I don't know if CC meant exactly what he typed or not. Like it or not, money can get you a lot of things. I don't have enogh spare change to find out if I call up and tell MIT that I will write them their $250k check today if they admit my son.
I agree with most of your post, except for this last paragraph. Few if any of the high school kids in our high schools attend college during their high school years. Yes, we have more than our fair share going or being accepted to Ivy league type schools as well as the military academies. The main factors weren't college classes. It was: AP classes; IB Program; Class Ranking; and High ACT/SAT scores. THIS COMBINED WITH Sports, Extra Curricular Activities, Volunteering, Leadership, Team Participation, etc...
I've seen a LOT of people get turned down for the academies and for the Ivy/Type universities. Including those with the 2300+ SAT and 34+ ACT. Including those with College Credit during high school. Matter of fact, one this year and last year I know of who was turned down with those types of grades AND College Credit during high school.
First and most importantly, if you want the BEST Universities in the country, including the academies, then you have to take the most challenging classes your school has to offer. It is better to be in the IB program or take ALL AP classes, than to take "Normal" classes and take college classes part time or in the summer.
Second: Be ranked very high in your class. If you're sitting there with a 3.95 gpa, and you're ranked #60 out of 400, then there's something very questionable about your school. The universities and academies would rather see a 3.95 gpa ranked #8 than a 3.98 ranked #40 both class size of 300.
Third: The great equalizer is the ACT/SAT scores. That is the only consistent between ALL the high schools in the country. If you have a 3.98 gpa, ranked #15, and a 27 Composite ACT, then I will have very little respect for your school. If you have a 3.89 gpa, ALL AP or the IB program, ranked # 7, and you have a 32+ composite ACT score, I have a MUCH HIGHER opinion of your education.
Forth: Whether you are applying to Yale, Princeton, Stanford, or the academies, you better have LEADERSHIP experience. You better be the president of some club. You better be a class officer. You better be a team captain. You better be in charge of some clubs, fundraisers, community involvement, etc... Any/All combinations of these examples.
Fifth: For all the academies and many universities, you better we involved with athletics. Not just 1-2 years. You need to be able to demonstrate that you know how to work together as a team. That you can follow directions. That you are goal oriented as a part of a collective. That you are physically fit. etc...
I do agree 100%, that as for civilian universities, if you meet the MINIMUM STANDARDS, and have the MONEY, I can guarantee you 100% acceptance into ANY school of your choice. WITHOU EXCEPTION. If you are paying out of your pocket, 100% of everything, and have NO scholarships, grants, loans, etc... for ANY EXPENSES, then yes, I can guarantee you into any school that you meet the standards. Schools aren't just looking at getting paid, they are looking at their endowment. They are looking at boosters and alumni. And if you are a legacy, then that's even easier.
But for all the other university/academy scenarios, I don't believe that going to college while in high school is all tha ist impressive. Not according to my experience with a lot of individuals going to some pretty impressive universities and academies. Not unless they have all the other attributes covered that I mentioned.
Agree!Like high schools, the best rated colleges simply shed the bottom students. To assume that Stanford teaches physics better than the University of MN is a stretch. Additionally, to assume a school that has more Ivy admissions is "better" than our high school is also a stretch. I don't believe it for a moment. The best students in any college or any high school can be superior to a top ranked school. But that's not the perception.
Hi,
I am applying to USAFA class of 2018,
I go to a very challenging private school and work extremely hard, my SAT scores are >2300 (taken it once), but my GPA is roughly at a B+.
In brief, I'm wondering if admissions might look at my sub-3.5 GPA and give me a low score in the academic category simply because of that number.
Thanks for any thoughts!
However, if I am reading it right, you are saying for admissions they know the ability to pay for the applicant, and this was a factor.
The meet and greet for Notre Dame he was invited to by them, stated finance was not an issue in their decision factor. 100% of students would get 100% FA if needed.
Not once in his application process was he asked to give financial details regarding the ability to pay.
