What GPA will a college use to admit/deny a recruited athlete?

We always listed and provided his Overall GPA, but I am not entirely sure if that is the way it is done everywhere.

KilroyJ posted:

Son struggles freshman year, but took mostly honors courses, and an AP. He's picked it up considerably sophomore year but is still behind the 8 ball due to freshman year. So in deciding what schools to "reach" for, I'm trying to figure out which GPA the colleges will be looking for.

As far as I can see, there are at least 3 GPAs I can provide to a school. Basic GPA (grades of all classes taken so far divided by number of classes), Weighted GPA (same but add in extra points for honors and AP classes), and then "core GPA" which I believe refers to only the GPA of classes that qualify for the NCAA clearinghouse. From what I can tell, the NCAA core GPA adds the extra points in for honors and AP classes. Can anyone confirm/deny that this is correct? Reason I'm asking is that of these GPAs, the core GPA with weighted grades makes my kid look the most favorable. Is it kosher to be listing this GPA on sites such as PG?

Also,  if a college coach tells my son he needs a 3.2 GPA for acceptance, which GPA is he likely referring to?

I know what you mean, my kid just came home from first year of college and she asked me what her HS GPA was and I had to tell it I really had no idea.

That said, with regard to posting GPAs on PG profiles, do what you think is best for your kid and can be supported by a transcript. I know parents who have padded their kids GPA on PG and when a school actually wants to look at them and asks for transcripts, they find out quickly that 1.5 + 1.0 does not add up to 3.5...so be honest and be able to back it up.

The GPA question comes up frequently here.  There's been a lot of discussion in previous threads that might be useful.

In my experience with two sons playing college baseball and in helping dozens of other athletes...standardized test scores (ACT / SAT) matter most.  This is particularly true as the initial hurdle that coaches will ask about.  Is the student - athlete within the 25% - 75% ACT / SAT of the school?  That's a pretty good starting point to get a sense for the colleges where your student might fit.

GPAs are very difficult (impossible) to compare nationwide.  One student's course material, rigor,  and grade in a given class (say, US History) may be dramatically different than another student somewhere else taking the same course.  Grade inflation is rampant unfortunately.  Standardized test scores, rightly or wrongly, are viewed by coaches and college admissions as an easier benchmark.

That said, GPA and rigor of curriculum are the next academic benchmarks that get reviewed.  For GPA, we used both unweighted and weighted GPAs.  As noted above, these need to be supported by the student's transcript.

How important is GPA?  That depends.  How good is the baseball player?  My oldest had a 3.07 unweighted GPA, and just under a 3.2 weighted.  He was "offered" by all but one of the Ivy League schools.  His ACT was a 28.  And he had a 9.0 PG rating and threw 90 mph.  My youngest had a 3.4 unweighted GPA, much higher weighted, and had no Ivy offers.  Then again, he throws 83 mph.

Completely agree with SDRealist that however and wherever you announce or state his GPA, the transcripts better be a very close match.  The high academic schools are going to ask for transcripts and test scores for pre-reads, and if a kid inflates the GPA from what he told the coach, he will be exposed quickly.  I do not know what the "standard" is but I'm thinking most kids list their weighted GPAs, as those do include proof of taking Honors and AP classes that typically help the case.  I think the typical discussion with college coaches includes the full weighted GPAs.  I will note that for the University of California schools, they only count the core "a-g" course and calculate the GPA based on that (where Honors and AP does help).  So those A's in baseball do not count unfortunately!

if they don't specify, use the highest one

Interesting question and even for regular students colleges are very opaque in what GPA means. For example, some colleges don't even consider ninth grade grades; other colleges do; some colleges will not include PE; others will. There just isn't a standard across colleges.

I'd suggest calling the admissions office of the college(s) you're looking at and ask; if you're not yet at the stage of specifically identifying colleges, pick a few likely candidates at random and call. GPA calculations for athletes and non-athletes will be consistent within a school; but will differ school by school.

If your question goes to overall NCAA eligibility, I'd call the NCAA and ask.

Alternatively, most high schools will show the cumulative GPA on the kid's transcript. You can't go wrong with that - even if it's not what you want.

(as for Ivy's, coaches can "offer" but it's an illusion. The path to admission goes through the admissions office, not the coach. The coaches are bound by certain specific limits - and yes, the better the player the lower the scores; but that applies to only one kid per class - and that kid needs to have all-American potential. Look up IVY League bands - which apply to football, but are analogous to baseball - which probably can be found when exploring the Ivy AI index.)

