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You think your strange personal experiences outweigh people who actually work with admissions officers regularly. It doesn't.
Now I am sure you come up with some long, complicated, unbelievable anecdote that paints you as the victim, yet again. I am waiting with baited breath.
College admissions decisions are a confidential process that high school guidance counselors are not privy to. So, high school guidance counselors cannot give accurate information about the college admissions process. Instead, they will give you advice that is best for their high school's status.
College admissions decisions are a confidential process that high school guidance counselors are not privy to. So, high school guidance counselors cannot give accurate information about the college admissions process. Instead, they will give you advice that is best for their high school's status.
The thing that is best for the high school's status is to get kids admitted to elite colleges. It is my experience that schools with good GCs do understand the ins and outs of college admissions.
College admissions decisions are a confidential process that high school guidance counselors are not privy to. So, high school guidance counselors cannot give accurate information about the college admissions process. Instead, they will give you advice that is best for their high school's status.
You just make stuff up don't you?
I am not even a guidance counselor and I have spoken to college admissions officers about students, and their questions about our school, on more than a dozen occasions.
Who am I going to believe, you who has weird hang ups about donut commercials or the people who actually do this for a living?
College admissions decisions are a confidential process that high school guidance counselors are not privy to. So, high school guidance counselors cannot give accurate information about the college admissions process. Instead, they will give you advice that is best for their high school's status.
The thing that is best for the high school's status is to get kids admitted to elite colleges. It is my experience that schools with good GCs do understand the ins and outs of college admissions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lkb0714
You just make stuff up don't you?
I am not even a guidance counselor and I have spoken to college admissions officers about students, and their questions about our school, on more than a dozen occasions.
Who am I going to believe, you who has weird hang ups about donut commercials or the people who actually do this for a living?
Quote:
Originally Posted by strawflower
Well this is just plain incorrect.
Then I guess I was just given bad advice by my guidance counselor. In 9th and 10th grade I was in regular English, and continued into regular English in 11th grade. After the first quarter, my teacher felt that I should be in honors English (which was significantly harder than regular English, but did not have a weighted grade). I expressed concern to my guidance counselor that based on the grades I was expecting that year, I would almost certainly be above 4.0 with an A in regular English, but that a B+ in honors English would push me just off that 4.0 cliff. Her response was that colleges prefer well-rounded students, and that since I was a math / science oriented student, colleges would prefer a B in honors English and a sub-4.0 GPA and a class ranking below the top 5% rather than an A in regular English and a 4.0 GPA (which meant my rank being listed as 99th percentile).
That turned out to be bad advice. As expected, I got a B+ in honors English, which dropped my GPA to 3.98 and my percentile to 92nd. As I said, that cost me a scholarship at a school that gave a scholarship to anybody in the top 5%, but did not care what level English class you were in. Also, there were several students with "only" a 4.0 GPA that got into Ivy League colleges, but nobody with a 3.98 or lower GPA. I will never know for sure if I would have gotten into any Ivy League colleges with a 4.0 and 99th percentile rank, but I do know for sure that listening to my guidance counselor cost me a scholarship at at least one school.
I will never know for sure if I would have gotten into any Ivy League colleges with a 4.0 and 99th percentile rank, but I do know for sure that listening to my guidance counselor cost me a scholarship at at least one school.
was it an automatic scholarship? Asking because if not, then you don't know you lost it because of GPA, even if you had your 4.0, you may not have gotten it due to some other factor?
it's like being upset at the casino slot machine, someone sits down after you got up and wins, it wasn't "your" win if you had played one more time because it may not have won but it did
was it an automatic scholarship? Asking because if not, then you don't know you lost it because of GPA, even if you had your 4.0, you may not have gotten it due to some other factor?
Yes, it would have been an automatic scholarship. And I should clarify that it was not an Ivy League school.
Quote:
it's like being upset at the casino slot machine, someone sits down after you got up and wins, it wasn't "your" win if you had played one more time because it may not have won but it did
The problem in this whole discussion is people keep talking about elite students at elite high schools and Ivy level colleges. You're also confounding separating degrees of A+ from D's, when it's really about separating A+ from A- and B+. The vast majority of students out there are not in elite schools and won't get into those few elite colleges. What they are aiming for is scholarship slots at mostly flagships and LACs. It's a competition for scholarship dollars, even at in state publics. Susie basketweaver and Sally rocket surgeon are both going to the same public U. Sally rocket surgeon might AP out of a couple of freshman core classes that Susie basketweaver has to take but Susie will be paying less for it.
Of course they could also be in a state where top 10% get automatic admission to the flagship, so Susie goes to Flagship U and Sally has to settle for Podunk State.
When you get away from the elite mindset, all these things, GPA, class rank, etc have real impacts on real people.
The problem in this whole discussion is people keep talking about elite students at elite high schools and Ivy level colleges. You're also confounding separating degrees of A+ from D's, when it's really about separating A+ from A- and B+. The vast majority of students out there are not in elite schools and won't get into those few elite colleges. What they are aiming for is scholarship slots at mostly flagships and LACs. It's a competition for scholarship dollars, even at in state publics. Susie basketweaver and Sally rocket surgeon are both going to the same public U. Sally rocket surgeon might AP out of a couple of freshman core classes that Susie basketweaver has to take but Susie will be paying less for it.
Of course they could also be in a state where top 10% get automatic admission to the flagship, so Susie goes to Flagship U and Sally has to settle for Podunk State.
When you get away from the elite mindset, all these things, GPA, class rank, etc have real impacts on real people.
I think they have real impacts on real people even at the elite level. Elite students are real people.
I agree that it isn't about separating As from Ds. It is about separating kids who get A+ in an honors poetry class from kids who get an A+ in an AP academic elective (at the elite level). I see this affecting all college bound students not just the elite. However, even if it only affected the elite students it still has real consequences on real students.
Do we really want kids skipping lunch to get in another AP class? Do we really want kids skipping classes in art, music and theater (which tend to get no/less weighting) just to become complete AP drones?
Then I guess I was just given bad advice by my guidance counselor. In 9th and 10th grade I was in regular English, and continued into regular English in 11th grade. After the first quarter, my teacher felt that I should be in honors English (which was significantly harder than regular English, but did not have a weighted grade). I expressed concern to my guidance counselor that based on the grades I was expecting that year, I would almost certainly be above 4.0 with an A in regular English, but that a B+ in honors English would push me just off that 4.0 cliff. Her response was that colleges prefer well-rounded students, and that since I was a math / science oriented student, colleges would prefer a B in honors English and a sub-4.0 GPA and a class ranking below the top 5% rather than an A in regular English and a 4.0 GPA (which meant my rank being listed as 99th percentile).
That turned out to be bad advice. As expected, I got a B+ in honors English, which dropped my GPA to 3.98 and my percentile to 92nd. As I said, that cost me a scholarship at a school that gave a scholarship to anybody in the top 5%, but did not care what level English class you were in. Also, there were several students with "only" a 4.0 GPA that got into Ivy League colleges, but nobody with a 3.98 or lower GPA. I will never know for sure if I would have gotten into any Ivy League colleges with a 4.0 and 99th percentile rank, but I do know for sure that listening to my guidance counselor cost me a scholarship at at least one school.
And right on cue, long anecdote, proving you are the victim and hold no personal responsibility. How refreshing!
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