GPA's aren't what I thought they were...

I've been interested in the GPA importance as well. I know a number of scholarships my son will eventually apply for are very GPA dependent. I'm curious because my son just got his freshman schedule and they put him in all honors classes including two that are basically senior only. I found out our school doesn't do weighted GPA's. So I very concerned his GPA won't reflect the classes he actually took and I'm worried that it might hurt his college admitance.

Your counselor is correct. It's impossible to compare GPA's for kids from different schools / curriculums. Lots of reasons for this, some of which your counselor noted.

Schools can compare standardized test scores. My 2012 and now my 2016 were always asked for ACT / SAT scores.

They were asked much later in the process for curriculum / transcripts to assess whether requirements were met, curriculum rigor, and yes, grades. Though in my experience with recruiting at top academic schools, unweighted GPA in a college prep curriculum needed to be above 3.0 (B average or higher) with no C letter grades on the transcript.

HS guidance counselor here. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions. Basically what has been said is correct, GPA's are almost impossible to compare because different HS use different scales, weights, etc.  More and more colleges are looking mat strength of schedule, rigor, growth over 4 years...along with standardized test scores and rank.  Rank can still be a factor since it gives everyone a snapshot of where you are compared to peers. 

 

When applying it is important to find out if schools are looking for weighted or unweighted GPAs and figure out what the HS uses.  Many will list both.

There is no one size fits all when it comes to grades and acceptance into colleges.  Every college has different guidelines for admissions.  Some try for a mix of students from different backgrounds and others try for the top 1% of graduating students.  The best advice is try to target the schools your son may be interested in and then find out what they want to see for admissions.

 

While grades are one factor many other things factor into the decisions a college makes on admissions.  The SAT/ACT score is one.  The academic rigor of the student, class rank, outside activities and leadership and to some extent the HS reputation.  

 

For example my older son was what was considered a middle of the road student to our HS. Our HS is very competitive with many kids taking AP and Honors classes.  Constantly being listed on the best schools in America list (don't get me started on those things).  

 

He graduated with a 3.6 and had an ACT score of 24.  He had no problem getting accepted into most of the Big 10 schools (we are in the midwest).  He would was wait listed at Northwestern and U of M.  These were his two stretch schools.  He counselor told him he had about a 60 to 70% chance of getting in.  He withdrew his application when he got into MSU (Go Green).

 

My advice for you is to set your kids HS grade goals to be the best he can be.  If that means being a 4.0 student thats what he should strive for.  Not all kids are wired to be 4.0 students.  If thats the case with your son then you need to evaluate that and set your goals realistically.

 

When it comes to academics you see a lot of the same unrealistic views from parents of their kids just like you do in sports.  Every parent out there believes their child should be a 4.0 student with a 36 ACT.  Talk with your students counselor.  They have lots of experience with this and most have your child's best interest when it comes to picking classes and challenging themselves.  A good counselor will not place your child in classes that are too easy or too hard.

CaCO3Girl,

 

It is true GPA can be extremely important in many situations especially at the high academic schools.  Frankly, what really was most important to us was that my kids were interested in learning, and learned how to learn & study.  If my kids were interested in learning I knew they would do well and the GPA numbers would follow....and they did.  Truthfully, they were so engaged in their subjects that it pretty much took care of itself for my two oldest sons.  The biggest challenge was attending a magnet high school 15 miles from our home.  They sacrificed social comfort to attend a distant school that offered pre-engineering studies.   At the time it was a difficult choice for them, but I can't tell you how much it has helped them in their current trajectory.  Best decision ever.  My middle son was on the fence about it, and now he realizes that Mom and Dad aren't as stupid as they look..  He just got a summer college engineering internship because of his schoolwork.   Internships are everything in today's job market.  He probably wouldn't have got into that college without that high school background.  So, I would challenge them with some academic rigor, and see how they handle it.  Don't worry as much about the GPA numbers.  I'd focus on their ability to learn, keep pace and their desire to learn.  Adjust as necessary.  JMO.