GPA and SAT scores depends on the college. I know a kid who took until early summer before freshman year of college to get an NCAA admissible SAT score to a college that outside baseball would have required a 1300+ (Math/English) for a regular student. 

I remember talking to Duke parents who said the acceptable academic levels for basketball did not apply to the baseball team.

My kids were asked for their unweighted GPAs. There isn't a standard from school district to school district for weighted GPAs. Then they were asked what level courses (college, honors, AP) they were taking. 

In a weird case of fate/kismet/whatever, today I ended up speaking to an athlete who just graduated from the very school I am trying to get information about, and she gave me some interesting insights into the amount of admissions leeway and assistance the athletes are given while attending this school currently (spoiler alert: a lot). Since we can only control what we can control, son has set his sights on a 3.2 GPA by the end of next semester and a 1300 SAT in September.  He will be taking a prep class over the summer so hopefully both of these goals are achievable and this still gives him time to improve on both before the end of his junior year, along with his baseball goal of adding 2mph to his fastball before the PBR Futures games in August. (and, hopefully, the AC games later in August!)

That's great that your son recognizes that the academics are a huge part of the opportunity he may get to play college baseball.  And as many of us found out, if your son winds up not having the tools and skills to attract a D1 athletic scholarship, the better the academics, the better chance he has to be considered for programs with no athletic money available but with merit award consideration.  Private schools with high tuition otherwise can become options if he can get some academic (or need-based) aid.

The answer:  look at the base of your son't HS transcript, it will say "Cumulative GPA", this is a weighted average.  Use that number until told otherwise.

Colleges can quickly ascertain how many AP's and H's classes.  Also, the ACT or SAT equals the playing field for all HS students nationwide.  A kid with a 23 ACT and a 3.75 GPA, vs a kid with a 3.75 GPA and a 31 ACT "could suggest" the kid with the 31 ACT is in a stronger college prep HS program.   

A so so freshman year is recoverable.  Colleges like upward grade trajectory, and a difficult freshman year calls for an excellent college essay.   

KilroyJ posted:

In a weird case of fate/kismet/whatever, today I ended up speaking to an athlete who just graduated from the very school I am trying to get information about, and she gave me some interesting insights into the amount of admissions leeway and assistance the athletes are given while attending this school currently (spoiler alert: a lot). Since we can only control what we can control, son has set his sights on a 3.2 GPA by the end of next semester and a 1300 SAT in September.  He will be taking a prep class over the summer so hopefully both of these goals are achievable and this still gives him time to improve on both before the end of his junior year, along with his baseball goal of adding 2mph to his fastball before the PBR Futures games in August. (and, hopefully, the AC games later in August!)

Duke: min 26 ACT for baseball players.  ND is more flexible if you're talented.... (just a reference)

In depends on how hard the school is recruiting a player!  Most academic schools when recruiting a player will ask for their transcript before serious consideration.  If the transcript checks out the RC will then determine if there is support from the admission department.

The reality is that a  highly recruited player may have a lesser standard to meet than that of the average overall freshman admission class.  The ERA or Batting Average may be  given some serious consideration along with the GPA and standardized test!

Alternatively, most high schools will show the cumulative GPA on the kid's transcript. You can't go wrong with that - even if it's not what you want.

When someone asks, I jsut send them a copy of his transcript. They can pick what they want off of it.

Iowamom23 posted:

Alternatively, most high schools will show the cumulative GPA on the kid's transcript. You can't go wrong with that - even if it's not what you want.

When someone asks, I jsut send them a copy of his transcript. They can pick what they want off of it.

 

Ding ding ding.  We have a winner.  It doesn't matter what you tell them your GPA is, they are going to get the real data off the official transcript. If you inflated your GPA its going to look bad on you and your son.  In addition if the school wants to calculate something different they will do that off the transcripts.  

When son was being recruited, asking for Transcripts was one of the first things the coaches did.  Even at schools that didn't really seem like he was ever really in the running.  If they had a conversation, they generally asked for him to send transcripts.  Maybe it was just in case they got REALLY interested down the road.

My two cents....

GPA numbers vary greatly between high schools, districts, and states.  Many High School guidance councelors have tools (ie Naviance) available to them that can tell a student what alumni previously scored (accepted and rejected) to get into a specific college as well as other high schools in your area and across the country.   I would keep the coaches GPA number in mind but I would also consult the high school guidance councelor to get those metrics.    

I recall many college baseball questionnaires had both weighted and unweighted fields.  When in doubt, I believe we put weighted and listed AP courses.  The GPA number only needs to be defensible.

