While some college students will outperform their entering credentials, just as some students will underperform theirs, most students perform in the range that their entering credentials suggest.
I have often wondered about this. As far as I know, there’s no study that compares entering GPA and SAT/ACT scores with exiting GPA after an undergraduate degree.
If you have a school where everyone accepted was in the top 5% of their high school class and had high SAT scores, how should they do in that college?
That’s your answer to my question? Output=Input?
I wonder why as these are interesting and useful topics for research.
Unfortunately, your subject line is very vague so not sure how many people will look at your thread. I almost didn’t look myself.
Anecdotal:
Older son- great student in high school, great student in college. Graduated With Distinction in engineering.
Younger son-mediocre student in high school, graduated Magna Cum Laude in engineering in college.
Over large numbers of students, entering academic credentials predict such things as college graduation rates (though they are not the only entering predictors that exist).
However, many individual students will over or under perform the prediction that can be made by entering academic credentials.
Serious question. My older son was in top 2% of his class in high school - he didn’t even graduate with honors from CMU, mostly because he only worked on what he cared about. He’s in his dream job, he got the A’s where it counted - in internships and the courses he liked. Did he underperform? I couldn’t tell you. He wouldn’t be in a different place if he’d gotten straight As.
Perform? Wrong question. College is about getting educated. Are high school “credentials” an indicator of what someone’s college experience will be and how their life will be shaped by that experience? I doubt it.
Such a vague statement. It’s hard to comment on. Some kids do better, some kids do worse, and some do the same. So?
There are studies though that show good correlation between high SAT scores and college success.
Do you have a source for this? How was college ‘success’ defined?
^right
When we use words like success, credentials and perform, we may have wildly different meanings in mind.
ime… self motivated, high achieving high school students go on to become self motivated, high achieving college graduates. However, my measurement of achievement may be different than someone else’s.
There is more to education than school or college degrees and success can be defined in many more ways than good grades but my question is about academic achievement. Obviously, there are outliers but how majority performs compared to their high school performance.
You are comparing apples and oranges.
Many students do very well when they have the ability to choose courses.
Some students do better, some students do the same, and some students don’t achieve as well as in HS.
And the sun will continue to rise in the east and set in the west.
Yup but having some data can be useful for students, colleges, researchers and policy makers.
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Not sure how the info would be helpful. I expect colleges have some handle on the data which informs their acceptance decisions. For students, it would cement a “fixed mindset” and stress (based on so many CC posts students & parents already think a dreaded B in Freshman year foretells a future of academic disappointment). And the very last thing we need is “policy makers” deciding who deserves loans, etc based on their performance as a teenager.
I’d rather be blissfully ignorant and hope all can “succeed” if they work hard at a college that fits their interests and needs.
@mathmom’s point is well taken. If the large majority came in with, say a 3.9 GPA, they won’t all leave with a 3.9 GPA.
Most college admissions criteria are designed to enhance retention and graduation rates, thus impressing and inducing many to apply in the first place. Come here and this is what will happen. A lot of self selection goes into that as highly selective schools attract high achievers who then tend to achieve.
However, once at school, the individual decides how successful they will be. My guess is there’s more variance in larger state schools due to a far broader array of previously demonstrated academic achievement. However, “average” HS performers can change habits once they become interested in certain subjects. That’s the cool thing about college. I was one of those. Quite average in HS. Magna Cum Laude in college. Wasn’t because it was easier (It wasn’t). Just was more motivated and interested. Think that happens A LOT!