Enrollment Requirements

[sparko]

I was accepted to Tech nearly 20 years ago with just under a 3.0 GPA, if that tells ya something (good SAT scores though).

What I have more of a problem with (and not getting into a debate about high school academics) are the difference in grading scales from county to county in the Commonwealth. My county's grading scale is significantly different than just about every other county in VA. Her GPA currently is around 3.75 but would be much closer to a 4.0 if they were on a 10-point grading scale. Not that I want standards to be lowered, just think that some "factoring" during the admissions process is in order (and I know it doesn't happen). Anyhow -- just venting..haha

 

[sparko]

sub 3.0 GPA + good SAT scores = high school underachiever

 

[Lumbee09]

Kinda steering off-topic, but it's pretty annoying how inflated these GPAs are nowadays. Coming from Fairfax County it was impossible to have the 4.24 that is now the top 25% of VT is coming in with. GPA inflation is only going to get worse because the counties are doing it so their students have better chances of getting into schools. I know Fairfax changed their grading scale recently for this reason, and I imagine other school districts are doing the same thing. Fortunately, colleges are smart enough not to look directly at GPA numbers when accepting students.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I was accepted to Tech nearly 20 years ago with just under a 3.0 GPA, if that tells ya something (good SAT scores though).

What I have more of a problem with (and not getting into a debate about high school academics) are the difference in grading scales from county to county in the Commonwealth. My county's grading scale is significantly different than just about every other county in VA. Her GPA currently is around 3.75 but would be much closer to a 4.0 if they were on a 10-point grading scale. Not that I want standards to be lowered, just think that some "factoring" during the admissions process is in order (and I know it doesn't happen). Anyhow -- just venting..haha

A lot of times the college uses modeling to take that int effect. I went to school in Fairfax County where we were on the 94-100 = A scale. My reported GPA was adjusted when my application was evaluated. They are both shown on my application and response forms (which I was hown at one point). About 0.58 was aded to my GPA based on the high school that I attended. This was in 1997 tough, so i am not sure if the practice has changed.


I am also an idiot and di not realize that I could report the highest combination of my SAT scores. I did better on the Math for my first exam and better on the Reading/Vocab on the second. I still reported my highest overall score. Luckily the school fixed that for me as well.

 

[HokieGhost]

I also attended a school in Fairfax County, VA, back during that tense period of time of time following the signing of the Civil Rights Act and the beginning of forced busing. It was also when the Vietnam War was starting to ramp up and the draft was initiated. Kids were making decisions about the military and college...tough to lay on a 17 or 18 year old. The story portrayed by the movie "Remember the Titans" took place in 1971, a couple of years after I graduated from high school.

I started at Tech in 1969, back when you were lucky to see any of Tech's scores mentioned in any of the local newspapers (Stone Age alert!!). I was accepted with a 3.2 GPA, an SAT score of about 1300, and a ton of sports/extracurricular activities. I don't recall my school offering the college-level honors courses at that time that a lot of schools use today to boost GPA.

I seriously don't know if I could get accepted at Tech today...pretty high standards to meet or exceed.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I could not get accepted to Tech today, with my high school transcripts as they were. However, they would, and in some ways kind of have put together a very nice and tempting package to teach there at the new medical school.

Proof positive that you control your own life and high school aside, you can make your mark if you work hard. ha ha.

 

[sparko]

Hopefully, they do model based on grading scale but from what I've read (and heard), it's a pretty lax effort from most universities. Class ranking is looked at quite a bit to get a more accurate view but it's not a great measure alone if you ask me. Botetourt schools still operate on a 94-100 A grading scale. When I went to school (in the same county), we were on a 95-100 grading scale. Alas -- my daughter plans on becoming a nurse so VT will not be her alma mater either way -- but she'll always be a Hokie at heart.

You're right about that 46 -- some of us just take tougher paths .. Mine consisted of a 6-yr stint in the Navy and getting an Associates degree at VWCC over the course of 4 years while working full-time and helping to raise a family -- not easy .. That's why my kids will have better options .. Not that salary is a measure of success, but I make much more than the average VT grad and enjoy my job .. How far one goes in a career has a lot more to do with work ethic than a piece of paper .. The piece of paper doesn't hurt but it's won't get you there on its own.

What do you know of the medical school 46 ?? I work 2 miles from the medical school and for Carilion Clinic (in a non-clinical capacity), if you're speaking of the VTC medical school that is.

 

[ckhokie]

A lot of times the college uses modeling to take that int effect. I went to school in Fairfax County where we were on the 94-100 = A scale. My reported GPA was adjusted when my application was evaluated.

My high school was 100-94 = A as well, and I have no idea if any of my schools 'adjusted' for the grading scale. I applied only to out of state schools, so I wondered how/if they would even know my hs was like that. I can't imagine universities are totally aware of all of the scenarios regarding high school grading scales now with 100-94 vs 100-90 or 4 point vs 5 point, so I always felt like I was getting a raw deal in some sense.

 

[hokiecheme11]

I was a high school senior in 2007, and applied to schools. I lived in Prince William County, where we had plenty of AP classes where you could get a 5.0. The grading scale was 94-100 for an A, etc. I had like a 4.2 GPA, but they also ask for the unweighted GPA when applying to schools, and mine was like a 3.7

My roommate in college is from Richmond, and you could actually get A+'s in classes, ie an A+ in an AP class would be worth 5.5, which I think is nuts.

