@eh1234 - lol, at least S19 isn’t the only one who isn’t into the art of phone conversations. He’s a mad texter, though lol. I hope he can get the online version, too - is it self-paced, then, if your son finished in hours? That would be awesome!
@homerdog - I know in resumes, usually you list current tasks/projects in present tense, and past/completed positions or projects in past tense. Not sure how college apps would view it, but I’d err on that side, since it’s more accurate.
@parent2one He took a self-directed, pass/fail version in the summer. I believe our district offers this version in the fall if the student is enrolled in a full course load. He had four weeks to do it and just took one test per week - he only looked at the materials in the first unit because the tests were so easy.
There is another on-line version with an instructor and a letter grade I think. That one probably has busy work attached to it.
@homerdog I read somewhere to definitely use present tense to indicate current or ongoing activities.
@homerdog, it could use untensed verb forms for both completed and current items, so “enforce rules of the game”.
Thanks everyone. I’ll take that advice about the activities section. Reads a little weird because his section bounces around from present to past tense depending on the activity but I think that’s the right move.
@dfbdfb I’ll have him try her too and see what he thinks!
My S19 also took the state’s mandatory one semester financial literacy class over a summer as an online self-directed course. It worked out well for him and it was a breeze.
@parent2one I hope they work out your S’s schedule. Our HS frequently has similar issues and online classes do seem to often work out as the best solution.
Common App suggestion on GPA reporting
https://appsupport.commonapp.org/applicantsupport/s/article/How-do-I-report-my-class-rank-and-GPA
I have been following all of the discussion about gpa on the Common App. S19 is applying to schools where “courses and grades are not used” (our school sends his transcript). So, for many schools I guess students don’t have to fill these sections in–relieved.
For many schools, GPA and./or class rank are not published or readily available. The school will send an official transcript, presumably with the appicant’s weighted average, and with an explanation explaining the school’s grading system. My understanding is that colleges apply their own weighting system based on the high school. For this reason, our kids’ high school advises leaving both class rank and GPA blank on the CA. At best you are probably guessing and the official transcript (including the college’s own weight system which you do not know) is what counts anyway.
@BrooklynRye I wouldn’t be guessing. I have our S19’s transcript right in front of me and it’s got weighted and unweighted GPA. And it states the cut off for top decile for both of those. Some schools do give good info via transcripts and school profiles.
@BrooklynRye, you (or your child, if already 18) should be able to get a copy of your transcript, and thus see at least the GPA—under federal law, you or your child (depending on age and institution) have the absolute right to inspect educational records.
And @homerdog, I’m a little jealous that your kid’s transcript gives the maximum possible GPA. My D19 is still trying to figure that out, not least because the school’s course offerings have been revamped significantly during her four years (including the one coming up), and so the maximum possible weighted GPA is actually a fluid number.
@dfbdfb yeah our top 10th percentile have weighted GPAs between 5.535 and 5.920. The top 10th percentile unweighted is between 4.810 and 5.0. This is on a 5.0 scale. It’s all listed on the profile. School then breaks out top 25th percentile, top 50th percentile, and top 75th percentile for both weighted and unweighted. So, out of 750 kids, you still land in the top 75 kids with a 4.81 unweighted GPA. Getting a few Bs doesn’t really hurt here.
It’s wacky how different the grading scales at different schools is, isn’t it? There are rigorous prep schools where the average SATs are north of 1400 but the valedictorian graduates with a 3.8 and schools like Homerdog’s where the valedictorian ends up with a GPA a full 2 points higher. It must create a tremendous amount of work for the colleges to adjust based on the high schools’ profiles.
@Sue22 it’s not really two points higher. Our 5.0 scale is easily changed to a 4.0 scale. You just subtract one. So the valedictorian (if we had one) has a 4.92 weighted and a 4.0 unweighted GPA. And looks like the top 22 percent of kids here scored a 34+ on the ACT. Harder for me to figure out SAT since the profile divides that up by section. We usually have 25-30 NMFs.
But, yes, when schools say they look at a candidate within the context of their school, I think they have to do that. How could you compare? And it is true that the most selective schools compare our kids to one another. People like to say there’s no quota from any one school, but part of the admissions strategy here includes knowing who is applying where. Stinks. But true.
@homerdog, I didn’t mean to imply that the grading was different or that one school was better than the other. For me it just points to the futility (once again) of the “chance me” threads where kids are comparing GPA’s computed in wildly different ways. Some schools weight. Others don’t. Some offer AP’s. Others don’t. Some give grades in classes like gym or yearbook. Others don’t. Some offer a .3 bump for honors, some .5, others 1.0. It would make my head spin to have to normalize them all to a consistent scale.
Against my better judgment, I am still looking at schools to add to the long list. S19 has a handle on his apps with just four more essays to write so why not? Who has been to Swarthmore? Anyone visited and applying? Does it feel far enough away from Philly to feel like its own campus? I’m being swayed today by an awesome mailer s19 just got in the mail.
Swarthmore is not in downtown Philly, so it’s not like an NYU if tht’s what you’re asking? It has a beautiful campus with grass no less 
It is its own campus, and definitely feels that way. But unlike some LACs that are in the middle of nowhere, Swarthmore is close enough to Philly to get to for shopping/ballgame/theater. Alternatively, one can go four years without going into Center City if it holds no appeal.