I think average on CC is defined differently than most would consider average @mom2twogirls
@EastGrad You are far from an average parent.
Thatās true. But probably once the 3.0-3.4 or whatever it is thread is started, there will be hardly anyone left in this one.
And also, my kids are probably at or below average for CC standards just based on the fact that they donāt have jaw dropping ECs and have no desire whatsoever to change that. They also sleep 7.5+ hours a night (which would be higher but they enjoy watching some tv before bed) rather than doing school work practically until the sun comes up.
Contrary to popular belief , it is possible to have a balanced life, high stats, lots of APs and ECs . My older son was in bed by 11:00 every night, done with homework by 7:00, ate with us every night, earned his Eagle Scout , volunteered once a month at the science center , be team captain for Academic Team and Science teams, graduate 4th out of 452 with a WGPA 4.95. It can be done.
Iām sure it can. Iām referring to the mile long lists of crazy ECs Iāve seen before here on CC.
Why, thank you, @carolinamom2boys! Based on my goofy offspring and their Sunday dinner conversation, I am not so sure.
I predict that our thread will continue to gain momentum up through Spring of 2019. We just need to remind participants that all kids and choices are valuableāthe goal is a good fit. :x
Given that many need blind schools have significantly increased their commitment to URM and First Gen and their acceptance rates have plummeted in many cases, its real important to have a balanced list based on the individual, not CC. My twin '17ās had lots classmates that overreached and ended with a stack of denials and waitlists, and the only acceptance at a school they never envisioned them self being at - the waitlist calling was frenetic for manyā¦
@carolinamom2boys My D19 isnāt going to be a rocket scientist, if thatās what you mean. 
My S19 is not average, heās not even normal :)) But his stats are. Heās looking to go into engineering at an OOS public in Montana or the Dakotas.
Sorry I havenāt been around much recently. D19 is busy with schoolwork and all extra time was focused on readying for the Cappies gala held last night ā and she won the Cappie Award in her category!
She has another week of schoolwork, and final exams are next week, with the last day of school on June 23. (They go to school for two hours on the last day. ?!?)
(And we are most definitely in the 3.0 - 3.4 category thread. I do think the possibility of a BFA program is in the mix though, as she has talent and certainly has interest.)
Average kid in the house! She had a 2.86 GPA at the end of 9th grade (two Cs) and Iām praying she drags it above 3.0 this year. She is saddled with a horrible Chinese teacher and that will continue to be her nemesis through HS, unless the woman is fired. I guess a 3.0-3.4 thread for 2019 will be created at some point - not sure when that time would be, but Iām sure that will be my home base, along with the PASSHE thread for PA residents, which is probably where weāll end up, because of financial constraints as much as anything else.
Long time reader of this thread (and one time poster) inspired to post again to encourage parents of all types of children to post freely and hope that we can encourage, inspire and educate one another. I have two high stats kids who just finished 10th grade (PSAT 1500, SAT Bio 800, 4.0 UWā¦), which Iāve quietly celebrated alone, worried about their expectations alone, and how best to level set themā¦again alone. Ready to be like Oz and come out from behind the curtainā¦
I think itās beyond helpful to read about all kinds of students! Every student and their family have different constraints (fiscal and academic). Kids like different kinds of schools. And they have different interests. Itās all so interesting!
@ThinkOn glad to see you posting! You should share here for sure. I try not to do it too much IRL or social media because I know people donāt like it. Our school grades on a 100 point scale, so Iām not positive what my d19ās gpa so far translates to. I think itās either a 3.9 or a 4.0 (UW) depending on whether A starts at 90 or 93. No PSAT or SAT scores yet. If test anxiety doesnāt do her in, I think she will score fairly high.
@homerdog I agree that every kid has strengths and weaknesses of some sort in all of this. I feel like reading the variety of issues puts that into perspective really nicely.
@thinkon Iām glad youāre posting too! But usually on this website, we see the exact opposite problem ā too many neurotic parents of high stats kids fretting over the one or two B+s in their entire transcript, helicoptering over their kidsā choices of ECs, etc etc.
