GPA vs Actual Academics

[cobb_of_fury]

My Daughter attends a highly rated public school - something like #9 in the country and #3 in the state.
Their standards are pretty high and classes fairly rigorous academically.

We have relatives whose children attend other schools whose academics are not as high who have GPA's higher than my DD.

I know for certain that these kids are not better academically than her.

I switched schools my junior year and went from a C student to an A student overnight, So I know there is disparity.

So my question is; Do colleges take into consideration the school that the recruit is attending or is that GPA number the number?
I know they also look at SAT, ACT's and other standardized test scores.

So... my real question is Should we move out of the good school district now and in to a poorly performing one so my daughter has a higher GPA?

 

[wannaplaysb]

Lol...NO! Same as not allowing her to take basket-weaving and checkers as her core classes. A 'B' in an honors class or a CC+ class will be worth more to her future than not! Most Colleges look at trends over GPA. They have admissions counselors that are familiar with areas/regions that educate themselves on top performing HS, rigor, classes offered, academics, etc. That is why the ACT is so important. It shows readiness to be able to handle college.

 

[tjsmize3]

So my question is; Do colleges take into consideration the school that the recruit is attending or is that GPA number the number?
I know they also look at SAT, ACT's and other standardized test scores. [/FONT]

I am certainly no expert here, but the experience I have had with this same issue has been that the very highly competitive universities certainly do care about where you went to school and ends up being a much bigger factor in the admissions process. Most kids applying to these schools all have a near 4.0 GPA or better with 28+ ACT scores, so they do care about the quality of the institution you are coming from. Universities who rank a little lower on the scale seem to care more about the numbers and much less about where you got them as there is a much larger variance in the GPA and ACT scores in the applicants.

 

[tjsmize3]

So... my real question is Should we move out of the good school district now and in to a poorly performing one so my daughter has a higher GPA?

Maybe if you want to maximize your financial aid and target the less competitive universities... can't really imagine anyone actually doing this though!

 

[coachjwb]

Great question! I'm assuming this is not a question specific to student-athletes but to students in general? I'm no expert either, but I guess that seldom stops me from offering an opinion! I think that most colleges ... ones that don't have high academic standards ... don't really care. They more or less expect ACT/SAT scores to separate the men/women from the boys/girls. Of course they prefer top students and will offer them academic aid usually based on ACT scores (but sometimes also based on GPA's), to compete for these students, but at the end of the day they are looking for warm bodies who can pay tuition to fill seats. The schools with higher academic standards are much more likely to look at what high schools students actually attended and how hard they had to work to achieve those GPA's ... but even most of those schools are going to look at ACT scores first and foremost. That's my theory/guess, having sent 4 children to 4 different colleges, and having talked with at least a dozen admission offices along the way. But I am sure there are people out there who know better.

 

[poden-smoden]

I think this is specific to the student athlete since Op mention recruit. That opens up a bunch of scenarios. Assume there is an athletic scholarship and that could change everything. Is the academic just going to supplement the athletic dollars or the other way around? My DD hit it real hard in the first two years of school with the honors classes and such creating a 4 plus GPA. That gained attention from coaches for sure. That in itself helped prepare for college in having to maintain that along with work outs and playing ball all year round. Once offered, her college coaches exact words were the following...

"Kill it on the ACT because that along with the GPA is what will determine your academic monies. We do not care if you take underwater basket weaving your senior year just get an A in it, and we (the University) do not care what the classes are that you are taking because we will not teach you anything even close to what you will be taught in high school, so enjoy your high school experience and have fun, you earned it already"

Not exactly word for word but it was real close....and he did say underwater basket weaving....his communication is definitely why I was on board with her decision!

So, my theory is get the GPA up....I have expressed my opinions on college already....LOL....go for the money!!

