<p>I’m trying to make sure we have a realistic list of schools to work with for my high school junior, and I would like to determine whether Brandeis is a match for my kid’s stats, or more of a reach.</p>
<p>There are obviously a number of ways that GPA can be calculated–weighted vs. unweighted, academic courses only or all courses including gym/chorus/etc.</p>
<p>Does Brandeis look for a particular GPA calculated in a particular one of these ways? Or is class rank (presumably determined by whichever method the high school chooses) the metric they look at more? We have a handle on what the GPA is likely to be, but no clue whatsoever where that will land in terms of class rank.</p>
<p>I was just looking in here. Catperson, that link you posted, the long pdf file, was so incredibly helpful! Thank you so much for sharing that, it was very comprehensive, and laid out everything.</p>
<p>“first generation” I believe refers to first-generation college students, i.e. your parents did not go to college and you are the first in your family to do so.</p>
<p>Do not quote me on this, seriously, I could be totally totally wrong. But, for some reason I remember at one of the admissions sessions the Brandeis admissions officer saying that you will never see Brandeis release a minimum GPA nor a range of GPAs of admitted students, and that Brandeis considers a wide range of things so they don’t restrict it to your GPA.</p>
<p>Eliyahu:
Correct.
No school who does a holistic evaluation will have a minimum GPA or class rank.
But… once you start getting out of the top 20-25% class rank, it starts getting more difficult. Now they have do find a <em>reason</em> to take you – and you need to give them one.</p>
<p>I think I heard them say, at the Brandeis info session we attended, that they are particularly interested in your junior and senior years. So an upward trend would help (I think it always helps, but maybe more so at Brandeis than at most places). </p>
<p>But as Eliyahu2123 said, this is just what I remember hearing, and I could have misheard or misinterpreted it.</p>
<p>Here’s what I’m trying to understand:
I’m trying to help my daughter make a list of colleges that we can research, visit, and seriously consider this spring, while she is a junior, so that she is ready to get her applications in by the Early Decision deadline of whatever school turns out to be her first choice. </p>
<p>One of the most important steps seems to be trying to figure out where she would be a competitive candidate. I need to figure out which schools are reach/match/safety, right?</p>
<p>If all we have now to work with is her freshman/sophomore grades, is it simply too early to do this? If she had a 4.0 UW for these first two years, I can see that, yes, it’s reasonable to start considering top schools. But she doesn’t. She has a mix of A’s and B’s, has taken challenging, but not always the most challenging option in all of her academic courses (e.g., we have honors and GT/AP levels and she has taken a mix).</p>
<p>So, we can calculate a GPA but have NO IDEA what her class rank will be, and I honestly do not know how to assess whether or not Brandeis should be on her list.</p>
<p>If she would be a competitive applicant, we think Brandeis would be her first choice. If it’s a reach/dream, we need to start steering her in other directions and not get her hopes up about Brandeis.</p>
<p>What I’m hearing here is that there probably isn’t a way to know without her final junior year grades, and possibly class ranking?</p>
<p>DeskPotato:
As a parent who’s just gone through this process myself, as well as a Brandeis alum. Allow me to give you a few tips:</p>
<ol>
<li>You probably have <em>some</em> idea about class rank – if she’s getting mostly A’s and B’s then unless her school practices rampant grade inflation, she’s probably at least the top half if not the top third of her class.</li>
<li><p>By “mostly A’s and B’s” are we talking alot of a A’s with a few B’s mixed-in or mostly B’s with a few A’s and an occasional C mixed-in? That’s a big difference as one can mean a 3.7 GPA and one can mean a 3.1 GPA.</p></li>
<li><p>If it’s closer to the 3.7 and she gets a reasonable SAT score (>= 2100). Then you can at a minimum consider Brandeis a reach school (and by reach I don’t mean “out of reach” she would have a reasonable shot – if this was Princeton we were talking about, well then …sigh… I would probably put that in the “out of reach” category, but you’re in good company…it’s out of reach for most mortals.)</p></li>
<li><p>If it’s her “dream”, DON’T discourage her from applying. Have her apply ED, visit the campus, have an interview, write letters, etc. Really get in their face… believe it or not, this can only help you. Your first choice school probably should be a reach… as Robert Browning said: “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp.”</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I seriously have no idea what her rank is. There are about 350 kids in the class. She’s not part of the top-out-of-sight-Ivy-bound cohort (assuming there even IS one) so I don’t even know if that’s 5 kids, 10, or 35. </p>
