Rush question regarding GPA

[gee_ess]

In my experience with Ole Miss rush, the letter has been helpful. It can explain your situation in better detail. For examply, maybe your ADD went undiagnosed until later in hs, and that would be the explanation for the low GPA, etc. Also, on most college campuses, they have special help/resource center, etc for diagnosed learning disabilities, and that knowledge tells the sorority that you will be getting help with the college load.

That said, GPA is a big deal in competitive rush, and most houses are only allowed to take very few below their own house GPA requirement( which for some houses is far higher than the GPA required to go through rush.) Those exceptions are based on other info - were you extremely involved in hs?

Last, Ole Miss has a slightly deferred rush and be sure to treat those weeks prior to rush with care - (no crazy drunken escapades) Treat it like one big job interview.

[DG4evah]

I know our sorority(my home chapter and I've been an advisor to another)advisors would tend to look at where you went to high school. Is it known as a hard school?

Definitely get the letter.

If it makes you feel any better, I had a 2.5 GPA coming in ( I went to several different high schools- one which was well-known for being hard). I also have a very hard time with math. In fact, I flunked Algebra I, and I was in gifted class! I had a lot of bad Math teachers. I made all A's my senior year, and I still had that crummy GPA. Growing up, I never had to study at all and did well on scholastic aptitude tests. I think when I got to high school, I just didn't really know how to study until I got to senior year.

I was cut from one of the top sororities (I hope just because of that! - spots were competitive there so I'm sure they have to ultimately decide things with GPA's), but had a great rush otherwise. Yes, I know Ole Miss is more competitive than my school, Southern Miss.

The good news was I made a 4.0 my first semester and for other semesters after that! Yay! Well, until I met my hubby..... Anyway, I ended with a 3.3. I know my niece is at Ole Miss right now, and she's been breezing through it after her hard AP load at a Jackson private school. High schools are really hard now, if you are taking honors classes, AP classes, or the hardest - International Baccalaureate classes. Her GPA went up a good bit from high school. Maybe yours will too with hard work.

So, I'm not a fan of the ridiculously high GPA's as a requirement, simply because I've been in that position. Also, sororities have study halls which you don't get if you are an independent. So it would not be a surprise if your grades go up when you get on campus. You just need to be working diligently once you get there.

I think the whole picture of the potential new member needs to be looked at. Was there a divorce during high school years? Was a parent ill with cancer? Hopefully, through your recommendation letters (also known as sponsor forms), the person writing them will know you well enough to get the reason for your poor grades- a learning disability- across.

I also saw on the website that they will look at your ACT scores as well. That could be really helpful because many will be high in reading and extremely low in Math (my situation but back then they didn't look at all that) or vice versa. It becomes pretty obvious that there's a learning problem when you have a big discrepancy like a 25 on the Reading section and an 11 in the Math section!

A lot of people think incorrectly that there is all this help now in schools for people with the milder learning disabilities and there just isn't. As a former teacher plus having a child with mild autism, most of us do not know how to deal with LD children. That's why LindaMood Bell does so well, despite charging 20K for their services. For people with ADD, it's basically Ritalin or some other drug and that's it.
Many people have this and will be sympathetic.

I wish you good luck! I know that being in a sorority helped me in so many ways- my grades and just encouragement from sisters. They saw good things in me and developed them- things I couldn't see for myself.

[hgraham08]

Thank you (to everyone) so much! I do go to a hard private school in Memphis and I also play varsity/club soccer year round. I am involved in clubs at my school and I have a job. So I think it is safe to say that I am involved. Also, during high school I had been taking a certain medicine to treat my ADD and it was just not doing the trick. In late January of this year I was put on a different medicine and my grades shot up. Right now I have all A's and B's, which obviously has not been the case through high school.

On another note, my friends and I were talking and we were just a little confused as to whether sororities look at your senior year GPA or your entire high school.

[gee_ess]

The info you just shared regarding your meds, activities, etc is very important! It will be important to see that the change in meds made a difference and that your senior year grades have improved. This is the type of information the women writing your recs will need...Job responsibilities, volunteer duties, and extracurricular activities also need to be included in your resume to show how busy you were during high school.

Sidenote- Make sure you are registered and attend any panhellenic meetings that are held in the Memphis area. They will help you with info regarding Ole Miss rush.

Also, one last point - you have been very forthcoming in explaining your situation, but please do not give out any more personal info that could cause a sorority girl at Ole Miss to figure out who you are...this could only hurt you and we want you to have a successful recruitment!

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by hgraham08

Thank you (to everyone) so much! I do go to a hard private school in Memphis and I also play varsity/club soccer year round. I am involved in clubs at my school and I have a job. So I think it is safe to say that I am involved. Also, during high school I had been taking a certain medicine to treat my ADD and it was just not doing the trick. In late January of this year I was put on a different medicine and my grades shot up. Right now I have all A's and B's, which obviously has not been the case through high school.

On another note, my friends and I were talking and we were just a little confused as to whether sororities look at your senior year GPA or your entire high school.

I was going to say, you probably had to have several redeeming qualities to get into Ole Miss, because without sports, clubs, job, and a challenging high school, someone with a GPA that low probably wouldn't get into Ole Miss (anyone more famililar with Ole Miss correct me if I'm wrong).