Or even worse, you see advice given to kids with 3.8 GPAs like āyouāll be lucky to get into any school, sucka.ā
Itās enough to make chill parents )and chill kids) run for the hills. Thatās why you see so many āGPA 3.0 - 3.6ā types of long-running threads.
I donāt think this thread has been like that though.
@mom2twogirls My daughterās school grades on a 100 point scale as well and when I tried to research what that translates into for a 4.0 scale, I stumbled upon the college board conversion table list which reads something like this:
A+ 97-100 4.0
A 93-96 4.0
A- 90-92 3.7
B+ 87-89 3.3
8 more rows
Not sure if the UC system using this table, but I tried to use this table to convince my daughter that she doesnāt have to strive for perfection on all her subjects as a 93 gets treated essentially the same as a 100. Did it work on my stubborn daughter? Of course not. The lowest grade on her transcript is a 99 in AP Euro. Good grief, Iām happy for her, but at what expense? Wish she could relax and ease up. We have a curfew for to go to sleep because we think itās critical that she get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Itās a constant battleā¦which I think Iām losing.
I know there are some high schools though that give 90-100 an A too though.
Mine has simply had to let go of a bit of the perfectionism in high school (she was like you describe in middle school) because of at least one teacher each year who just doesnāt grade āfairlyā. The stress and anxiety of that was just too overwhelming. Not to say she has completely overcome it (as the frantic text this morning about English can confirm) but sheās starting to get that there is only so much she can do and some of it is just out of her hands.
Anyway, Iāll be as glad to see/hear the last of her current English teacher as I was last year about that Spanish teacher.
She ended last year with a 91 or 92 (I canāt remember specifically at the moment)in Spanish after a disastrous (for her) 3 day final brought her grade down a few points. In some ways, I was glad she missed that 93 cut off that CB determines to be an A. She learned the world didnāt end, her overall grades are still good and she has continued Spanish this year and is doing well and actually enjoying both the class and the teacher.
Her English grade this year should make the cut off for the CB āAā although all grades arenāt yet in and itās still possible the teacher will tank her on the last couple of things. As comparison, last year my d won the English award for her grade and her teacher loved her writing. The current teacher said to her at the beginning of the year that āyou are the best student for grades related to readingā¦ what happens to your writing?ā The teacher is just so frustrating in so many ways. From her lack of tact that isnāt even related to the subject but makes connecting with her difficult "i.eā¦ āI donāt know why people commit suicide/use drugs. They just shouldnāt do that.ā To a new transfer āwhy would you leave school ABC to come here? That school is much better than this one.ā And recently in reference to a student who was suspended āIām not surprised. Itās something about how Russianās raise their kids.ā. She rarely stays on lessons plans so you could have a quiz on chapters 3-5 two weeks after you were told to read them. She told them to use MLA 8 formatting recently and then told them how to do a citation page with MLA 7. My d realized it, and when she asked which way the teacher wanted it done she was told āno one cares which one you use.ā Participation grades are all over the place and make no sense. My d got her best participation grade the quarter where (at the end of it) she suggested the teacher call on some prime number labeled kids (teacher had assigned numbers by order on attendance sheet), since the teacher was using number patterns like evens, by 3ās and 5ās etc. The teacher said āoh, I thought I was calling prime numbers like 3,9,15ā¦ā
Anyway, Iām babbling at this point. Last day of classes and I think Iām a bit punchy,
Thanks for sharing @mom2twogirls Letting go of perfection is a sure sign of maturity, which I hope my daughter attains with grace and humility (and sooner rather than later). I can totally relate. I have found the teachers at my daughterās school to be wholly inadequate compared to those at my sonās school. While I know I should not compare, itās so hard not to when I see many of the things you describe above from adults who should know better. Thankfully they are done with finals. What did my son do after his last final? Jump on his computer to play online games with this friends. My daughter, immediately hit her AP homework.