PG Year After Completing Boarding School: Is it Worth it?

Prep School Admissions
1

Hello - I just finished my junior year at a boarding school. For the sake of privacy I won’t say the name of the school, but it is one of the TSAO schools.

I struggled academically while in school for my first year. At the beginning of my second year, my advisor recommended that I get tested for ADHD. So I went for some testing and found out that I do have ADD which caused lack of focus and organization. So in the middle of my second year, I started getting extra time on tests and then started to do a lot better.

My first year GPA was about a 3.1. By the end of my sophomore year, my GPA rose to 3.6-3.7 range. Now at the end of my junior year, my grades are pretty good (3.6-3.7). However the main problem is that my cumulative GPA is only around a 3.4. My college counsellor said that my grades put me in the bottom 7th decile of my school. This means that 70% of the kids applying from my school have better grades than me. Regarding standardized testing, I did pretty well: SAT Math 790 Verbal 720 (1510 total); SAT Math 2 740; and ACT composite 34. I am going to take some SAT subject tests in the fall.

I also play a varsity sport for 4 years, but I spoken to few college coaches, and they said that I’m not good enough to offer a spot to. In my sport there is a national ranking, and most coaches want kids who are in the top 20 nationally. I’ve been top 20 before, but it will take me at least 6-9 months to get back into shape. Currently I don’t have a ranking, but I think with some work, I can get back into the top 20. The college coaches I spoke to said that my academic index is on the higher end, but that there are many other better players than me. So it looks like getting recruited athletically will not be possible this year.

Looking at the Naviance scatterplots, I have virtually no chance for any of the highly selective schools with my GPA. My college counsellor is being pretty blunt and telling me that I will have a difficult time getting into any of the higher tier schools. I’m thinking about a PG year to help bring my grades up, and so I can work on improving myself in my sport. In case I don’t get my ranking up, I’m hoping at least that a year of strong grades in PG will help boost my GPA.

So here are my questions:

  1. Would doing a PG year help my chances of getting into a top tier college? (Assuming I do well with grades)?

  2. Will the grades that I get from my PG year be inter-mingled with my 9-12 grades when calculating a GPA? Or do colleges treat this separately?

  3. I’ve heard rumors that schools won’t let you do a PG year if you already have graduated from that school. Is this true?

2

In your case, I would say probably not. Even if you got a 4.0 in your senior and PG years (which is a huge if), it only brings your GPA up to a ~3.58. by the time you apply for college. Also note that when applying for colleges, they will only have one term of PG grades to view, so obviously, your grades from your first four years will carry more weight. And since you are not a recruitable athlete now, you will not be any more recruitable with an extra year.

They will be viewed as part of your overall record, although an upward trend does help.

Yes, it’s true. There may be exceptions, but yours is probably not one of them.

Having said all that, not every student, even at a top school, can go to the top university. However, there are still many many valid options for you, which your college counselor can help you. Good luck.

3

DD’s school, a TSAO, will not allow existing students to PG there. A student would need to go to a different school.

4

Thanks for all the feedback. I was also considering a second option

  1. Go to community college. Then apply as a transfer student

Would it be better to go PG route or community college? My main weakness in the applications will be low grades in grade 9-10. I’m hoping that showing a rising trend will be helpful. But would an upward trend be better demonstrated in PG or CC?

If I go the CC route then I’ll have to apply as a transfer. I’ve heard transfer admissions is more competitive than normal freshman admissions. This is why I’m thinking that PG might be a good opportunity to boost my GPA while still applying as a freshman again in the next cycle.

5

What kinds of colleges are you targeting? I find it hard to believe that a student with your test scores, an upward trend in gap, can’t get into a decent college. Maybe you are setting the bar too high in colleges you’d consider. I see zero reason to attend a CC or do a PG year. You could also transfer from a 4 year college - no several who have - but, yes, it is more competitive.