 

The colleges know the high schools and have a student history available to them in many cases.  They are keenly aware of grade inflation and how well former students from that high school have done there.  I have a friend who is a high school guidance councelor who has used a tool called Naviance (I think?) that shows metrics on their high school and others relative to acceptance at a specific college.  Essentially, it is a data collection tool that allows a councelor to determine the chances of the  particular student based on GPAs and SATs.  

 

Our school district recently went back to a GPA based on zeros (70, 80, 90, etc) rather the GPA system your schools system uses.   It is confusing, and I can't wait to be done with it.

 

Good luck!

So basically as a parent trying to provide guidance your up that creek without a paddle.  Seems to me, what high schools are doing is going with the everyone gets a trophy mentality.  Basically making GPA's worthless.  And many schools are getting rid of class rank.  That way little Johnny's feelings aren't hurt.

 

What is a kid to do?  Who the hell knows. 

Fenway south mentioned Naviance.  I would see if your school has this available for your use. My kids HS provides every kid with a login their Frosh year.  Most of them don't know what its for when they get it as they are overwhelmed with the normal HS adjustment.  My wife works as an administrator in the district so we knew to ask our kids for their login's. 

Naviance is a great tool if you have access to it.  It will list out all the schools students from your HS have applied to.  It will show a Graph of their GPA and test scores and indicate if the student was accepted, rejected, wait-listed accepted, or wait-listed rejected..  It makes it real easy to see what GPA and scores are needed out of your HS to get into a particular college. 

My experience with our son is it's not just their GPA, but also their ACT/SAT scores as well.  As the counselor noted, different schools put different weights on different things, but generally speaking the big ones are GPA (no matter how they weight it) and the ACT/SAT scores.  Extra-curricular activities play a role as well.

 

My opinion is one should always set goals.  I don't think striving for straight A's is unreasonable - that was the standard we laid out for all of our children.  Did they meet it?  No, but that was the expectations from my wife and I.  If you put the goal as straight B's that's what they'll work for and probably no more.  By setting a high goal, if they don't quite meet it, they've still done well.

 

Generally speaking, the higher the GPA the better the chances of admittance.  Some of the colleges are around here (UMW, UVA, VA Tech) have pretty high standards.  For many a minimum of 3.5 GPA and high ACT/SAT scores.  They tend to take the best of the best. 

 

An alternative is to go to Junior College and earn an AA/AS degree with no class below a 2.0 (C).  Upon transfer the 4 year school (within the state - not applicable for out-of-state schools) has to accept them and all the classes transfer.  At least that's how it works in VA.  My daughter did this.  She earned her 2 year degree (took 4 years to do it earning a B+ average) and then was accepted to ODU via this method.  She graduated with a Bachelor's two years ago.

 

When you throw in sports, the minimum GPA required by the NCAA is 2.0.  The school and/or coach may have higher standards.  When my son was looking to transfer to the local university (UMW) the minimum GPA for a transfer student was 3.0.  He had a 2.6 at junior college.  It would take the coaches recommendation to get him accepted.  Ultimately he did not go this route as they did not have the specific program of studies he was interested in.  The university where he ultimately transferred to (out-of-state) had a minimum GPA requirement of 2.0.  The coach would accept no less than 2.5.

 

A side benefit (or possible benefit) is higher GPA's open the doors to more academic scholarships - more than ever will be available via sports (football being the exception).

 

Hope that helps.

For full academic rides I have found that gpa doesn't factor in as much as act or sat scores.  My second oldest had a 4.5 unweighted gpa and a 35 act score.  He was valedictorian.  He didn't apply to a lot of colleges, but Texas didn't give him much.  Arkansas colleges seem to have had the best packages.  The full rides had a act requirement first.
For your 7th grade I would make sure he has good study habits, no girlfriends, and your expectation that he can do it.  :-)

He is the definition of a space cadet!  Does homework, forgets to hand it in.  Has a test, studies the wrong chapters (which I took time to quiz him on GRRRR), girls are all over him but he isn't allowed to "date" outside of school so I think it's just a status thing, and his phone must be turned off by 9pm on school nites...best I can do with the social aspect of it.