Sororities will look at your whole GPA, most likely. HOWEVER, this brings up another important point. At any SEC school, and especially Ole Miss, you must have at least one rec for each chapter (I believe Chi Omega at Ole Miss wants at least 2). Have your rec writers play up your recent academic success (at a challenging high school no less), among your other good qualities. Definitely write the letter explaining your learning disability. Understand that it won't be a free pass for an invite for the next round (because there is no such thing at a school as competitive as Ole Miss, not even legacy status), but if your recs and your personality shine (and it'll be extra helpful if you are friends with any current members of Ole Miss chapters), you may just have a chance.

[Ole Miss Phi Mu]

Ditto to what everyone has said. I'm glad to see that your grades are coming up. I would definately get the letter, because it does help us see why your grades aren't the best. Example, one of my rush crushes last year was in the same situation you're in. She had ADD, but it wasn't diagnosed until the end of her junior year. However, none of us knew about this until the first party, so there wasn't anything we could do. I don't remember what her GPA was, but I know that she did get a bid.

So definately get the letter, it won't guarantee a bid it just gives us a heads up. Also stay involved and make sure to get recs. Ole Miss is very lucky to have nine amazing sororities, so go in it with an open mind. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. Good luck!

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

I was going to say, you probably had to have several redeeming qualities to get into Ole Miss, because without sports, clubs, job, and a challenging high school, someone with a GPA that low probably wouldn't get into Ole Miss (anyone more famililar with Ole Miss correct me if I'm wrong).

Sororities will look at your whole GPA, most likely. HOWEVER, this brings up another important point. At any SEC school, and especially Ole Miss, you must have at least one rec for each chapter (I believe Chi Omega at Ole Miss wants at least 2). Have your rec writers play up your recent academic success (at a challenging high school no less), among your other good qualities. Definitely write the letter explaining your learning disability. Understand that it won't be a free pass for an invite for the next round (because there is no such thing at a school as competitive as Ole Miss, not even legacy status), but if your recs and your personality shine (and it'll be extra helpful if you are friends with any current members of Ole Miss chapters), you may just have a chance.

Slight hijack - Is Ole Miss (or any of the other SECs - besides Vandelbuilt) really that hard just to get into? I mean admissions wise, not for Greek life. In the north, a lot of the state schools are looked at as "safety schools", grades-wise. Is it different down there?

[estherjb]

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

Slight hijack - Is Ole Miss (or any of the other SECs - besides Vandelbuilt) really that hard just to get into?

It's not really a hijack because it does affect the rushees. The admissions requirements are very different now. Georgia is very difficult to get into so lots of good students apply to neighboring states making the applicant pools larger there. That's just onje reason some state universities are still safety schools but nothing like it was.
So lots of the girls going through rush at some state schools are high gpa, high SAT, super girls making it harder to stand out.

Re: the focus on GPA, it makes me think of when colleges wanted the most well-rounded students. Now the focus is on the well rounded student body, where each member has a strength. I think the sorority is the same. If all the members are leaders, whom will they lead? Each house needs scholars, athletes, nurturers, organizers, leaders, and yes, followers. So,imho, the gpa is only one of the things to consider.

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

Slight hijack - Is Ole Miss (or any of the other SECs - besides Vandelbuilt) really that hard just to get into? I mean admissions wise, not for Greek life. In the north, a lot of the state schools are looked at as "safety schools", grades-wise. Is it different down there?

Standards for state schools in general have gone up considerably. I don't think that someone would get into a flagship state school with a 2.5 GPA out of high school if they didn't have everything else going for them.

[ree-Xi]

Thanks for the replies. I guess as more people apply for college (thanks to better financial aid options, better college preparation, and stronger high school academic programs), the applicant pool is larger, and the cutoffs occur at a higher level.

When I was in high school, 98% of my graduating class went to a 4-year college. I wonder what the average is, for the country, by region, state, etc., and amongt public and private/parochial schools.

What are your high schools like in terms of people going onto 4-year schools? I am interested in finding out if there is a lower percentage because application processes are more stringent.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

Standards for state schools in general have gone up considerably. I don't think that someone would get into a flagship state school with a 2.5 GPA out of high school if they didn't have everything else going for them.

And high school grade inflation is pretty terrible at most schools, so a 2.5 wouldn't point to the likelihood of being successful at most four year colleges these days, either.

[SMUalphachi]

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

Slight hijack - Is Ole Miss (or any of the other SECs - besides Vandelbuilt) really that hard just to get into? I mean admissions wise, not for Greek life. In the north, a lot of the state schools are looked at as "safety schools", grades-wise. Is it different down there?

I don't know anything about SEC schools, but I know Texas is the same way. I had a 3.9 gpa, very high SATs, great resume, tons of AP classes, loads of community service... but I didn't even bother applying to UT as I was not in the top 10% of my class. (I don't know about other states, but top 10% students in Texas are all automatically admitted to any Texas public school. When I applied to college, Texas was the only university who didn't also allow high SAT scores as automatic admission. I was auto admit everywhere else but knew I would never come close to getting into Texas.) From what I hear about SEC schools, they sound as intense (or even more intense) than UT.

Of course, there are still state schools that are safety schools. But from what I hear, UT courses are just as challenging as the courses in my private school.