NPHC grade requirements?

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by tld221

this doesnt really make sense. countless times isnt it mentioned in NPC rush threads that HS GPAs can be a reflection of how a PNM would do her first year, but then again it be totally misleading? and that HS GPAs are used more often than not in bid selection?

and pray tell, what are these "issues" you speak of?

Oh, and yes NPCs look at GPAs for membership evaluation. And sometimes it turns out that a straight A high school kid can't do well with college level work, but I suspect that more often than not, good students continue to be good students and slackers continue to be slackers.

I also think that GPA is one of the areas in which NPC groups really like to compete to the level that it might affect individual behavior.

And if a group valued service or campus involvement more that being #1 in grades, then it would be hard to compete with the chapter that partially defined themselves by always being at the top of the GPA list.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Oh, and yes NPCs look at GPAs for membership evaluation. And sometimes it turns out that a straight A high school kid can't do well with college level work, but I suspect that more often than not, good students continue to be good students and slackers continue to be slackers.

I also think that GPA is one of the areas in which NPC groups really like to compete to the level that it might affect individual behavior.

And if a group valued service or campus involvement more that being #1 in grades, then it would be hard to compete with the chapter that partially defined themselves by always being at the top of the GPA list.

while being known as "the greek org with the highest GPA" is awesome, if the motivation is "because we win" and not because, well you want to get good grades anyway....

i kinda cant buy that. getting good grades takes effort and doesnt happen overnight. at the same time, early on, one blemish can totally screw up a GPA. lets say youre a frosh and youve got a near perfect first semester--a B+ screwed up your otherwise straight-A semester. but then you bomb out that second time around (unlikely, but lets say this student gets like D's and F's), that GPA drops to what, something under a 3.0? not bad i suppose, but youve gotta have a couple awesome semesters to catch up. as in, youd need to get straight A's for the next few semesters to get back up to what you had that first semester.

or it can happen in reverse: you bomb out first semester and then you play catch up for the next few semester to prove you can cut it.

and to make this circular, this froshie, with her 2.something in a house of 3.something-plus house may not affect the overall house GPA, but in a smaller chapter, surely.

[UGAalum94]

I think all NPC have ideals that value scholarship, so it's not contrary in any way for them to value getting good grades, but I do really think that for some chapters, GPA is really emphasized more than at others. And I think once you are number one, it's really hard to face falling to three or four, so the really competitive chapters may be less interested in a girl who is a "grade risk" during recruitment and then they start self selecting for high grades maybe more than other chapters.

(Although all chapters want girls with good grades, I think, and to be honest, the whole process kind of self selects for the same type of good-grade making, involved on campus type of person.)

And NPCs typically are bigger, so one or two girls aren't going to pull their average down that much, absolutely.

But you know, it seems like we're almost accepting that NPC grades would be higher when we really don't have conclusive evidence of that. That's what I mean about it generally being interesting. If it were true, these might be the reasons.

It might turn out that all NPHC groups have higher average GPAs nationally than the NPC and NIC groups. And it would be equally interesting to speculate about why that would be true. Would smaller chapters inspire a person to work harder in class because he or she is one of the few representatives of the group? Is it that the legacy of perseverance and triumph that some of the groups have inspires at a deep level? It it that only the academic creme de la creme join NPHCs, so the average high school experience by race doesn't matter? Is it that by joining later, you'd be more serious?

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

It might turn out that all NPHC groups have higher average GPAs nationally than the NPC and NIC groups. And it would be equally interesting to speculate about why that would be true. Would smaller chapters inspire a person to work harder in class because he or she is one of the few representatives of the group? Is it that the legacy of perseverance and triumph that some of the groups have inspires at a deep level? It it that only the academic creme de la creme join NPHCs, so the average high school experience by race doesn't matter? Is it that by joining later, you'd be more serious?

I really wish there was a collection of threads that we could just point people to where this topic has been discussed in some form. What a boring topic.

[MeezDiscreet]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

I think all NPC have ideals that value scholarship, so it's not contrary in any way for them to value getting good grades, but I do really think that for some chapters, GPA is really emphasized more than at others. And I think once you are number one, it's really hard to face falling to three or four, so the really competitive chapters may be less interested in a girl who is a "grade risk" during recruitment and then they start self selecting for high grades maybe more than other chapters.

(Although all chapters want girls with good grades, I think, and to be honest, the whole process kind of self selects for the same type of good-grade making, involved on campus type of person.)

And NPCs typically are bigger, so one or two girls aren't going to pull their average down that much, absolutely.

But you know, it seems like we're almost accepting that NPC grades would be higher when we really don't have conclusive evidence of that. That's what I mean about it generally being interesting. If it were true, these might be the reasons.

It might turn out that all NPHC groups have higher average GPAs nationally than the NPC and NIC groups. And it would be equally interesting to speculate about why that would be true. Would smaller chapters inspire a person to work harder in class because he or she is one of the few representatives of the group? Is it that the legacy of perseverance and triumph that some of the groups have inspires at a deep level? It it that only the academic creme de la creme join NPHCs, so the average high school experience by race doesn't matter? Is it that by joining later, you'd be more serious?

That value is echoed in the NPHC as well. (side note: I've never spoken in terms of the NPHC outside of GC. In UG and beyond, it was just about Delta! )

You're pondering pretty hard on an issue that is very campus-specific. The OP should go ask those chapter members why their GPA is so low then report his/her findings.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by MeezDiscreet

That value is echoed in the NPHC as well. (side note: I've never spoken in terms of the NPHC outside of GC. In UG and beyond, it was just about Delta! )

You're pondering pretty hard on an issue that is very campus-specific. The OP should go ask those chapter members why their GPA is so low then report his/her findings.

Oh, I didn't mean to suggest that other groups didn't value scholarship. I was just clarifying that when groups were out to make good grades, it wasn't just about showing other people up. The competition may be enjoyable when you are at the top, but it does serve the overall values too.

Well, the topic might be campus specific, it might be part of a broad trend, or it might be an exception to the trend. But it's tied to a pretty important issue in terms of trends in educational achievement.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Well, the topic might be campus specific, it might be part of a broad trend, or it might be an exception to the trend. But it's tied to a pretty important issue in terms of trends in educational achievement.

But this thread is just about NPHC chapters that certain folks have observed. Nothing much to discuss that hasn't already been discussed. And why this person is wondering about the "educational achievement" of the NPHC chapters in question is beyond my comprehension.