Does anyone have a high school student NOT in honors or AP courses?

[Toby'sFriend]

This is an interesting subject that came up at a recent Parent meeting at my son's High School. His school uses a restrictive grade scale -- 94% is an A- and many of the teachers curve the classes to where the average grade is a C.

A few parents brought up the idea that it is hurting the kids when they apply to local colleges and universities. They are being compared with students coming from some schools where over 1/2 their students are listed on A/B Honor Roll. The faculty honestly wasn't receptive to the idea of change, but they did promise to talk with some of the local admission counselors to see what their thoughts are on the subject. The school has a very good track record with ACT/SAT scores though, and I think those are given significant weight.

My kid is only a Freshman so I honestly haven't thought about it much yet. He is also one of those "grades all over the place based on my current mood of the week" kind of students. He has tested well on a couple of the practice type ACT tests, so I think he'll be ok. I'm also kind of of the opinion that there will be a college that is a good fit for him out there.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I know when I was in HS, it was basically an accepted thing that if you weren't in honors/AP classes, you might as well forget about college. Because no college wants 'average' students.

TOV

 

[TimeforMe]

But there are different strokes for different folks, or so I've been told.

It's true. I also think college is not for everyone.

 

[chadfromdallas]

I know when I was in HS, it was basically an accepted thing that if you weren't in honors/AP classes, you might as well forget about college. Because no college wants 'average' students.

TOV

Where the heck did you grow up

 

[KarenC]

I know when I was in HS, it was basically an accepted thing that if you weren't in honors/AP classes, you might as well forget about college. Because no college wants 'average' students.

TOV

While our high school has very strong AP and honors programs, they do not encourage students to believe that if they don't take them, they won't go to college. Probably 20% of the school qualifies for honors and AP placement but 96% of the graduates go on to college.

 

[TimeforMe]

Part of the issue is that

A. A higher percentage of high school graduates are attending college and
B. We have reached another bulge in the population that is of college age

Record numbers of students are applying to colleges.

My daughter had a 4.4/4.0 and was in the top 7% of her highly competitive high school. She took honors math, science, french and english all four years. She had 4 AP courses. She was in band, orchestra, dance troupe, and the swim team. She got a 33 on her ACT and a 1310 on the SAT.

Her high school counselor told her that the University of Illinois was a "reach school" for her. She was accepted, but the fact that her counselor had to hedge illustrates how much the college admissions landscape is changing and it isn't getting less competitive. In fact, the school that the counselor was certain would admit my daughter was the one school to which she wasn't accepted, but was waitlisted.
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This is exactly to what I was referring.

We were also told that more "weight" is placed on good grades rather than SAT scores.

 

[monkeyboy]

I know when I was in HS, it was basically an accepted thing that if you weren't in honors/AP classes, you might as well forget about college. Because no college wants 'average' students.

TOV

What color is the sky in your world?

 

[mrsv98]

College admissions are so whacky, there is no telling what you need. Case in point, the boy I used to nanny. Straight A's, 7 AP courses, varsity soccer since Soph year, just an all around outstnading kid. Did not get into any of his first choice schools. He applied as a student, he wanted to concentrate on academics rather than sports, he could have gotten in for soccer just based on his size, he is 6'4" and a teriffic player but he didn't go that route. He ended p deciding on Michigan in the Honors program but it goes to show you that it is hard to predict what colleges are looking for. Have your daughter apply wherever she is interested, there is no telling what that particular school is looking for. Good luck!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Her high school counselor told her that the University of Illinois was a "reach school" for her.

U of I was incredibly difficult to get into back in 1986 when I was graduating from High School. I graduated 5th in my class, had a ton of extra curriculars, and a great ACT score but no way would I have been accepted into the Business school. I probably could have gone general Liberal ARts and transferred after a year or so, but it would have been a reach. I can believe that it is even harder now.

 

[DMickey28]

I did average classes, I think I might have taken ones honors physics courses but that's it.

I think it depends on what your daughter wants to do for what schools she should apply to. After ten years out working, unless you are a doctor, lawyer or other highend professional, the Name school doesn't seem to matter much.

I applied to and got into UConn, UMass, Florida Institute of Tech, Roger Williams, Boston University and Providence College... oh and Johnson and Wales (which I hear is now very easy to get into)

Not a lot of "great" schools or any for that matter but I got in... I even got merit scholarships.