If you set a numerical goal and it's too easy to achieve the kid might not reach his full potential. Set the expectation at top effort. Always think higher.

I expected my kids to get all A's. When they didn't we discussed the class. There were some classes a B was the best they could do. My daughter graduated in the top.10%. My son graduated in the top 5%. My daughter had SATs (math and English) in the 1400s. My son was in the 1200s. My son is brighter. My daughter is more mature and focused. She graduated PBK. She's currently #1 in her class in second year law. She was recently named editor of the law review for next year. My son falls out of trees, lands on his feet and says, "good score." He has a 3.6.

I told the kids if they got a 3.5 and 1200+ in high school there would be a lot of options. Sports opened the options even wider. The high school didn't overtly inflate grades for honors, AP and gifted classes. Th were inflated privately for class rank. Coaches asked for unweighted GPA, how many AP classes and SAT scores.

My experience with our space cadet in the 7th grade was just that. He was in the 7th grade. He outgrew it, but it took time.

 

 Getting Bs in AP classes for a smart kid that isn't a genius kid might hurt the GPA a little vs an average kid who takes average classes and makes As.But, then take a look at their SAT and ACT scores and the 3.0 AP kid just kicked the 4.0 CP kid's bootay.

 

So, no. It's basically a ca-ca shoot.

 

WE (I threw that in for folks who think it means me and my son rather than our son's parents together) encourage a 3.0 or above, take as many AP classes as your school will allow that you can make a solid B in and rock the ACT and SAT. (Consider the ACT rocked for now...still waiting on the SAT scores.)

 

There is a weighted GPA, an unweighted GPA, an academic GPA, a CORE GPA and in our parts, a HOPE GPA. I need a PhD just to figure out the GPA and which school will even look at it in comparison to his ACT, SAT and M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.

 

Just for fun, we also encourage his BA, OBP and OPS to be at least equal to his GPA, his verbal SAT and his total SAT respectively.

Exactly our situation...so I say again, when you tell your kid to get a 3.0 which GPA are you actually referring to?

 

CaCO3=Calcium Carbonate? Interesting handle.  I agree with this tidbit from Dazed and Confused:

 

"My experience with our space cadet in the 7th grade was just that. He was in the 7th grade. He outgrew it, but it took time."

 

Don't mistake a little kid walking around at the onset of his years of hormonal fog for a kid that cannot perform. Boys mature at different rates. 

 

Encourage him to start creating habits. Oversee, but don't substitute for his self-management. Also, never encourage him to strive for anything less than excellence. 

Ha! Exactly.

 

(Regular. An AP B is a 3.0 unweighted, 3.5 HOPE, 4.0 weighted. A regular B is 3.0 all the way across. I think...I think I hurt my last brain cell on this topic.)

Exactly. When my son was 13, he fell down one day just STANDING on the baseball field. One minute just standing there. Next minute on the ground like he'd been sniper shot. The onset of puberty does very weird things to you.

We have been told by most schools that class rank and test scores count more than GPA.  So does the course load (my junior has 6 of 8 classes this year AP, which here is considered a lot.)

 

We were told by the HS to take his GPA (ours is given on a 100 point scale) and divide by 25 to get his on a 4.0 scale.  This makes absolutely no sense because a kid with a 50 average (failing by all accounts!) comes out with a 2.0 (a C average in college.)

 

I am assuming that we will just submit his transcripts to the colleges as is and they will figure out how they want to interpret them. 

High school is the last bastion of hurt feelings! Cut from the baseball team, didn't get a role in the school play, didn't get asked to the prom, graded C on a paper you "worked really hard" on... Where have they eliminated class rank???  Around here, it seems like the process of getting into top colleges is more competitive than ever. Charter schools, STEM, weighted GPA, AP, IB, Honors, SAT, ACT, community service... all part of the equation.

 

CaCO3Girl,

 

Tough question, but for my son we wanted to challenge him without setting him up for failure. For him that's meant mostly As and high Bs, and it takes hard work. We're fortunate in that his circle of friends at school value academic achievement and seem to push ans support each other.

