What GPA is too low for your campus?
 

So many of the PNMs I've done recs for have outstanding GPAs that I no longer feel like I have a handle on what a normal GPA is.

I'm not wondering about official minimums to offer bids. I would like to know, just in the opinions of recent undergraduate members or alumnae working with chapters, at what point for your campus is a GPA low enough that it's going to affect a PNM's recruitment.

(I know that nobody can probably say anything official.)

ETA: Can a girl with a below a 3.0 out of high school expect a bid in the SEC?

Well, for my chapter, you must have a 3.0 to join and a 2.6 to stay active.

I would imagine the standards would be pretty high for competitive SEC schools as well, but I wouldn't know.

Maryland has deferred recruitment. First semester freshmen can join if they have 12 credits (usually AP), and there is no cutoff for high school GPA because of the small number of freshmen rushing and because it can't be that low if you were accepted to the University in the first place.

In the spring, it's only the college GPA that counts. The GPA to go through recruitment is a 2.5, but most of the chapters have published minimums of 2.6-2.8. PNMs with between a 2.8 and a 3.0 are usually questionable and below a 2.8 will usually get you cut by a lot of chapters early on, though generally, if they get a bid, it's because there is another factor that compensates for their deficiency.

If you really believe it was just her grades, why did you think it was important to tell us about her size and appearance?

I suspect there are a ton of beautiful girls with low GPAs that get a pass because of their appearance.

I'm just wondering what other people think. I've seen a couple of GPAs that are kind of low for girls going through recruitment from our local high schools (2.6-3.0 for high school) and my first impression, because I've grown accustomed to seeing 3.5+ GPAs, is that these PNMs might have some trouble just with grades in recruitment.

This is just from the random alumna perspective; I'm not on the chapter side of things.

Did we have a list of the minimum GPA to pledge NPC groups at the national/international level? Anyone know where?

One of the girls is looking at recruitment at Ole Miss with a 3.0 out of high school.

Is that likely to be a problem with some groups there or is that okay?

To me a 3.0 out of high school today, unless its a realllllly good high school probably, isn't going to equal a 3.0+ in college.

ETA: There's no course of action that I'm considering based on this information. (I'm not looking to write harsh recs or anything. I don't think I know something the chapter doesn't.) I'm just curious about whether it's likely to hurt the PNM, or if I've just gotten used to seeing really high GPAs most of the time and that this grade range out of high school is cool.

I have no idea about Ole Miss, but I know grade inflation is a huge issue which makes me look at the whole package instead of GPA. I am lucky enough to have the luxury of not having a lot of recs to write so I can really get to know women and their whole story.

My school is not competitive.

There is no minimum GPA set by the school for freshman PNMs; transfers and upperclassmen must have a 2.0. However, to my knowledge, the individual chapters each have GPA minimums higher than that.

Right, general grade inflation is so common that I wonder if chapters look at grade risk cut-offs a lot higher than they used to.

I just wonder if the girls in question need to be prepared from some kind of hard early cuts or if they are in pretty good shape. It's strange not to have any idea.

I think that really depends on the GPAs of the entire pool of pnms each year.

In year 1 - you might have 100 pnms, all with very close GPAs above all of the campus & chapter totals. They might range from 3.0-4.0. If most of the pnms have closer to a 4.0, those who have 3.0-3.2 might be at a greater risk of being cut from the most competitive houses based on grades than those who have higher GPAs. So that year, a GPA between 3.0-3.2 might be "too low" even if they are above the minimums

In year 2 - you might have the same number of pnms - all with GPAs above all of the campus & chapter totals, but the range is 2.7-4.0. That year "too low" might be considered 2.7-3.0 because the range is a little bit bigger

But that's based on grades alone... there are so many different areas that are looked at and chapters use different MS processes to get different types of members. One chapter for example, might only want girls with a 3.8-4.0 because they have won grades every semester for the last decade and they want to keep that up. Another chapter might be OK with someone who got a 3.0 because they had a lot of philanthropic work or whatever. So I think "too low" is also a function of the way chapters are selecting members

This is why I try to get a lot of information on a woman so I can honestly represent her to my sisters and she is given a fair chance to not fall through the cracks because grades are often a method many sororities use to make initial cuts. I am very honest that GPA is a method for initial decisions, and they shouldn't take it personally if they aren't invited back.

I'm not talking about women who have below the campus minimum, though that has happened. I've only written one rec for a woman who was above a 2.0 but below the majority or all of the campus chapter minimums. I've been surprised and amazed at what the real story is (sick family member, watched siblings because parent lost job and they had no money for daycare, personal illness, took on employment to pay for college, and so on) and that these experiences are not just explanations for not having a 4.0, but are an example of character and personality. One woman had academic issues early in high school, but did amazing work junior and senior year, she had a 4.0 during senior year and had attended previous summer school/alternative school so she could graduate on time. If I hadn't taken the time to get to know her and looked at her transcripts, she would have probably been released completely the first day.

If I feel strongly about a PNM with a GPA that might be a deterrent, I also contact women I know in other groups and try and help her get a fair chance.

Grade inflation can also be a result of schools, and not all schools grade the same, finding out that information can be difficult.

In my chapter you need a 2.5 to receive a bid.You also must keep a 2.5 through out the pledge process and while your a brother or theres certain consequences. The actual university requires 2.25 to be involved in greek life. Each org has different requirements. 2.25 obviously being the min. and 2.5 being the max.

Our chapters Cummalitive GPA is a 2.9 and for last term was a 3.0.

Do you know anything about the high school? Do the girls in the chapters come from enough of a spectrum that they know which is what? I mean, are the girls in the chapter going to look and say "Trust me, 3.0 at Blue Footed Booby High is like getting a 4.0 at Woody Woodpecker High - BFBH makes you read War & Peace in 7th grade."

It's a good school for Georgia, no doubt, but its grading is probably about typical for the Atlanta suburban area. I don't think these kids will necessarily flunk out of college or anything, but I have no reason to believe they would have been 4.0 scholars at a different school.

Since I think these girls are going out of state (good luck getting in to UGA with a 3.0 out of high school these days), I doubt there will be a ton of people who really know anything about the schools.

These are kind of average students from a good public school.

In the olden days, there was still a place for you in Greek life with these kind of academic credentials, but I don't know what GPAs really look like these days in new member classes.

I would say that about 90% of the PNMs I know of have GPAs above 3.25, with most being higher than 3.5.

Are the PNMs I'm seeing typical?

ETA: the majority of girls that I end up writing recs for are going to SEC schools plus Georgia Tech. So I know that the PNMs aren't typical for everyplace. I just wonder if these GPAs are typical for these schools. These lower and hovering around 3.0 PNMs stick out in my pool. Will they stick out on campus?