Jump to content

Menu

Grades and state universities


Recommended Posts

It's my understanding that liberal arts colleges are okay with receiving transcripts that don't have a grade for every course, but I'm wondering if that is okay with large state universities.  Is the answer different for core course vs electives?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Scholarships can also be based on GPA. Many of the scholarships ds earned required a 3.5 GPA. W/o GPA, he would have been automatically ineligible. Most admissions office want to compare apples to apples. Turning in a transcript that is at least somewhat traditional allows them to do that. Small schools with a more holistic admissions process are probably less likely to need that traditional transcript. But a large state university, I think it would not be to their advantage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My DD's transcript has grades for the core subjects, but only "P" for participation for her electives. Nobody questioned her transcript. She has been admitted to several state universities (and some selective privates). One state university offered her a very generous scholarship; at another, she qualified for the most prestigious scholarship (which was not actually generous, LOL). So, at least for those schools, no grades in the electives did not matter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I called our local state universities and asked them this question.  They said we could include grades or not include grades for the fully at home classes.  My kids have some DE classes )university and high school) with teacher assigned grades, so the Univ said only having grades for those classes was fine.  They would still be eligible for the grade-rank-test score based auto scholarships. 

 

Call the university in question.  I spoke to people in admissions and financial aid.  I also made sure I talked to people who were more likely to know the specifics, be involved in these kinds of decisions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Large state universities have numbers driven admissions policies.  Imo, you would place your child at a disadvantage, both for admissions and scholarship awards,  if you were applying to a public university and did not assign grades for every class.

 

We toured three state universities last year (West Virginia U, Miami University, and Virginia Tech). At Miami U and VT I specifically talked with senior admissions counselors about what they wanted to see from homeschoolers.  With WVU I had an email correspondence after the tour. 

 

My general questioning was what documentation did they want from me, acting in the role of  the homeschool administrator and guidance counselor.   In all three cases, they said that they wanted to see what the student had done, how they had done in it and specifically any outside assessment (this included AP scores, community college grades and in some cases SAT subject test scores*).  The counselors at Miami Uni asked if the students were doing AP or community college courses and mentioned that many schools give a gpa bump for such classes and we should consider doing the same.  At Virginia Tech, the counselor mentioned in her brief that while they require a transcript be submitted they don't really consider gpa at all in applications, because there are so many differing systems that give extra credence to grades in honors, AP, IB, and other harder courses. She said it is to the point where they really can't compare the gpa of one student with the gpa of another.

 

I have seen some places where homeschool parents say that they only include the grades given by outside sources (online courses, community colleges, etc).  I realize that there is a potential for a lack of objectivity from homeschoolers. I've felt that myself. But I also don't think that I was qualified to give a grade when scoring work from 7 of 9 of my coop students, but suddenly not qualified when I was grading papers submitted by my sons (if anything, I graded them harder).  I really dislike the attitude that I should consider myself qualified to give or oversea instruction, but not qualified to assess the understanding in the student. 

 

I'm aware of the fact that some admissions offices will automatically discount any at home grades.  That is their prerogative.  But I don't have to assume they will have that attitude.  I don't have to put my kids into a lower level for admissions or scholarships based on an assumption based on a few opinions.  If an adcon wants to reweigh gpa or discount grades, that is their decision.

 

Also, where some small, very selective private schools have the time and inclination to evaluate students holistically and individually, I don't get the impression that the large state schools have that process.  Again, I don't plan to hobble my kids out of the starting gate.

 

 

 

*Interestingly, Miami Uni said that because they didn't require SAT Subject scores from other applicants, they would not be in a position to use the subject test scores to compare the student to other applicants.  With that caveat, my own choice would be to go ahead and submit subject test scores if I thought it put the student in a good light.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm aware of the fact that some admissions offices will automatically discount any at home grades.  That is their prerogative.  But I don't have to assume they will have that attitude.  I don't have to put my kids into a lower level for admissions or scholarships based on an assumption based on a few opinions.  If an adcon wants to reweigh gpa or discount grades, that is their decision.

 

Well said!  Thanks all for your help.

 

I like the idea of speaking with senior admissions reps.  I've been asking the regional rep who then consults with someone behind the scenes.  Going more directly to the source is a better idea.  Thanks again!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well said!  Thanks all for your help.

 

I like the idea of speaking with senior admissions reps.  I've been asking the regional rep who then consults with someone behind the scenes.  Going more directly to the source is a better idea.  Thanks again!

 

What has worked well for me is either to email specific questions or when we are there on visits to ask to speak with an admissions counselor who can address questions specific to homeschoolers. 

 

I try to keep this part of the discussion focused on my role as administrator/counselor rather than parent.  So for example, I might ask what documentation they want to see from a homeschooled student.  I might ask about how they handle students who don't have a class rank. Or how they address gpa from homeschoolers. 

 

It is good to try to find some of this out beforehand.  Not only can you avoid asking questions that are answered on their website, but you can pursue issues that might be problematic.  For example, some colleges ask about accreditation for homeschoolers or umbrella school info, usually because that is something that is common in that state.  They may not realize that nationwide, what they are asking for is actually uncommon.

 

It's a challenge, but I try to assume a general benevolence that might be less informed.  I try not to assume that anyone in an admissions office holds a particular grudge against homeschoolers and is looking for reasons to exclude them.  So far, that has generally be the case at the public schools we've visited.  At very selective private schools, where they are rejecting 90-95% of all applicants and 30-75% of all of the qualified applicants, I assume that any application is very much a roll of the dice.  Rejection at those schools may have little to do with the qualities of my particular kids.  Hard to keep in mind sometimes.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...