Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-02-2013, 04:06 PM
 
65 posts, read 227,961 times
Reputation: 31

Advertisements

I have my son in 9th grade and we just got our the gardes for first semester. He is standing 14th in a class of about 500 with GPA of 5.275. I am speculating that the highest GPA is about 5.4. Thus there is a differecne of about 0.125. This happened is because of my mistake of not putting him in one more pre-AP class. Instead we selected mandatory courses on 5.0 scale that need to be finished for high school graduation. While the Pre AP course is on 6.0 grade scale. Students ahead of him are enrolled in the one additional pre-AP class. He is planning to take pre-AP/AP courses in 10th grade. But my fear is that may not help as all it will do is maintain the GPA. Everyone ahead of him will also be taking maximim allowable pre-AP/AP courses.

As I mentioned the difference between his GPA and top GPA is about 0.125 point. This translates to 10 points. Assuming that the student performance remains the same in second semster then that gap will widen to 20 ponts (10 point lead in first semester and 10 point lead in semester). I feel that this will be much harder to recover going forward. Pre AP course gets additional 10 point boost compared to non-preAP course.


I feel that room for improvement for my son is small as he already has all A+. But one course selection from pre-AP to non pre-AP caused this difference. So I am trying to figure out what can be done to catchup while still in 9th grade. He would like to go to 7 year medical school so having good high school rank is important.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-02-2013, 06:04 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
719 posts, read 2,659,373 times
Reputation: 533
I know med students from high school, and a few of them had blemishes on their transcripts (I mean, the likes of C's). None of them were valedictorians. It may be reassuring to know that, with such negligible differences among the top ranking, it would likely be more beneficial to opt for health electives and extracurricular activities such as HOSA. That being said, these classes are usually not AP and do not consequently carry the same weight in regards to class rank. They are, however, noted by admissions staff. With his work ethic and GPA, it seems like your son is on the right track for what he wants to accomplish.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2013, 06:18 PM
 
Location: Denver
4,716 posts, read 8,529,425 times
Reputation: 5957
First of all, once you're in the top 5% or so of the class, difference in ranking is simply splitting hairs as far as college admission goes. No, seriously, Harvard, Stanford, or a scholarship committee couldn't give a crap less whether your kid was 14th (which is awesome) instead of 5th. If their class ranking, involvement, and SAT scores meet a vague criteria of "good enough", then they start the weeding out process based of off how much they stand out, and they take into account geographic, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity, and most importantly "the hook." Are you best friends with a professor at said institution that brought in a big grant? Did your kid self start a reasonably successful charity that tugs at your heart strings? I guarantee you anyone would rather take the kid who was in the top quarter of his class but can convey his passion over the kid who wasn't allowed to have personality because he was worked ragged trying to look good on paper (and any difference you're worried about is trivial anyway).

Also, everyone has to take the same amount of required unweighted courses. It doesn't make sense that it wouldn't even out. If your kid wants to take another year of band, let him. If he wants to take every science class available even if it means his English grade suffers a tad, let him.

Source: Very recent personal experience that came out quite successful if he dares brag on himself.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2013, 06:43 PM
 
7,987 posts, read 10,329,287 times
Reputation: 15000
Honestly, they care more about what percentage he is in, not what his exact rank is. The reason for this is that being ranked 10th in a class of 700 is a lot more impressive than being ranked 10th in a class of 100. Colleges don't know, and don't have time to find out, how many kids are in his graduating class. So they look at what percentage he fell in.

And most med schools care more about his performance as an undergrad in college than they do about his performance in high school.

Also, like Westerner92 pointed out, most private and Ivy League colleges care more about what you did OUTSIDE of school than what you did in it. Everyone applying to those schools will have the same grades as he did. They want to know what makes him stand out from the thousands of other kids ranked in the top percentages.

I grew up and graduated from high school in the Northeast. I applied to colleges up there and here in Texas (had family here). For almost every school up north, including public ones, I needed to write essays, go to interviews, get letters of recommendation, etc. The schools I applied to in Texas (UT and Texas State), didn't look at anything but my class rank and SAT score. So where he goes to school will make a difference too.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2013, 07:13 PM
 
65 posts, read 227,961 times
Reputation: 31
Yes I agree that the he needs to be atelast in top 5%. Currently there are about 500 students in 9th grade but by 11th grade that number may go down(?) Kids moving to different school/Drop Outs etc. This may change top 5% mark. I hope that it is still within his reach. I Currently UT is looking at top 7% for class of 2014. My son will be graduating in 2016 s. by then that number may be top 5%. It is too competitve.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2013, 07:28 PM
 