Also, 100% agree with Branson that standardized test scores matter the most.  That is the admissions equalizer that solves the great GPA disparity across the country whether it is a student or a student athlete.  I'm not saying I agree with it, but that is the way it is at this point in time. Look at it from a College Admissions person's perspective.    

I just got my kids report card and it says his GPA is 86.9126.  That's not exactly helpful on the 4 point scale.

CaCO3Girl posted:

I just got my kids report card and it says his GPA is 86.9126.  That's not exactly helpful on the 4 point scale.

http://www.collegeboard.com/ht...er-howtoconvert.html

joes87 posted:

CaCO3Girl posted:

I just got my kids report card and it says his GPA is 86.9126.  That's not exactly helpful on the 4 point scale.

http://www.collegeboard.com/ht...er-howtoconvert.html

That is interesting....thank you.

At my son's school a 70 is a D, and a 69 is failing.  So if his final grade for a course was a 68 according to his school he would have failed but according to the conversion chart it would have counted.  Very odd.

CaCO3Girl posted:

joes87 posted:

CaCO3Girl posted:

I just got my kids report card and it says his GPA is 86.9126.  That's not exactly helpful on the 4 point scale.

http://www.collegeboard.com/ht...er-howtoconvert.html

That is interesting....thank you.

At my son's school a 70 is a D, and a 69 is failing.  So if his final grade for a course was a 68 according to his school he would have failed but according to the conversion chart it would have counted.  Very odd.

.8691 x 4 will work as well

CaCO3Girl posted:

joes87 posted:

CaCO3Girl posted:

I just got my kids report card and it says his GPA is 86.9126.  That's not exactly helpful on the 4 point scale.

http://www.collegeboard.com/ht...er-howtoconvert.html

That is interesting....thank you.

At my son's school a 70 is a D, and a 69 is failing.  So if his final grade for a course was a 68 according to his school he would have failed but according to the conversion chart it would have counted.  Very odd.

I was in a school district from third to seventh grade where 70 was passing. 60 is the norm.

RJM posted:

CaCO3Girl posted:

joes87 posted:

CaCO3Girl posted:

I just got my kids report card and it says his GPA is 86.9126.  That's not exactly helpful on the 4 point scale.

http://www.collegeboard.com/ht...er-howtoconvert.html

That is interesting....thank you.

At my son's school a 70 is a D, and a 69 is failing.  So if his final grade for a course was a 68 according to his school he would have failed but according to the conversion chart it would have counted.  Very odd.

I was in a school district from third to seventh grade where 70 was passing. 60 is the norm.

It was when I was in school too, but here if you have a 69.4 you fail.  You would think there would be some uniformity across the board but nope!

As has been mentioned, there are multiple ways in which schools in different areas calculate the GPA, be it unweighted, core or weighted.

There are also multiple different ways the colleges will evaluate those numbers.  If a coach says you need a certain GPA, it's best to ask which he means.  You can also make a call to the school's admissions office to find out.

You should also keep in mind that for the most part admissions decisions aren't made by a computer.  An admissions officer will actually look at transcripts and applications to see if they feel a student will be a good fit.

You can have a kid with an unweighted GPA of 3.6, which in theory is great.  However if those grades came from low level classes, the student may not be prepared to handle college level academics.  You could have a kid with an unweighted 3.1 - but took a full load of honors and AP classes, that would do fine in college.

Admissions officers will take the GPA into account - but are going to be far more impressed with a prospective student who was facing challenging courses. Ultimately that shows them the likelihood of success in college courses.

Test scores are of course the great equalizer. That's why they are given strong weight in the admissions process. Usually there is a scale in any school of test scores to GPA.  In other words, if you score "X" your GPA needs to be at least "Y".

Your test scores show what you are capable of, your GPA shows what you accomplished. They go hand in hand.

I've been told that for a highly recruited athlete, how they get their GPA isn't always as important as the GPA itself. Some schools just want to be able to say their incoming athletes have a minimum (or average)  X.XX GPA, and that's enough to keep everyone happy.

Realistically, if a player is so close to the school's minimum acceptable GPA for athletes that the weighted and unweighted GPA's are on different sides of the line, that school is probably not a good academic fit.

Don't overthink it. Pick weighted or unweighted and say which it is. They'll want transcripts before they get too far down the road--certainly before the official visit--so they'll have all the details soon enough.

the higher the velo, the lower you gpa and act can be .... I mean come on they are not recruiting students, they are recruiting baseball players that can be a good enough students

My son posts his unweighted GPA of 3.33. His weighted GPA is 3.7, but I'd rather weed out those who will be disappointed when they see his transcript.