6

Is this really right: a 3.4 GPA puts you in the bottom 30% of the class at a TSAO school? If that’s the case, man there seems to be more grade inflation there than at a good local public high school! Average SAT scores at any of the TSAO schools show that the student bodies are capable, but certainly not extraordinary (for instance, average SATs at PEA or Andover are roughly in the 1400 range, and probably lower as only the component scores are disclosed, not the average composite scores actually achieved). It seems hard to imagine that the students at any of these TSAO schools would be doing so well GPA-wise if there weren’t rampant grade inflation. Again, I’d have to question if a 3.4 is really bottom 30%.

7
  1. I’ve heard rumors that schools won’t let you do a PG year if you already have graduated from that school. Is this true?

Yes, to my knowledge, although I have known a few who repeated a sophomore or junior year under special circumstances and a few who have done PG years at other schools.

8

It looks to be about right. At the HS From which I graduated, a TSAO school, 7th decile would be about a 3.3

Apples and oranges unless your LPS is Stuyvesant or similar. These schools are hard to get into, and the kids that do get in score very high on the SSAT.

Additionally, students who are unable to handle the academics are “asked” to leave, so that skews the GPA distribution.

9

@skieurope and @SatchelSF This is completely believable. My kid is in the same situation. @skieurope I agree with you on the SSAT but there is no definitive correlation to grades. My kid is a 99% SSAT and PSAT scorer but a B/B+ student who is probably in the bottom of the class. We have spoken to many of the various counselors and advisors. The higher grades are skewed somewhat toward females and non serious athletes. If OP was a recruited athlete he could go to Harvard/Yale.Colgate/Cornell and so forth.

10

Wow. At our school, a 3.4 would have been bottom of the top half. But putting that aside, I have known 2 BS kids who did a PG year at a different school. Both were recruitable football players. Both needed another year to grow. So a different situation from yours.



While I believe you aren’t a viable candidate for the tippiest top schools, I can’t believe that with an upward trend, your scores, and your athletic accomplishments (and I am sure there’s more), that you could not get into a very good school. Many colleges focus much more heavily on junior and senior grades (and some ignore freshmen grades.)



I think you are selling yourself short. There are certainly schools that meet your criteria that would have you. If you get there and want to transfer, that’s an option, but I think the 2 options you have mentioned - CC and PG - reflect a miscalculation of how attractive you would be to many schools.

11

I don’t know much about PG year. I think the PG students take the same classes as the 9-12 students. If they are the same set of classes then I don’t see why they wouldn’t simply add these to your transcript.



However skieurope makes a good point. Even getting 4.0 from now on will barely move the needle on your cumulative GPA.

12

This is why cumulative GPA’s are so stupid. So many of these schools talk about how important it is to have a growth mindset. That children can and should make mistakes and become better from them and learn more from them than never making them, yet they then use those slip ups against them. I can see why Andover and Exeter have been trying to work with some colleges to institute a pass fail system instead of grades (not that it will happen.) There should be no hard “you need a 3.8” to get into a school. There are so many factors. Just like a 3.8 at PEA and PA are noting like a 4.0 at a public school. The whole thing is bogus!

13

We’re saying the same thing, I think. My point was that most students at these schools were top performers in MS. However, even with a full class of high achieving students, 50% of the graduating class will still be in the bottom half. But, as I said from the outset, there are still plenty of good college options for those students; it’s just not going to be HYPMS unless there is some massive hook.

True, but as mentioned from the beginning, that’s not the case here.

14

yes @skieurope -perfectly said

15

@momof3swimmers Interesting commentary and it appeals to me for obvious reasons. LOL. My kid is very bright with deep interests in a few diverse areas (which is why he went to boarding school) yet at schools like PA and PEA etc the time demands and rigor make it very difficult to excel at everything. I now understand why star athletes get a lower bar on grades for admissions–to be a superior athlete- or other EC- is like a full time job. Same with anything --academics, music, dance. So to OP @h1313276. If you have spent a lot of time on your sport going forward let that go. You go to a state school or take classes online and excel and transfer OR excel as an undergrad and go to a top graduate school at some point.