 

[ead79]

I think it depends very much on how competitive the schools are. The competitiveness of state schools varies greatly by state, so those aren't always going to be acceptable fall backs. Some state schools also have very different requirements for in-state students vs. out of state students. I know that the Princeton Review offers books that rate how colleges are--that might be a good starting point for gauging possibilities.

For example, I graduated from high school in 1998 with a 4.118 GPA in nearly exclusively honors/AP courses. I had a large number of extra-curricular activities as well. I was accepted at Furman University (small, private school in SC) and the University of Georgia (public state school), but was denied at UNC Chapel Hill (public state school, but not in my state). It just varies widely.

Hope that helps some!

 

[Crankyshank]

Where the heck did you grow up

no kidding. I know plenty of kids not in AP or honors classes when I went to HS (class of 92) that had no problem getting into pretty good colleges

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

My DD (age 14) is in honors track English and Biology courses, but she has always lagged behind in Math. She maintains an A average in every class except for Math.

My concern for her is that we're in a small school in a small town with very few extra-curricular activities that are not related to sports, which are not her bag.

 

[KarenC]

Have your daughter apply wherever she is interested, there is no telling what that particular school is looking for. Good luck!

That's good advice. In fact, I have a friend at work who got a big scholarship to a private liberal arts school because she played the viola!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

DD is an average student (yes, I actually admit that ) who has never been eligible for honors classes. Her grades are actually very good, but she's taken "middlle" classes throughout her high school career and is presently a junior. Well, last night our high school had a meeting with reps from Vassar (a small private school) and SCSU (a large state school). Both they and the guidance counselors mentioned how important a rigorous course load is. I'm starting to panic and stress a little because dd's classes have all been average. Does she not stand a chance to get into a competitive college? Help!

I would think that as long as she was taking College Prep course work...has excellent grades, excellent test scores and does extra-curricular--she's just as competitive as an AP student who doesn't do anything but study. (A part-time job--while not the most logical extra-curricular--is something EXTRA).

Good luck!

 

[danacara]

We were all aid kids, as in, short of a miracle, we had to go wherever we got the most aid.

My brother was in the 3rd quintile of his class with a 3.0 (smack in the middle), six varsity letters, 1110 SAT, well-liked kid. Very mellow. He got into Tampa, Marist, Bryant, Providence, Rutgers; rejected from Villanova, Bucknell. He got a full scholarship to Tampa, where he's currently a sophomore with a 3.5, and for all I know he probably hangs out with DisDuck's daughter from the last page He loves it there.

Hey ead79 - I graduated the same year you did.

 

[Crankyshank]

DMickey - J&W is still really competitive if you want to go into culinary arts
I don't know about the other majors because I don't know anyone that goes there or went there that wasn't going for c.a

A lot of it also depends on the program they are applying for. My sister, for example, goes to UCONN. She's a pharmacology major. UCONN is an excellent school and pretty competitive but her program accepts 50 people per year. So depending on the number and the quality of program applicants, you could be a genius and still not get in.

 

[KarenC]

U of I was incredibly difficult to get into back in 1986 when I was graduating from High School. I graduated 5th in my class, had a ton of extra curriculars, and a great ACT score but no way would I have been accepted into the Business school. I probably could have gone general Liberal ARts and transferred after a year or so, but it would have been a reach. I can believe that it is even harder now.

I think for U of I, how hard it is to get into depends on where you go to high school. Class rank figures heavily into their decision making process, so if you go to a really competitive high school, it's harder to get in. My understanding is that they now make transferring between schools very difficult.

My daughter was accepted into their engineering program, but decided to go elsewhere, much to my disappointment.

 

[Chicago526]

I've always felt that, except for very specific employment areas, the name on the diploma doesn't matter a whole lot. A state school education is just as good (usually) as a exclusive private school.

Now, if a kid gets into one of those exclusive schools, that's great! But if they don't, and need to go to a state school, it's not the end of the world!

BTW, my fiance and I both did not go to college, and we do pretty well for ourselves. We are both in fields that don't require a degree. So it is possible to make a decent living with out a degree, though it's still better to have one than not. I hope to go back and finish college at some point. I love to learn, and it's not a bad idea to have one as a fall back, you never know how secure your job is these days!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Edited to add: What year did you attend college Esmeralda? They said that even in just the last few years the competition has increased tremendously.

It may have increased. I graduated from high school in 1994.