 

[wow]

Answer is depends. I think the right concoction of GPA grades/% in class/ACT/SAT/weighted and what the school is looking for is different. If there was a scorecard for metrics you would, ideally, want to max out in each category. ACT/SAT scores seem to be the universal litmus test, then GPA, type of class (Weighted/honors vs fundamental classes) then % in class, then extracurricular, personality, etc. With each school being different contacting administration and asking those questions early may help frame your plan.

The HS you attend certainly plays a role. The whole private vs. public is a for a different thread. But I would want my kid in the best curriculum for what she is trying to accomplish.

Now do we add in the fact you can hit a softball 300'?

 

[cobb_of_fury]

I think this is specific to the student athlete since Op mention recruit.

I was thinking specifically of student athletes but I assume the conversation would be true of any kid looking at college

Now do we add in the fact you can hit a softball 300'?

Was avoiding adding that element since I think that changes the dynamic - Because as a Girl - it won't matter in the long run if she could hit a ball a quarter mile, she is probably not going to have a career in softball after college.
(well maybe if she can hit a quarter mile but... ... Actually it may add more to her CV than Underwater Basket Weaving)

 

[Irish196]

I don't know the answer but I would sure hope they take things like that (and the difficulty in curriculum and choice of classes taken) into consideration. My daughter's school doesn't weight classes or offer AP etc. (even though the classes are clearly on that level). The highest you can get is a 4.0. She can't compete if they don't take those things into account.

 

[coachjwb]

The one very important thing that you have to also consider is that a good high school and more demanding curriculum is going to better prepare the student to do well on the ACT, do better on any "interviews" with college coaches or admission counselors and, most importantly, be more successful in college and beyond.

 

[Hilliarddad3]

Go the Post Secondary option route if possible and get some of those college credits out of the way paid for by the school district. Our son challenged the district when they said he had to wait another year because they didn't do his grade at that time. He also skipped a grade earlier which made it harder. After his challenge, they let him in and he got almost two years of schooling paid for by the state at OSU, he then started with almost enough credits as a Junior at OU. Even taking one class in HS as he was class president, He could have stayed in HS that whole time and taken the easy way out of weak BS classes to be the top of the class and get a full ride, but he challenged himself for more and ended a full ride on his grades the harder way..... So there are many ways to look at each situation, but look at any avenues to reduce your wallet load including PSOE....now the hard part as a parent of PSOE is your 14/15 year old is doing group studies with adults.......

 

[CARDS]

My Daughter attends a highly rated public school - something like #9 in the country and #3 in the state.
Their standards are pretty high and classes fairly rigorous academically.

We have relatives whose children attend other schools whose academics are not as high who have GPA's higher than my DD.

I know for certain that these kids are not better academically than her.

I switched schools my junior year and went from a C student to an A student overnight, So I know there is disparity.

So my question is; Do colleges take into consideration the school that the recruit is attending or is that GPA number the number?
I know they also look at SAT, ACT's and other standardized test scores.

So... my real question is Should we move out of the good school district now and in to a poorly performing one so my daughter has a higher GPA?

No way I would move dd out of the better public school...(Its better for a reason)...

The GPA is what it is, and while it is what it is, a general 2.8 at a top school (#9) in the country holds more weight than a 3.5+ at the "average public school" where everyone gets a diploma.

Staying will help her once she gets to college and it should help her on ACT scores. If she is in general studies have her get in lunch bunch, preschool or after school programs to get the grades up. (If its a top school they should have these programs).

If she is in Honors / AP classes they also usually have study help programs too. Ours is only after school so it could hurt sports practice attendance if your team practices directly after school. But if in AP/Honors classes she may want to think of doing gen. studies next year in the subjects she is struggling in.

 

[FastBat]

If she is very smart with an average GPA because of the rigors of her highly competitive HS, it will show in her very high ACT scores.

 

[mike_dyer]

I was just talking about this with someone.

My son does ok. 3.3 or 3.4ish. Takes college chemistry, calculus, etc.

The kid with a 3.7 who takes general math and home economics will end up landing more academic money than he will.

Whadda crock.