High School GPA
 

Will a low high school GPA hurt me during rush? I will be rushing before I have a chance to establish myself in college.

Probably

It really depends on your school and how low your GPA actually is.

my gpa is slightly below a 2.5 I got a 28 on my ACT and will be rushing at mizzou

Yes. It will hurt you.

do the fraternities have access to high school grades?

You really should be focusing on school.

Depending on how strict of a process Mizzou is with rushing, the school may verify your HS GPA before you rush to make sure you're eligible.

It depends.

Very few fraternities I knew looked at grades. Mine didn't. Whether or not that's normal, I don't know.

Yeah, it really depends on the fraternity and what they're after. For example, if a fraternity decides they want to use recruitment to make themselves more academically-focused, the GPA may play a huge role. My fraternity actually happens to have a certain academic focus, so we look very strongly at GPA. However, this doesn't necessarily apply to other fraternities.

It's just kind of like religion: most fraternities (mine included) don't really care about your religious beliefs, but religiously-focused ones may take it into strong consideration.

In any case, still give it a try. The real thing all fraternities look for is whether or not you'd be a good fit, and you have no chance of getting a bid if you don't put yourself out there in the first place.

thank you, I am hoping my grades do not kill me and my athletics and other clubs I was involved in can help me.

I am attending ole miss in the fall, and i have a 2.3 gpa and a 21 on act. ive already ben accepted. it says the lowest gpa you can have is a 2.5 if you want to participate in rush, but is this true? and is there anyway ill be able to rush a frat?

They say the minimum GPA is 2.5. Why would they lie about it?

There is no requirement at my University. But Greek Life isn't as big out here and competitive as it is on the mainland. (I got to Hawaii).

Seriously? I didn't know such incredible schools like Mizzou and Ole Miss would take people with such low scores. Am I missing something?

I'm more disturbed that the OP has such a low HIGH SCHOOL GPA and is busy worrying about Greekdom. You still got into college so worry about doing better in college than you did in high school; and then worry about Greekdom.

As for fraternities and GPAs, it arguably isn't just the fraternities with academic purposes that care about GPAs. National fraternities chapters (that have strict national guidelines and are required to adhere to them) tend to adhere to national guidelines. Some chapters will work hard to ignore national guidelines to bring in men with lower GPAs. Others will not. Also, some colleges and universities are strict on GPA. Therefore, some fraternity chapters will adhere to their institution's guidelines as to avoid things like getting placed on probation and so forth.

Across institutions and across councils and conferences, I've seen some fraternity chapters get "in trouble" and have outcomes such as being threatened of having their charter revoked. They tried to depict themselves as the "laid back chapter" (among other things) that doesn't care about GPAs. Well, that was counter to their National guidelines and/or their institution's guidelines. Fail.

LOL - that was my first thought too. Some schools, however, do take into account the rigor of high school coursework in the admissions decision. For example, an applicant from a competitive and challenging high school with a lower GPA might be weighed the same as an applicant with a higher GPA from a less challenging high school, within reason.

Couldn't agree more. I recently wrote something in a sorority recruitment thread about GPA and the shock that comes first semester (or first quarter) when making the transition from high school to university/college.

If the OP had a "perfect" score on his nationally standardized test, yet a still less than stellar GPA (being kind here), that would suggest to me that the cognitive ability is there and that he hadn't applied himself to his studies. He could "get by" in high school without studying, in other words. Well, that doesn't happen in college. Crystal ball says: in for a rude awakening.

Yes, unlike that National Honor Society thread about the 3.0 and above GPA (LOL), the OP here has a 2.5. Then we have another username with a 2.3 worrying about rush.

Regardless of how competitive or rigorous the high school is, it is only high school. People better not run around in college and throughout life boasting about a competitive high school. If you have a 2.5 or below in high school, tighten it up so that you can prepare for college BEFORE worrying about having a high enough GPA to rush.

It depends what you major in. Even at big state schools, you can skate by pretty easily if you pick the right thing.

Whoa. Are people advocating skating? I would never tell a high school or college student that they can skate through.

Skating isn't something to aim for whether it pertains to college or Greekdom. If people graduate high school or college with a less than preferred GPA, okay. But that should never be the ultimate goal.

:)

^^^and I see that ("skate by pretty easily") as a problem. Those members who barely make a 2.0 GPA (or worse), or those who are between a 2.0 and a 2.5, may not only be on scholastic probation (which means they miss out on social events, for example), but they pull down the entire house GPA, which affects the sorority or fraternity standing. That matters. That's not good. That's my opinion, fwiw.

This really bothers me.

And never ever ever tell someone that certain majors allow skaters. That breeds angry and utterly shocked college students who assumed they had chosen an easy major. They get angry because the classes aren't easy and the professors actually challenge them. Gosh, imagine that! Students who expected to skate then begin dropping classes (which can create admissions and financial aid issues, depending on when they drop)

Telling students they can skate also breeds negative student-professor evaluations and tension on the part of departments-administration when students no longer want to take certain courses, or choose certain majors, because they aren't as "easy" as they had been told. You even have some departments that are trying to remove prerequisites or reduce the course load to accommodate those who want maximum gain with minimum effort. Bad idea for the individuals involved and bad idea for the American education system.

