Yikes. School doesn't include hs grades when calculating class rank/GPA.

[lisabees]

X-post, as I am desperate for an answer! ;)

 

DS homeschooled last year and returned to ps for his senior year. We are about to send out an EA application to Dickinson today. We couldn't figure out why his class rank/GPA was so low. The counselor told us that they don't include any classes taken out of the building in their calculations. I understand, but what should we do?

 

Should I calculate myself and put that GPA on the common app? Help!

[creekland]

I'd at least include a note explaining it and giving outside class grades.

[lisabees]

I'd at least include a note explaining it and giving outside class grades.

 

Thank you. :001_smile: Ds will jot a quick note under "special circumstances" in the Common App.

 

At this point, it is what it is. I'll try to stop worrying about it.

 

Thanks again.

[Kareni]

One thing I would determine is what materials your son's public school is sending to the colleges to which he applies. (Could you get them to send you a copy of his transcript? There may be a fee.) My point in doing this would be to see how his homeschooled classes are shown. If they are shown without the grades that you gave him, I would suggest including a copy of his homeschooled transcript (or possibly a report card if it was for one year) with his application.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[lisabees]

One thing I would determine is what materials your son's public school is sending to the colleges to which he applies. (Could you get them to send you a copy of his transcript? There may be a fee.) My point in doing this would be to see how his homeschooled classes are shown. If they are shown without the grades that you gave him, I would suggest including a copy of his homeschooled transcript (or possibly a report card if it was for one year) with his application.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Thanks Kareni. His hs grades are on there, which is good. I would just hate for a school to disregard the rest of his application because class rank and GPA are not good enough at first glance.

 

He is applying to mainly LACs, so the fact that they (ideally) consider each applicant holistically is a positive.

[Harriet Vane]

One important question is whether or not they apply that particular policy to other, non-homeschooled transfer students. Class rank and gpa should be calculated the same way across the board. I have a hard time believing that a transfer student from another public school would suffer so much in academic ranking.

[Candid]

One important question is whether or not they apply that particular policy to other, non-homeschooled transfer students. Class rank and gpa should be calculated the same way across the board. I have a hard time believing that a transfer student from another public school would suffer so much in academic ranking.

 

Yes, I would be curious about that as well as private schools in the area.

[swimmermom3]

One important question is whether or not they apply that particular policy to other, non-homeschooled transfer students. Class rank and gpa should be calculated the same way across the board. I have a hard time believing that a transfer student from another public school would suffer so much in academic ranking.

 

Oh yes. This is a question I would be asking.

 

Lisa, you know our situation here. Dd's online courses from various accredited schools were placed on her transcript, labeled as transfer credits, and her GPA was calculated for those classes. When we first made arrangements for her situation, the school told us that the classes would be treated the same as any regular transfer.

 

I am so sorry that you are dealing with this. We were a bit surprised to find much stricter rules in play with our local high school this year. I was told that the economy and budget shortages have made our district less willing to work with "alternative" educational situations.

[lisabees]

Thanks all. We got an email from Dickinson today. Our local rep is also the homeschool rep for the college. We met her on our first visit.

 

She requested ds's course descriptions and separate transcript. Because ds's course names and grades are on his current school transcript, I didn't think I needed to do this. :tongue_smilie:

 

Thankfully, this is a great school to figure all of the details out! It's not his top choice and it should be a match.

[lisabees]

Well, this is just silly. Just got off the phone with the rep and she said not to worry about sending anything extra.

 

This process may just kill me!

[choirfarm]

One important question is whether or not they apply that particular policy to other, non-homeschooled transfer students. Class rank and gpa should be calculated the same way across the board. I have a hard time believing that a transfer student from another public school would suffer so much in academic ranking.

 

Yes, they do. I was just talking to my sil. Her son is a junior taking tons of AP/ honors classes. They moved this past summer before he started his junior year. (They are in the military.) Although he made straight A's, his past school didn't weight the honors courses the same way. So he has a 4.5 or something GPA while those in his classes have a 5.8 or something. ( Just using these as approx.) He is very competetive and hates that he can't compete for validictorian or anything.

 

I had the same thing happen to me. For 9th and 10th grade I went to a school that gave A, B's etc. No distinction for honors. My new school gave you 12 for an A+ in honors, 11 for an A, 10 for an A-, 9 for a b+. For a regular class, you got 9 points for an A+, 8 for an A, etc. Well.. they had no number grades for me.

 

Anyway, yes it is common.

Edited December 2, 2011 by choirfarm