I agree with sparko in that I would probably be ok with whatever they did, as long as it was the same county-to-county

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Hopefully, they do model based on grading scale but from what I've read (and heard), it's a pretty lax effort from most universities. Class ranking is looked at quite a bit to get a more accurate view but it's not a great measure alone if you ask me. Botetourt schools still operate on a 94-100 A grading scale. When I went to school (in the same county), we were on a 95-100 grading scale. Alas -- my daughter plans on becoming a nurse so VT will not be her alma mater either way -- but she'll always be a Hokie at heart.

You're right about that 46 -- some of us just take tougher paths .. Mine consisted of a 6-yr stint in the Navy and getting an Associates degree at VWCC over the course of 4 years while working full-time and helping to raise a family -- not easy .. That's why my kids will have better options .. Not that salary is a measure of success, but I make much more than the average VT grad and enjoy my job .. How far one goes in a career has a lot more to do with work ethic than a piece of paper .. The piece of paper doesn't hurt but it's won't get you there on its own.

What do you know of the medical school 46 ?? I work 2 miles from the medical school and for Carilion Clinic (in a non-clinical capacity), if you're speaking of the VTC medical school that is.

They are focusing mostly on building a research program, and less on clinicians. The school is tiny and very selective. I see them getting involved with the state health department, the feds and eventually seeding a doctoral level school of public health. Shockingly, the state of Virginia does not have one of those yet, even though it has one of the top health departments in the country.

 

[sparko]

Yes -- you are correct. They are small and very selective and it's been an exciting partnership for Carilion and VT .. My team and I look to be more involved with them in the future, more down the lines of data warehouse development for their data. Not to get too personal but you're line of work pertains to research in these areas?

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I am an epidemiologist, but I am also a trained microbiologist. The position that I was approached for involved biostatistics, however.

 

[awaz]

i was very much a highschool underachiever, but took the AP and Honors classes so that when i got all B's and C's i ended up with a 3.8 GPA

 

[bigesse16]

Love seeing all the Fairfax County alums here, and not at all surprising.

 

[sparko]

There were only two AP offerings at my high school when I graduated and I'm fairly sure that weighting didn't occur at that time. I took advanced curriculum and the grading scale, compared to many scales now, was not forgiving. A (95-100), B (88-94), C (80-88), D (70-79) -- probably would've had a true 3.5 with today's typical standards .. but oh well -- $4 and my GPA buys me a shitty starbucks coffee .. and before any of you guys jump on the train -- yes -- starbucks coffee sucks nuts!!

and as far as my county's scale now? there are no A+'s .. flat A's, B's, C's, etc .. which sucks even more. I've thought about approaching the school board and inquiring on how they intend of leveling the playing field for the children in my county.

 

[Chrish1023]

They need a national standard for grades. With the way things are set up now, every county is going to constantly try to one up each other until GPA is on a 10 point scale. I know it's difficult because not all counties provide the same quality of education, but the system has to amended sooner or later.

Also, inflating GPA's is stupid because it results in lower achievement. Most high school students are illogical and think that a 4.0 is all that matters. My brother is a senior now and he thinks that a B in an AP class is great because it shows up as a 4.0. I am fully aware that he is an idiot, but most students think the same way as him. Instead of going for the best grades possible, they just try to get around a 4.0 because it sounds impressive.

 

[sparko]

You're right .. That's why I'm not advocating lowering standards in my county (at least) to a 10 point scale. Fortunately, most good schools look at several different indicators that help give them a more accurate picture of a student: core GPA, SAT/ACT, class standing. In a perfect world, all of the bull shit (non-core) stuff would be totally pulled out of GPA and each class would have an individual weighting, and GPA would be calculated on a 100 point scale instead of 4 (or atleast final grades would be broken down into tenths of points. The highest and lowest of A's should not count the same towards GPA.

 

[Cobrabit]

As an AP teacher, we've been told that colleges are no longer looking at GPAs in the same ways they used to. Essentially, they throw away your GPA and look at your transcript to formulate their own GPA based upon it. They look to see if students have taken the most rigorous courses the school has to offer. They would rather see a student get a C in an AP course than an A in a 'regular' high school course as they know the student is better prepared for classes they'd take in college even without getting a qualifying score on the AP exam.

Statistics I was shown this summer:

Students that get a qualifying score on an AP exam (3, 4, or 5) are averaging 31 credit hours during their freshman year.

Students that do not get a qualifying score on the AP exam, but still go through the course average 28 credit hours.

Now get this. Students that did not take any AP courses in high school average 17 credit hours their first year in college. This difference is because these students are taking remedial courses that do not count toward their degree.

 

[VTscores]

What amazes me is all my nephews and nieces who are using AP credits to shorten their college experience.

My nephew had lots of AP credits when he attended George Mason, so he got his degree in less than three years.

Sadly, by blasting through that way, I get the impression that he missed out on the university experience.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I thought that I was special for graduating in 4 years, after transferring from USC and losing like 12 credits (not really losing, but having them moved to places where they didn't do shit for me).