Bringing back the CO-SIGN!

Over a third of students are getting through college without doing any critical thinking.

Look, I'm not saying it's right, but the fact remains that many, many students get bachelor's degrees without doing any real college-level work. I have attended three schools of higher education at this point, and I am certain that every one of them had classes that required very little effort. I don't think that should be anyone's goal upon entering college, as students should learn as much as they possibly can in the time allotted, but some departments or professors just don't have the rigor of others.

This means nothing in relation to what you said or what I said.

Academicians already know that the average college student is a "C" student. But, if it was just about choosing easy classes and easy majors, the average student would range from "B" to "A." Unless people are now claiming that college students are so lazy and/or dumb that they can still only get a "C" even in the "easiest" classes or majors.

Then don't appear as though you are recommending it. If there happen to be easier classes and easier majors at some schools, let students find that on their own; or let their academic advisers direct them accordingly.

But, since you posted that article about that study for which I'm already quite familiar, all studies have limitations and implications for future research:
General education requirements are designed to provide basic understanding but not to develop those skills to the maximum. Some basic skills would hopefully be developed before college so we need to critique the American education system, and family educational structures, before students get to college. College majors are designed to develop some skills but not others. This issue with college majors is one reason why some schools minimize the importance of majors/minors and even grades. When I talk to some biology majors across institutions, for example, they will not know many of the things that I consider basic because they are set on a specific concentration. I would have to teach some of them this information, even those who are getting ready to graduate. Even after teaching them, some of these students still get a "C," "D," or "F." However, I would never claim that biology is an easy major, in which some of its students can skate, just because some of these students would do poorly (and have a lower GPA) if their college knowledge was based on my areas of expertise and courses outside of their major.

Pathetic.

The students ARE to blame for not applying themselves. Eff what you heard.

Naturally! :D

<-- BA in English lol

C-C-C-COSIGN!

Sounds like someone's critical thinking skills are subpar. *smirk*

All I saw was "C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER" Lol

lmao

I did not recommend it. I simply said it was possible. There is a difference between "you can do X" and "you should do X".

Every thread about grades turns into "OMG COLLEGE IS SO SCARY YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT!!!" Yes, you should get your act together if you were a C student in high school. Yes, you should think twice about pledging your first semester (and orgs should think twice about pledging you!) if don't have good time management skills. But the fact of the matter is that most students who did okay in high school will also do okay in college.

A lot of lazy students will get by, too. Universities/professors/departments are under too much pressure to keep students happy, and to keep them from failing out. It's unfortunate, definitely, but it does not change the facts.

Your statement can not only be interpreted as a recommendation, it was based on an assumption that some majors are "easy." Which majors are the "easy" majors, pray tell.

Okay in high school =/= Okay in college

What are the "facts?"

Students are failing classes, failing out of college, losing their scholarships, and doing so poorly that they are ineligible for financial aid. I guess skating doesn't always work. The average university/professor/department is not letting students skate through with "easy" classes and "easy" majors to make students happy. There can be accreditation problems with having an average student that is a skater; and there are reputation issues when you release skaters to graduate schools and jobs.

This means that *drum roll* high school students and collegiates should not approach college with the expectation of skating and even the belief that skating is possible. They will look foolish and many of them will eventually get a rude awakening either before or after they graduate from college. That applies to those who successfully skate and those who failed miserably at skating.

According to the article I linked, students learn very little in education, business, communications, and social work. According to this study, grade inflation is highest in the humanities.

The vast majority of students who leave college do so for financial reasons. Here's a study on that, too.

:(

And the point soars waaaaaaaay over your head.

Don't post studies to me. I know all about studies. I've read thousands of them, as well as conducted some. If this were a literature review you would fail at the ability to find the overall point and patterns across the studies that you have posted. Don't reach conclusions because you've read a study. Those studies are not designed to reach sweeping and permanent conclusions. They are designed as illustrations for which to make generalizations with consideration to limitations. They are based on qualitative and/or quantitative research and sampling. They include limitations and implications for future research for a reason.

I see you are arguing with yourself in back-to-back sentences, so you clearly don't need me to hang around here anymore.

Do you not know the difference between "sweeping and permanent conclusions" and "illustrations for which to make generalizations?"

If that's the case, I don't need you here.

Flounce much?

Good thread. Sunny day.

Using this specific post as an example of an ongoing frustration I'm having: What's with the increase in (traditional) college-age students thinking they're above rules/policies? Over the past ten or so years, more and more students are questioning/challenging/appealing university policies. What's interesting, is that the heli-parent syndrome seems to have backed off to make room for the rules-don't-apply-to-me revolution. Not trying to generalize, just pointing out a trend I've noticed.