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USAToday: Most colleges don't care about GPAs
Roger_Dooley
Founder 6083 replies100309 threads Senior Member
USAToday's Mary Beth Marklein wrote an article that is sure to spark some controversy:
Grades pointless? Some colleges don't care about GPAs
The subhead for the story is, "Admissions officers at the nation's top schools say they barely look at an applicant's GPA," which has a different spin than the headline. The most elite schools are indeed less formula-based than other schools and try to take into account accomplishments outside the classroom.
Even at the Ivies, though, the Academic Index takes class rank into account, which in turn is determined by GPA.
If you look at admission scattergrams that plot GPA and SAT/ACT scores with admission results (such as those produced by Naviance), there's certainly a correlation between GPA and acceptance at just about every college and university. Correlation doesn't imply causation, of course - it could be the colleges have other ways of admitting smart applicants, and those applicants just have high GPAs too.
What do you think? Words of wisdom or dangerous advice?
46 repliesGrades pointless? Some colleges don't care about GPAs
The subhead for the story is, "Admissions officers at the nation's top schools say they barely look at an applicant's GPA," which has a different spin than the headline. The most elite schools are indeed less formula-based than other schools and try to take into account accomplishments outside the classroom.
Even at the Ivies, though, the Academic Index takes class rank into account, which in turn is determined by GPA.
If you look at admission scattergrams that plot GPA and SAT/ACT scores with admission results (such as those produced by Naviance), there's certainly a correlation between GPA and acceptance at just about every college and university. Correlation doesn't imply causation, of course - it could be the colleges have other ways of admitting smart applicants, and those applicants just have high GPAs too.
What do you think? Words of wisdom or dangerous advice?
Post edited by Roger_Dooley on
This discussion has been closed.
Replies to: USAToday: Most colleges don't care about GPAs
If you read between the lines, I think you find it implied that the admissions committees at selective colleges and universities are doing what deans have been saying they do: they are reading applicants' transcripts rather than getting hung up on applicants' GPAs.
I certainly get the feeling that these deans had more to say than what has been quoted. Specifically, I think they probably said they pay little attention to GPA because it is easily manipulated, but they still pay close attention to an applicant's course of study and to the grades he or she earned.
* Some schools recalculate GPA their own way.
* Some schools look over the actual courses and grades on the transcript.
* Some schools use class rank instead of grades or GPA.
* Some schools are open admission and really do not care about previous grades.
This thread is a good example of headline inflation.
Indeed the GPA is important it's just not a simple answer.
interesting you say it is all about the numbers. My Senior daughter has experience it to, but the question at what is good enough??? She had one stat not quite as strong as he others and it has haunted her. The following is not meant to brag but to make point and ask question...
Stats-
Top 50 USNWR High School
Top 5 percent (most granular percentile reporting) about 1050 students in class.
Will finish with 11 AP classes (all 3 or better)
3.96 UW and 4.55 W GPA
>4000 total service, activity, sports, and work hours
Leadership (founded and President of two clubs with awards)
3 incredible recommendation Letters (each to the effect she is easily top 10 all around star in over 10-20 years of being at this school of this size)
2year Varsity Captain, with 2nd sport non captain
Numerous selective awards
Excellent Essays
ACT 30 with 32 super score [35,33,32,28 individual].
SAT II. 750, 670, 650
Obviously her Standardized test scores are her chink in her app, if you call them a chink.
We hoped that the holistic application would outweigh the standard test scores. However all the standardized scores are pretty much 25th Percentile for all the top 20 schools. (Meaning that they are not 5th percentile)
She applied Early Decision to Northwestern and we were floored that she was Rejected, not even deferred. SO, I ask, how can 25th percentile score have kept her out?? We had hoped that although not in the upper end, that they would have been enough to get her other characteristics to shine and come out on top! So now she is gathering other acceptances and scholarship and will need to weigh everything out in April.
Best of luck to everyone.
Gschlact
Man bites dog.
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started/video-transcription/whats-the-most-important-part-of-the-application
Transcript and GPA are not the same, but it does seem like high school grades matter A LOT to say the least.