16

It’s admirable that you were able to pull up your GPA after an issue was diagnosed. Makes this mom smile to know that an adult at your school cared enough to notice a problem might exist that needed looking into. Get a good, professional college guidance counsellor ASAP. If you can hire one, go for it. If not, be sure you at least have the ear of the best your school has to offer. Colleges “claim” they like stories such as yours. This is the stuff that application essays are supposed to be made of and so on. That could all be PR bluster by colleges, but I have no way of knowing. Just as with boarding schools, you can always apply broadly and see how it goes. You could try to transfer from a four year college if you do well there. Who knows, you may even end up somewhere and decide you like it even if it is so called “lesser.” Remember the old adage on here to “love the school that loves you” A community college option is interesting, but not sure how that might impact you sports-wise for a year or two? These are all questions that need to be run by someone who deals with the college application process all the time. On this board, we are just guessing or working off anecdote or our limited personal knowledge. Good luck!

17

Some more background info:

Yes indeed my GPA is 7th decile. Mean GPA is about 3.6 from my school. I have a printout from my schools college office which shows this. Good news is that my school doesn’t rank, but I’m sure colleges will know that my GPA is not that great.

I have a college list that is pretty broad. Not yet final. So far my reaches: Brown, Columbia, Duke, Penn, U Chicago, Emory, Vandy, Nwestern, Wash U, Rice, Haverford, Rochester. My match schools are: Elon, Fordham, Hobart, U Richmond, Northeastern, Boston U, American U. Safety: Local State U, Drexel, U Houston, Temple.

My parents both went to good schools (Brown and U Chicago). Although my parents are not rich, I know they tapped into savings for me to go to BS. I feel like I’m letting them down if I don’t get into one of the reach schools. Going to a safety or mid-tier just seems like I just wasted $250K of their money for the last 4 years, and I feel pretty guilty. I probably would have been better off if I stayed at my local public high school, and would have ended up in the same place (at a safety).

College guidance office at my BS says that all of the reach schools listed above are not realistic. Chances of acceptance are < 1%. Even some of the mid-tiers are unlikely because of my grades.

I was also forgot to mention that if I do a PG year then it wouldn’t impact NCAA eligibility. Was hoping to hit the books hard and also get back into my sport. With 6-9 months of hard work I think I could be recruitable for one of the reach schools entering class of 2019.

If you were in my shoes what would you do?

18

@momof3swimmers Colleges aren’t comparing a 3.8 at a prep school to a 4.0 at a public. They use the school report and then if applicable, compare to other applicants from the same HS. As to recognizing growth, they do and it’s not that colleges are judging a student for not excelling as a freshman or sophomore, it’s just that too many applicants excelled all 4 years and they aren’t enough slots for them. Supply and demand.

OP: How much do like your sport? I wouldn’t try that route if you don’t like it. I suppose this is an individual sport, not team sport? If you like it and don’t mind trying an extra year, go far it but only with the understanding you may still fall short. Even if you end up at State U, that doesn’t mean you are not better for your experience at the BS. Regardless of which route you choose, you have to learn from the past but not let it define you. You can still have a bright future regardless of the name on your future diploma.

19

Your 3.4 GPA is probably weighted, right? So your grades are Bs and some As?

I would focus on finding match schools that you love. Forget the Ivys - choose one or two to apply to as a reach. Your college counselor is correct - the reach schools are unrealistic for you, but you will get a great education at any of those match schools.

All the match schools you listed are great schools. If I were in your shoes I would focus on finding match schools that are a great fit -and i would go to college. Spending another year in high school is not going to improve your chances and going to CC would be boring for you - you are above that caliber. You will probably be so bored that your grades will be worse AND regardless, it will not help you get into the reaches even with a 4.0 (as @skieurope mentioned).

If your parents thought that sending you to BS would ensure a top 10 college admission, they were greatly mistaken.

20

Haverford jumps out as being different from the other schools on your list. Why is it there? If you are open to other LACs, I think you’d find some great educational opportunities that would include matches and safeties.

What are you looking for in a college? Thoughts on potential majors?

I’m surprised your college counselor isn’t more optimistic about your matches given your scores and academic performance. I feel like something is missing here. Perhaps it is that your list of schools is very top heavy and he/she is trying to give you a dose of realism that you’ve overcorrected to pessimism.

Have you talked to you counselor about a PG or community college because I think it would be really interesting to here what they think about that…