<p>Her school does weight–1/2 point extra for honors, 1 full point for GT or AP. Only one AP is offered to sophomores; she didn’t take it. The only “regular” classes she’s taken are those where no honors is offered, but she hasn’t gone for the GT/AP level in everything. (This includes picking up a new language her junior year and another one next year.)</p>
<p>Her weighted GPA is, we think, about 4.25 and unweighted it’s a bit over 3.7 if you include chorus, gym, drama, and whatnot. It’s 3.6 if you toss those out, so she’s gotten a few more A’s than B’s and never a C.</p>
<p>Her PSAT score was good enough for commended but not for semifinalist in our state (but would have made it in many states).</p>
<p>What she doesn’t have is a stellar record of leadership or deep involvement in extracurriculars. </p>
<p>She is attracted to Brandeis because of one of their unique academic opportunities, so I think she can ace the “why Brandeis” problem. </p>
<p>I truly think she and Brandeis would be perfect for each other. This school is her *b’shert.<a href=“Although%20I’m%20afraid%20to%20put%20it%20that%20way%20because%20I%20read%20a%20thread%20that%20suggests%20Brandeis%20is%20literally%20turned%20off%20by%20kids%20whose%20activities%20are%20too%20exclusively%20directed%20towards%20the%20Jewish%20community,%20which%20hers%20might%20seem%20to%20be.”>/i</a></p>
<p>Based on what you are telling me, I really think she’s a reasonable candidate.</p>
<p>If you and her think that she and Brandeis would be perfect for each other, you’re halfway there. Now you just need to convince Brandeis.</p>
<p>I think you should do what I stated above. ED will make a <em>huge</em> difference – Brandeis really values people who really want to go there, and the best way you can express this is by applying ED. </p>
<p>Make sure she has an interview – and make it a good one. Come prepared to discuss what <em>in particular</em> about Brandeis is appealing. </p>
<p>I don’t know what b’shert means, but it <em>sounds</em> like a good thing. :)</p>
<p>DeskPotato, does your school have Naviance and a school profile which will help you figure out where your D stands within the context of her school? I think this is all such a crapshoot, that if she’s interested in a school, just go for it. Chances are her SATs will be in Brandeis’ range and her grades sound good.</p>
<p>I had never heard of Naviance until reading about it on this site over the past few weeks. Google tells me there is a school in our county school system that has it–I would imagine that means we all do? I will definitely ask about it once we get to meet with the guidance counselor. However, our school is not terribly proactive about college stuff, as far as I can tell, and I believe they don’t meet with the juniors until spring. Meanwhile, we needed to book flights to Boston while they were cheap!</p>
<p>I should just cool it until she has her standardized test scores in hand…there’s not much to be done until we know how those fall out. Other than obsess, which is my specialty.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that even if her test scores are not were you would like them to be, they can be re-taken.
My son went up 200 points between test sittings.</p>
<p>DeskPotato,
It sounds like your daughter will be competitive for Brandeis. You will have a better idea once she takes the SATs. It’s always tricky knowing what schools to look at at this stage of the process. I think it’s okay to take your daughter to see a school that may be a reach. If she loves the school, it will motivate her to keep her grades up and prep for the SATs. I recommend taking her to visit Brandeis and a few other possibilites. Include some schools that are less selective and encourage her to find some safeties that she likes. If Brandeis still feels like her B’shert after the visits, have her apply early decision. That will increase her chances. Good luck!</p>
Just for anecdotal confirmation of this–Brandeis was the first college our son ever visited, way back in the summer before his junior year. At that point, his GPA made him a flatly unrealistic Brandeis candidate. He liked the place so much that I think the visit may have planted the seed of his academic turnaround over the following year and a half, during which his GPA has gone up by over three-tenths of a point, turning Brandeis from “out of reach” to “realistic reach.”</p>
<p>desk potato, schools have to subscribe to Naviance. You should check with your GC, but at our school, they give us the information in junior year, I think at the end of fall as I remember.</p>