If you apply to an Ivy, they "know" the area demographics. So in MN, Blake HS and a host of other schools are from more affluent locations. While 75% of students at Harvard get financial aid, that doesn't mean that Harvard contributes (only that they take out loans). So assuming they follow the money, the area is going to be a good indicator of the parents income.
I have not verified this but I heard there was a legal battle years ago for some of the schools with the larges endowments. The government threatened to take away their non-profit status unless they started to give away the dollars. That's when they boosted their contributions to lower income families.
personally, I think the premise of this conversation very generalized. From my graduating high school class, we have at least one kid at each Ivy league, not to mention the kids at MIT and other very prestigious schools. These kids are far from being entitled rich kids. Many of them come from families with fairly modest incomes. What got them into these highly ranked schools was their academic and extra-curricular performance, NOT their financials. Who knows, maybe these people, my friends, are exceptions to the rule, but I am proud of all they have accomplished (including winning academic competitions at the state, national, and international level.) The implications made in some of these posts seem to devalue the accomplishments of extraordinarily talented young people...
Okay now that my rant is over, I think it is a fair time to point out that this thread has very little to do with SAs... you know, with the whole free education thing and all...
Your username is bmw17. My DS's username would have been UsedChevy17. No BMW's were in his HS parking lot. All in fun of course.
hahahahahah my initials are BMW... I too drive a used chevy... Now I feel like I should change my screen name so people like you don't assume I'm an entitled rich kid!
I do understand that school profiles matter. However, a lot of this is based on opportunity. If a youth attends a private school and does well it does not necessarily indicate that a youth whom attends a public school in a reputable area cannot have an equal or better chance at attending an Ivy or a service academy. For example, my son attends a public high school in California (about 550 in graduating class). He currently has a 4.2weighted gpa and a 4.0 unweighted gpa. Right now, there are 4 young men that will be attending the AFA in our county alone (Athletes and scholars) and he is being considered for the prep school. In California it appears that the "public Ivies" which are the UC's (Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego etc) are what most desire to attend. Most of the youth out here do not really think of even applying to the Ivies back East. The UC's, whom are public are amazing Universities. Although, Stanford and USC are pretty popular alternatives to the UC's, most Californian youth don't apply back east as much as one would think. In fact, my son was accepted to UC Berkeley(average freshman applicant has a 4.2gpa and 2200 SAT), but has his heart set on the AFA, so if given a prep school option or a Falcon Foundation Scholar option, will forgo the UC/ROTC route. Nonetheless, we are very proud of the youth in our county whom will be attending the AFA. Go Falcons!!
Hi,
I am applying to USAFA class of 2018,
I go to a very challenging private school and work extremely hard, my SAT scores are >2300 (taken it once), but my GPA is roughly at a B+. Will the actual difficulty of the school be taken into account so as to compare with GPAs at less rigorous schools, or is the low number enough to make me non-competitive academically? I was not selected for USAFA Summer Seminar, but I was accepted West Point SLE; SS required me to give my GPA while SLE did not, so this gives me some concerns about the weight of the number on its own. In the pre-candidate questionnaire USAFA does not ask for a school profile, and simply asks me to put my GPA without any transcript or context.
In brief, I'm wondering if admissions might look at my sub-3.5 GPA and give me a low score in the academic category simply because of that number.
Thanks for any thoughts!
1. I've never heard of the UC's being referred to as the "Public Ivy's". I've heard of the "West Coast Ivy's" such as Stanford, Gonzaga, Cal-tech, and loyola marymount.
2. The best non-Ivy schools would probably be Carnegie Mellon, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, and a few other.
3. If your son is sitting on a 4.0-4,2 gpa; unless he BOMBED the ACT/SAT, or he's being recruited as an athlete, or he's a minority; I wouldn't keep my hopes up for a prep-school slot. Other than minority, athletes, and enlisted air force; it's usually a place to help a high potential individual who has an academic deficiency in an area. A 4.0-4.2 gpa doesn't sound like someone with an academic deficiency.