High School GPA

[als463]

Originally Posted by wareagle93

I got into UT-Austin (a Public Ivy) with a 3.42GPA and a 29ACT.

Ummm....Correct me if I'm wrong but, a 3.42 is MUCH DIFFERENT than the OP's 2.5 GPA...right?

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by wareagle93

I got into UT-Austin (a Public Ivy) with a 3.42GPA and a 29ACT.

How did you do this? I had a former student with close to a 4.0, probably over a 4.0 weighted with APs, and much higher scores who didn't even get wait listed. Congrats, though. How did you end up picking Auburn?

And I'm backing DeltaBetaBaby that some majors are pretty easy, especially relative to other majors. I have no idea how anyone in this thread will do, but there are probably a couple of in-state private high schools in Mississippi at which having a 2.3 might predict doing alright at Ole Miss, especially if one picks a less rigorous major. And the on-campus data is probably out there to allow a student to assess which classes, professors, and majors are likely to be less rigorous although it would be incredibly stupid to make your academic decisions primarily on that data. (ETA: It creeps me out, but I think there are websites that provide average grade distributions by course and professor, as well as others with student evaluations and commentary. I don't think this is a positive development overall for higher education, but it's available, and as far as the grades awarded data, I think it comes from the college itself. We can all tell kids not to use this information to choose coursework, but the information does exist.)

Neither one of us is trying to say that the point of college is to pick an easy major, skate through your academics, and join a frat, and I think those of you advising that the lower GPAs guys focus on academics first are correct.

ETA: I see this little lightbulb-ish icon at the top of this post. Where did that come from and what does it mean? Did I hit some keys I didn't mean to?

[wareagle93]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

How did you do this? I had a former student with close to a 4.0, probably over a 4.0 weighted with APs, and much higher scores who didn't even get wait listed. Congrats, though. How did you end up picking Auburn?

And I'm backing DeltaBetaBaby that some majors are pretty easy, especially relative to other majors. I have no idea how anyone in this thread will do, but there are probably a couple of in-state private high schools in Mississippi at which having a 2.3 might predict doing alright at Ole Miss, especially if one picks a less rigorous major. And the on-campus data is probably out there to allow a student to assess which classes, professors, and majors are likely to be less rigorous although it would be incredibly stupid to make your academic decisions primarily on that data. (ETA: It creeps me out, but I think there are websites that provide average grade distributions by course and professor, as well as others with student evaluations and commentary. I don't think this is a positive development overall for higher education, but it's available, and as far as the grades awarded data, I think it comes from the college itself. We can all tell kids not to use this information to choose coursework, but the information does exist.)

Neither one of us is trying to say that the point of college is to pick an easy major, skate through your academics, and join a frat, and I think those of you advising that the lower GPAs guys focus on academics first are correct.

ETA: I see this little lightbulb-ish icon at the top of this post. Where did that come from and what does it mean? Did I hit some keys I didn't mean to?

Thank you so much for the kind words and congratulations. I really appreciate it. I chose Auburn for a variety of reasons:

1.) I've wanted to attend Auburn since I was in the 6th grade.
2.) I wanted to go down south for college (I'm from above the Mason-Dixon Line), and this might sound foolish/stupid, but I just wanted to be around nicer people (I have family that lives in Georgia and visit them every so often, and I liked the atmosphere and the people better).
3.) They gave me a good amount of financial aid.
4.) I want to meet new people and go to college far away from where I live (you can't stay cooped up in your town/state forever, right?)

UGAalum94, in fact, I have two cousins (one is going to be a sophomore, and the other is set to be a senior in high school who will have a great shot of getting in). I applied to UGA, got in, but did not receive a very flattering financial aid package, same goes for UT-Austin. I also got accepted to Georgia Southern and Georgia State.

[SydneyK]

Originally Posted by jkanupp93

... i have a 2.3 gpa and ... it says the lowest gpa you can have is a 2.5 if you want to participate in rush, but is this true?

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.

[DrPhil]

I agree. This thread is riddled with ongoing frustrations.

[HawaiiTKE]

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).

[DrPhil]

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.

[AZTheta]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

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.

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.

[DrPhil]

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.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

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

[DrPhil]

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.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

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.

[AZTheta]

^^^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.

[DrPhil]

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.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

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!