 

Some kids can take the most challenging curricula that the school offers and ace everything. Most can't. I know it's difficult to do, but consider minimizing the emphasis on GPA. Focus on preparing for college, study habits and learning. I would rather my son work hard, learn, and get Cs than to coast and get As. Just one opinion.

Count me in for another vote for the benefits and utility ofNaviance. It can help your sons on your career (college) search and also determine the number of students by graduation year that applied, were accepted to and enrolled in various schools.As previously mentioned, you can see In looking at some of the dots on the screen (formed by the GPA/SAT intersection) what the likelihood is of getting into a school based on your (high) school's track record (reputation).

 

A track and field athlete from my son's school got accepted into a fairly high academic school last year with a sub 3 GPA, whereas the #2 ranked in a class of 500+ at the neighborhood school was "wait-listed"

 

My son went through the high academic recruiting route to play baseball in college. He found that these schools were interested in breadth of transcript (AP's especially), class rank, SAT (the earlier you report a good score the better), SAT subject tests, then GPA. 

There are 4 great ideas being discussed here: parenting, psychology, college admissions and, of course, baseball. These ideas intersect which is why this particular site is so cool!

 

As parents, we can encourage our kids to always do their best yet must accept them as they are. Their performance is not always where we want them to be either academically (with the fraught, end-goal of 'only a HPYS') or physically (D-1, anyone). But, as is stated here...often!...there are many pathways to a fine life after high school. Try not to get too caught up in the stress mess of GPA's and test scores, especially in middle school. Big data is the driver and colleges already know ALL about your student, your school, your zip code.  

 

So much changes over the first few years of high school. You will know way too soon where your student will probably be headed. By Fall of the senior year, there will be a spectrum of colleges awaiting your student's application. You might pay $64/credit hour at a community college (ex. here in California) or $2500/credit hour (ex. at Yale). Thousands of colleges exist within this spectrum-- hundreds and hundreds of which are excellent. The dilemma is that only a few thousand Freshman are needed each year at the NCAA level; so chances are, they won't be playing baseball.  The other dilemma is, obviously, cost. Most of us have to pay more than we think we should have to...EFC=WTF   Hang in there and enjoy each and every moment of the best Spring sport ever!

Everyone is born with, for want of a better term, a vessel labeled "potential." The vessels are all different sizes, but all begin empty, and begin to fill as life moves forward. The object is to get your child to fill the vessel (potential) he/she was given. (You can't fill it more then it is able to contain.) 

 

Set the bar too low and a kid coasts and doesn't need to find out the limits of the potential; set it too high and you may have a houseful of unnecessary stress. Only you can know your child, his abilities, his potential, his weaknesses, his "issues" (and each one has his "issues").

 

We set the bar very very high, knowing we could always lower the bar if we believed it necessary. (We lowered the bar in college once it became clear that our expectations were not doable.) The mantra we always used was to be able to answer this question: did you give an honest effort, did you lift up all the rocks to look underneath, did you leave it all on the field/classroom? If not, why not? (Sometimes there were reasonable explanations as to why max effort wasn't expended (e.g., when a grade was solidified to the point that it couldn't be moved regardless of a test score).) For us, the approach worked; but for others who would try the exact same approach it may not.

 

And the element which I believe has the greatest effect: parents who show they care about the learning, care about understanding the school's social scene, care about the teachers, care about the grades, and speak with the kids. There are no surprises in this scenario. Our school also had a great tool to keep on top of the academics: I forgot the name but it was an Internet based program which allowed the parents to be kept abreast of homework assignments, tests, grades, reading, etc.

 

As for equating GPAs between HSs, every school submits its HS profile to schools to which its students apply (ask the GC for a copy). The profile will show what classes are offered, average grades and average standardized scores. Thus, a kid applying in the regular pool from a school which offers few AP classes is not penalized simply because the neighboring HS offers dozens. What is important is the composition of a kid's HS schedule. So, for example a kid who took all three of the APs his HS offered will be viewed in a more favorable light when compared to a kid who took five out of the twenty offered at the neighboring HS. (That's what schools refer to as rigor.)

