.94 represents the weighted average that the high school provides the University of Rochester. The actual unweighted GPA of admitted students consistently hovers around 3.8, which is still pretty strong. </p>
<p>The 2010-2011 University of Rochester Fact Sheet (representing last year’s data) has the Average High School GPA of admitted students at 3.77</p>
<p>The U of R Admissions Staff will recalculate GPA’s by only counting the “core courses”, ignoring your Driver’s Ed, Wood Shop courses, etc. This unweighted core GPA is the one that the Admissions Staff will use when they review your application.</p>
<p>I was really intrigued by your response. When I applied to Rochester way back when (haha, not too long ago I suppose), my GPA was very high and my test scores were mediocre. I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t come from one of the most rigorous high schools in the nation. Only a few AP classes were offered, and I wasn’t exposed to a high-achieving academic environment there. My GPA was therefore “artificially” high. At a rigorous high school, however, a 3.2 GPA might be very good.</p>
<p>The U of R, like any other of the “New Ivies” or Ivy League schools, has a rigorous academic atmosphere. Rochester isn’t by any means competitive, or cut-throat, but I certainly received an incredible education there. </p>
<p>I discovered that my peers who took more AP, IB, or college level courses while in high school were far better prepared to undertake the academic workload at Rochester. I had to work very hard to succeed as a student, but I also had a high level of extracurricular involvement at Rochester.</p>
<p>High school GPA’s and test scores aren’t always indicative as to how you’ll perform as a student at Rochester, but they definitely count for something. If the average incoming student has an unweighted GPA of 3.8 and a SAT score of 2000-2100, it means that you’ll be studying alongside a lot of smart people at the U of R.</p>
<p>The benefit of studying at Rochester is the open curriculum. A student who falls below the 3.8 and 2100 averages can still excel here because that student will focus on the classes that he/she likes the best. The curriculum is interest driven, and when you’re in a class that you’re passionate about, you’re likely to perform well.</p>
<p>Students can hit the ground running in Rochester’s independent academic atmosphere, even if they were 3.2, 1800 SAT students in high school.</p>
<p>And URgrad2009, it’s interesting that you mention HS difficulty. My HS did not offer the multitude of AP courses that others did, but I took each one that I could (6 APs, 4 HNRs). Additionally, I took an AP exam for an AP course I didn’t take, and passed with a 4. My UW was 3.15 w/o Senior year (3.22 with), and my W was 3.45/3.55. I must say, though, that I acknowledge how terrible a student I was (top 25-27%), but my grades did have an upward trend (3.85 S2 Junior Year, 4.4 S1 Senior Year).</p>
<p>On the other hand, the three other schools in my district (as well as a number of private schools) were terribly easy and offered a wide array of AP courses. Students with half my intelligence were breezing through with 4.2s and 4.4s. They’d tell me about how often they’d skip classes with no consequence, how their teachers gave them homework similar to work they received in elementary school, and about how their classes consisted of “opening the book, falling asleep, waking up, and closing the book.”</p>
<p>I had decided to attend my relatively-difficult HS after hearing a myth floating around that if a student attends an easy HS, he/she will be denied to top colleges, even if he/she has a high GPA. After being a part of the actual process, I can tell that’s not the case with most colleges.</p>
<p>I am by no means stupid- I passed all my AP tests, received a 2180 on my SAT, and had great essays/extracurrics. I’m glad that Rochester looked beyond my one weakness and saw who I was as a person. That’s what really sets UR aside from the statistically-driven UCs.</p>
<p>I see Magnificent’s “did not offer the multitude of AP courses” and then that zie took 6, and became immediately jealous. My HS didn’t get AP classes until my senior year (06), so I completely missed out on that experience in high school. Fortunately I was transferring in from another college, where I had consistently shown high scores in my major classes (gened requirements like math pulled it down somewhat). I agree with URgrad that the interests are what’s key. My college GPA was only 3.2 or so, yet it was 3.75 in my major. I’m not afraid of lots of reading and hours of studying. The fact that U of R’s curricula means I can take fascinating courses means that I genuinely want to study pretty much everything I’m taking, and therefore I’m more inclined to put work into my classes and therefore I do better. Sometimes I’m surprised they accepted me here, when I see how smart my peers are and how high their scores are, but I really enjoy being here and feel I do fit the UR profile because I’m very good at devoting attention to what I’m passionate about. So there certainly is hope.</p>