3,039 posts, read 3,217,618 times
Reputation: 2458
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikey0915 View Post
Yes I agree that the he needs to be atelast in top 5%. Currently there are about 500 students in 9th grade but by 11th grade that number may go down(?) Kids moving to different school/Drop Outs etc. This may change top 5% mark. I hope that it is still within his reach. I Currently UT is looking at top 7% for class of 2014. My son will be graduating in 2016 s. by then that number may be top 5%. It is too competitve.
Well if you want to get all strategic about it then move him to a school that isn't as competitive, plenty of them around Austin.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2013, 07:33 PM
 
Location: Austin, Texas
1,985 posts, read 3,300,712 times
Reputation: 1705
I know all to well about the stress of trying to keep my GPA high and my rank high as well. If he wants to get into the best universities in the country, his profile must be extremely impressive.
He will need to take the most difficult classes available and still earn as close to a perfect 100 as possible in all of them. Rank is usually really important to universities, even more so if he wants to go In-State. You should know that their are people who are ranked below him who will really kick it into gear in the coming years and will challenge him for his rank if he does not keep his game up.
Also, he will need to be in as many ECs as possible with as many leadership positions as he can carry. Getting into the top universities in the country has never been more difficult in history so he will need an equally broad resume.
Tell him to get really close to his teachers. I can't stress this enough! He will need their rec letters come senior year. If he is close to them and has performed more than superbly in their classes, they could give him truly amazing letters that could be the difference between acceptance and rejection. You never want that generic "To whom it may concern..." letter that is simply uninspiring. All of these things helped me get into MIT.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2013, 08:24 PM
 
65 posts, read 227,961 times
Reputation: 31
Quote:
Originally Posted by Austinite101 View Post
I know all to well about the stress of trying to keep my GPA high and my rank high as well. If he wants to get into the best universities in the country, his profile must be extremely impressive.
He will need to take the most difficult classes available and still earn as close to a perfect 100 as possible in all of them. Rank is usually really important to universities, even more so if he wants to go In-State. You should know that their are people who are ranked below him who will really kick it into gear in the coming years and will challenge him for his rank if he does not keep his game up.
Also, he will need to be in as many ECs as possible with as many leadership positions as he can carry. Getting into the top universities in the country has never been more difficult in history so he will need an equally broad resume.
Tell him to get really close to his teachers. I can't stress this enough! He will need their rec letters come senior year. If he is close to them and has performed more than superbly in their classes, they could give him truly amazing letters that could be the difference between acceptance and rejection. You never want that generic "To whom it may concern..." letter that is simply uninspiring. All of these things helped me get into MIT.

I agree that both rank and GPA are important. I am OK if he can not get into most reputable schools in the country - such as MIT and Harvard. The mistake is that we picked did the mandtory courses required for distinguished achievment but this course is on 5.0 scale and not 6.0 scale pre-AP course.

He wants to go to 7 year medical school - preferably in Texas. I am not sure if this is something that can be pursued. I heard that UT will be accpeting top 7% students in 2014 class. But by 2016 (his graduation year) this number will go down further. In addition, there may be some dropouts so the total student count may decrease from current 500 by the time he is applying. This could also put more constrain.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2013, 10:05 PM
 
Location: Denver
4,716 posts, read 8,529,425 times
Reputation: 5957
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikey0915 View Post
I agree that both rank and GPA are important. I am OK if he can not get into most reputable schools in the country - such as MIT and Harvard. The mistake is that we picked did the mandtory courses required for distinguished achievment but this course is on 5.0 scale and not 6.0 scale pre-AP course.

He wants to go to 7 year medical school - preferably in Texas. I am not sure if this is something that can be pursued. I heard that UT will be accpeting top 7% students in 2014 class. But by 2016 (his graduation year) this number will go down further. In addition, there may be some dropouts so the total student count may decrease from current 500 by the time he is applying. This could also put more constrain.
Well if he wants to go to medical school in Texas, then the reputation of the undergrad isn't exactly the most important thing so much as GPA and leadership/volunteer work. Also, he's 14/15. I'm pretty sure he's not the one planning which state he wants to go to med school in.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2013, 11:24 PM
 
1,961 posts, read 6,100,236 times
Reputation: 571
It is a hard position about how hard to push or encourage your child. I wish you luck. I graduated in the top 5% of my class back in the dark ages and my parents didn't push me, I mainly did it as a big FU to the teachers that told me I couldn't do it. I got accepted to UCLA and the local Cal State school. to my parents disappointment, I turned down UCLA because I didn't like the big theatre class atmosphere. I ended up fine, I had friends that went to lots of top colleges (MIT, Cal Tech, Berkley, UCLA, Cambridge) to name a few and it is a crap shoot 25+ years later about who was successful and happy and who isn't. No Guarantees. But I wish you the best of luck raising your son.


Interesting anecdotal occurrence; In fact it was my Calculus teacher in 10th grade that actually pulled me aside and told me he would fail me because I was Jewish. I was super stubborn and so I made a school science fair project that charted his mistakes per period per day for a three month period. The principal let me show it at the fair since I had the facts. It was funny.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top