 

For the top schools, rigor is critical. Perfect grades without rigor gets a kid nowhere in those schools; conversely, mediocre grades in a rigorous schedule get a kid nowhere. As trite as is sounds, for unhooked kids (non-athletes, specific types of students, etc.) virtually perfect grades with the highest rigor is required. But keep in mind, even those kids have a chance in the single digits of getting accepted into those schools.

 

Test scores are another critical component. But even here, unless a kid has a 2400 or a 36, the scores act more a a disqualifier than a huge help. Yes, a perfect score is a huge deal (so long as it's coupled with perfect grades, and a healthy helping of the best ECs available to the kid).

 

For unhooked kids those top schools are a crapshoot no matter what. (As a example, I personally know a girl with the highest rigor possible, 3.98 unweighted, [she got one B in HS], took first place in the grand award section of the Intel Science and Engineering Fair (on a project developed solely by her and done solely in the HS lab - resulting in a patentable invention), multiple special awards at the same fair, 34 ACT, incredible high end ECs outside of the HS, editor-in-chief of both the year book and the literary magazine (both being recognized with awards by the city), etc., who was rejected (following a deferral) by Stanford.)

 

Circling to the original issue: set the bar high, very very high. Accept nothing short of your kid's best efforts academically or otherwise (video games excepted). fill that potential - whatever it is. This keeps options as open as possible.

 

Note: my comments are directed to kids not being recruited. For that lucky group, every school has lower requirements.

This is a major bonus.  Even bigger bonus when girlfriend is a top academic.  Last Saturday what passed for their quality time was son taking online ACT prep while girlfriend edited her finals essay.  That's very cool!

 

We have a football player who went to Harvard.  You can tell who it is on the Navience scale.  Still have very good grades and test scores but he was a total outlier.  Many folks above him show as being rejected.  At least Im guessing the dot was him.

Im so glad my kids seem to have good internal drive when it comes to sports and grades.  My older one needed to work for everything he got.  My younger one is taking a pretty full load of AP and Advanced classes.  Barely brings home any home work and is getting all A's with an occasional B.  Yet  I talk with his friends parents who have kids in the same class as him and they tell me how much homework their kid has.   Luckily he seems to still have drive to be successful in what he does.   Im hoping this does not come back to haunt him college.  

We had the same experience as the OP.  My daughter was taking AP classes and they were not weighted.  So, for some schools, if you took AP, you could have a "5" on a "4" scale.  So, a "B" in that class equated to an "A" in normal classes.  I once taught at a school that did that.  Here, if my daughter received an "A" in AP, it was no different that someone who received an "A" in basket weaving.  At one point, and silly of me, I approached her and asked her if she wanted to continue taking the AP classes.  She did.  So, she gained a quality education and heck with worrying about the GPA. 

 

We found that when it came time for college scholarships, she did just fine as her present school took GPA, Class Rank and ACT into consideration.  So, she received a good mix of an Athletic and Academic Scholarship. 

I appreciate all the responses.  I am already enrolled online to my kids school, I see every grade in every class.  Looking forward to the high school model and hope they have one of those Naviance programs.

 

My kid very much falls into the category that if I tell him he MUST get all 80's then he will get 79.5's!  On the other hand he is not that kid that will stroll through and get A's.  I just don't know where the line is on what to throw down as a mandate, if I say all A's he won't think it's attainable and therefor will not even try.  I have heard over and over on this board that 3.0 is a magical number (not to be confused with 0.300!), but then I figured out that I wouldn't be able to even calculate that due to the various rules.

 

*SIGH* okay, well thanks for the input one and all, looks like I am going to be spending money on ACT and SAT test prep courses and the GPA be darned!