<p>AP courses matter in a few areas, notably in intro science like chemistry or biology; you can take a harder level or perhaps have an easier time. But the big thing in college is organization, meaning “study skills.” If you don’t know how to use your time, you will find the freedom can be a problem. You may also find the workload can be large, depending on you, your classes, etc. so good organization matters.</p>
<p>The study skills/time management thing is why I loved D2’s high school. Starting in 9th grade, students had classes that didn’t meet everyday. (Classes ran on a 10 cycle. Freshmen classes usually met 9 of the 10 days; senior classes only met 6 out 10 days. Like college classes do.) There were no study halls. Students responsible for occupying themselves whenever they weren’t in class. They were not allowed to leave campus, and they couldn’t disrupt classes that were in session, but other than that they had tremendous latitude. Some students hung out in the student lounge, but most figured out pretty quickly that wasn’t a productive use of their time. Kids went to the gym, the library, music practice rooms, language labs, science lab, gave or got tutoring ,met with teachers, or just found a quiet spot to do their homework. (It was always fun to walk across campus and see calculus problem sets scrawled in multi-colored chalk on the sidewalk outside the math bldg.–which had become a school tradition.)</p>
<p>Interesting convo… I’m on the road (believe it or not beginning to recruit the class of 2016!)… I’d love to add something but may have to wait until I have more time to read these posts. The differences between high schools is very important, which is why we recruit from the same territories from one year to the next, so that we have time to learn about the schools and what they each offer.</p>
<p>The motto of our principal, repeated ad nauseam, was “Freedom and responsibility. That’s the deal.” </p>
<p>If I were to recommend a question for UR to ask of high school students, it would a version of “What are your study habits? Describe how you approach your work week.”</p>
<p>Slightly on the flip side of the discussion, I can attest to the fact that U of R looks at high school strength. My daughter did not have a 3.94 high school GPA. However her high school did not weigh GPAs and was an extremely rigorous math/science magnet school often considered one of the most rigorous in the country. She is challenged but not overwhelmed at the U of R with a GPA higher than her high school GPA. She is a sophomore this year and there are 4 members of the current freshman class from the same high school.</p>
<p>Naviance is a very useful tool for high school students and families. If your school doesn’t get it, bug them for it. It shows every school history of applicants, admits, denials, wait lists from your high school, together with gpa and SAT. You can see exactly where you fit in the history. And you can see really interesting stuff, like the MIT admit with really bad everything - board member’s son per my kid - and the like. It doesn’t include data on race, athletics, etc. but you can guess.</p>
<p>MKonlin - my daughter was waitlisted by your college. U of R is her top choice - is there any chance of getting off the waitlist or honestly should she just move on? She would even consider enrolling in the Spring 2012 if she was guaranteed a slot…</p>
<p>That information is helpful and she should inform her admissions counselor that she would consider the spring option. I will say that we have gone to the waitlist sparingly since I have been here, though we did take a handful of students from the waitlist last year. I think it best that she mentally prepare to attend another institution and continue to hope for the best from UR. We may go to the waitlist, but it will likely be for a relatively small group of students.</p>
<p>thanks for your wonderful post.
today, I have been pretty emotional.</p>
<p>1) I got an acceptance letter with the Dean’s comment on my past experience in college; I was excited to see that because I knew they really looked through my whole application(short essay too!) instead of just GPA(mine is only 3.7x). I love when they tell you what they are impressed in your application because applicants need that!</p>
<p>2) Then I flipped to the next page, scholarship! It meant a lot to me! I never expected any scholarship from any schools because my GPA is just alright, and my ACT is score terrible.</p>
<p>4) Then, I read this post and I am impressed that U of R has a representative spending time on forum, comforting all the anxious applicants and answering their questions. Secondly, the post was wonderful and I am impressed with U of R after your detailed explanation!</p>
<p>I knew about Rochester’s open curriculum and fondness for student autonomy…but I had no idea that the admissions officers valued this so much. Every single word you wrote here described me completely, from the obsessing over one or two subjects (mine being theater and religion) to not receiving perfect grades on subjects that aren’t necessarily interesting to me (*cough cough MATH -_-'). I am SOOOOO happy to be able to say that Rochester will be my new home starting this fall!</p>