My son's high school did away with AP classes several years ago in favor of Advanced Topics (AT) classes.  They were on the leading edge of this, having brought in somewhere around 25 colleges (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, NYU, etc) to ensure this would be acceptable.  They also contacted over 125 other schools to explain their reasoning.  The school's thought process was, and remains, that AP classes do not teach the student to think for themselves as much as the AT classes do.  This school district does have the luxury of doing something like this because of their national high academic standard.  A good percentage of each graduating class (somewhere around 75%) do get accepted to the top 75 colleges (Ivy's, NESCAC, etc), as identified by Barron's.

 

Some other high schools across the country have followed this precedent.  Initially, many students did take the AP exams anyway, but most have found these are not necessary for acceptance into their choice colleges.  

 

I don't know if the remainder of the country will do the same in the future.

 

You have gotten good advice and about being in 13. Most are space cadets at that age, boys especially, I  know that mine was at that age. 

The best thing for you to do is not to worry about GPA/SAT but focus on positive goals towards becoming a better student in HS which would include better study habits, being organized, time management, getting homework done and done on his own (not parents doing it for them) and learning how to get by without mom or dad reminding them what they need to do. If they forget and don't do homework, or do poorly on a test or in homework, then they have to learn to accept the responsibility for what will happen.  If you dont do well in the classroom, you dont play.

I know that you really hate this and jp thinks I am mean, but you have to stop worrying and enjoy the moments and work on stuff that is age appropriate, and GPA/SAT/ACT scores shouldnt be a priority at this time.

Also make him understand that eventually if he wants to play in college, his grades will be very important..one day.

 

One more thing. I can assure you that in addition to "big data" being paramount re: college admissions, so is the concept of "supply vs demand". Outside of the HPYS of the world (e.g. Ivies),  if a family is looking for academic aid/merit aid (i.e. money that will not have to be paid back), then you have to look at colleges that are "enticing" your type of student to attend. FWIW, in my practice, that one approach has generated tens of thousands of dollars of merit aid. For some, unfortunately, such tuition discounts still aren't enough...

"Telling my kid to get straight A's is just not an option, I have to be reasonable."

 

Why set a low ceiling like this for a 7th grader?  High school is totally different from middle school and many kids blossom.  Would you tell your son not to try to be the best player on the field because it's not an option?  He should try his best to get As, and if he falls short and gets A-, B+, B, or whatever, he's done the best he can do.  If he falls short of an A, then push him to do a notch better next time.  The same desire he has to excel on the field should be nurtured in the classroom.  Setting a low bar is not the way to go.  JMO.

Told our son when he started HS that if he really wants to play college baseball good grades and high SAT scores will open many more doors than just your ability on the field. He understands that he is not a 6'4" pitcher that throws 90+. He is a 5'9" catcher with strong tools but will need help in the form of strong grades and test scores to help him get recruited.

Grades are important but the great equalizer is the test score. That is how students are evaluated compared to their peers with similar grades.    The next important guideline is the rigor of classes.  Most high academic schools want to see a certain amount of AP classes along with the rest being honor classes.   The GPA is then calculated using and unweighted average and is based on the schools own method.  For instance some colleges only use core classes and some will use certain electives.

 

Now if you can throw 90 off the mound or can mash the grades and test scores will  be looked at a little differently!   Now there is a difference between the Ivys and other high academics schools. The high academic schools may have a little more leeway compared to the Ivys that have to adhere to the academic index criteria. 

We expect As in our house. Do we get them all the time, no but we have rarely...with one exception gotten a C and that was in a weighted class which is actually a B from what i understand. I firmly believe the study habits/preparation/personal responsibility aspect of it all as when he does get to a college with baseball or not, he will be the one to not only have to wake up on time without your help but get to and from classes and get the work done while discussing any needs with professors along the way. Prepare him to be responsible and if he wants to play college ball, make sure he knows it is a privilege, not a right. My son is "Mr Last Minute" so i have plenty to worry about with him. Fortunately he is smart enough to manage his classes and will graduate with a 3.7 before going off to college. Good luck.

Mine was Mr last Minute but he made it through 3 years of college with honor roll  and then 7 years on his own.  

 

However, that didnt come just by chance. But rather being able in HS to work on all the skills needed to be able to do it on his own, once he left home.

 

I know that we have discussed this, but for those of you never having a college student athlete, once your son/daughter go off to be one, you will understand why rosters are constantly changing.

 

Everyone knows their kids and what they are capable of, we always raised the bar a bit higher so they had to work harder.

 

If you as a parent expect excellence in the field (this can mean different things) than the same should always be for school.  Example would be if you expect your son to come to the field prepared to play, then he has to do the same for school.  If that doesn't happen, then you need to set limits because when a coach asks for the GPA you have to give it, because that will determine whether he will have further interest or not. 

 

 

JMO

 

Lesson of a parent with 5 kids, all of who are capable. First kid coasted thru HS, never really focused. took basic classes 3.2 - 3.4, never brought home homework, 22-23 or so on ACT., went to local college. 2 year basically flunked out 1.8 or something, that include dropping and retaking many classes multiple time (actually took and dropped one class 4 times), he was 18 and we did not have access (nor ask to) his college academics even though we were footing the bill.3 years of working and realized in his case that what he was doing was no future. went back to school on his dime and will graduate in June from same college with a 2.8 (3.8 since he went back).

 

2nd son graduated with 3.4, or so. Mr Last Minute, same as his brother who is 2 years older than him. He learned from his brother (he was flunking out as this one was headed off to college) and buckled down and did well in college but had to learn to study while in college.

 

3rd (freshman in college), 4th (junior in HS) and 5th (8th grader). We now pay VERY close attention. Constantly talk about classes. We check on line how they are doing. They have learned to study and are expected to push themselves. All are doing very well. I don't think it has anything to do with how smart any of my kids are but us as parents paying attention and setting expectations.

 

So CaCO, set expectations to push, hold them to standards that are high and adjust as many have said, make sure they learn good study habits (my kids got better as they got older and more self reliant- we have to check on 8th grader much more than JR and her even less than son in college- though in his case we don't check study habits anymore- just did that until he graduated HS). So as a 7th grader, being a space cadet pretty normal, like anything, expect a certain standard. for us it has become about effort at a class rather than the grade. That seems to just follow.

 

One of VERY cool things about a college athlete is the college is invested in the player doing well (or at least being eligible). Every college we talked to had study tables with required hours for freshman, made tutor available if necessary for them. Study tables were eliminated as player proved he could do it on his own but always thru freshman year. A couple of colleges told me they had players that were Juniors and Seniors still doing that because it helped them focus on grades.

For a 7th grader you have time on your side.I think TPM hit the nail on the head regarding building the foundation so they succeed once they go off to college. IMO, you want good grades but especially good study habits for a couple of reasons:1)  it instills discipline and reinforces the study\ work habits that are necessary life skills going forward; trying to learn these skills in college or the work force is a very tough road indeed; and 2) Good Grades and test scores open up so many more options for your son both if they decide to pursue baseball after HS or not. The question I would pose is why would you ever limit your options by not handing in work? My son got good grades with crappy organizational skills and study habits, we focused on improving those and stressed that if he could look us in the eye and state he had done his best on said project or test we were happy and the grades would take care of themselves and so would test scores. If he did not improve those skills he would be drowning now. JMO, the process is as important as the end result. What good is a 3.0 if he mailed it in?   

Another thought about the specifics of 'what gpa do you need to have'. Remember that many colleges convert the applicant gpa into their own, school-specific one. The most transparent example of this: the UCs. They have, on their own website, a calculator to convert your student's gpa for their own system (Why? They only give 8 semester's AP credit and they don't always recognize a high school course as 'advanced or honors'). Also, how does a college compare a Florida or Arkansas school district's 10 point grading scale with others on a 4 point scale? Confusion would abound if colleges didn't convert! Since grade inflation is also a major problem, colleges (even test-optional ones) need something standardized, eg. SAT, ACT, Subject tests (esp useful for home-schooled students) to further compare their tens of thousands of applicants. So, as was posted earlier, focus on rigor appropriate to your child & organizational skills and enjoy the brief moment you have with your child.