What are Colleges Doing about Grade Inflation

College Admissions Help from a College Admissions Advisor

College Admission Counselors are reporting that high school grade inflation is creating a big challenge for many college admissions committees. In the past, colleges could generally rely on a consistent 4.0 scale that was fairly uniform in most institutions to assess high school performance.

With competitiveness for college admissions increasing at the student, family, and high school level, college admissions counselors there have been some important shifts in how high schools are reporting grades to college admissions committees.

Some of the new “trends” from high schools that universities and college admissions committees are finding disturbing:
Not providing the applicants high school class rank on college admissions applications to colleges which makes it hard to compare relative high school performance.
Changing high school grading scales to make it harder for college admissions professionals to compare between schools. College admissions advisor Kevin Vaughn sees this trend increasing at a rapid pace.
Weighting certain classes differently than others. Although this grading system is designed to advantage students who take a heavy AP, IB and honors courseload, it again works against fair and balanced assessment of high school performance.
Allowing the average GPA to drift upwards. One college admission counselor group reports that over the last three years, average GPAs have risen by nearly 11%.

So what are colleges doing to combat the trend of students trying to increase college chances of admission? Two main shifts to increase college chances are prevalent. First, standardized college admissions test scores are taking on increased role in college admittance decisioning. A noted college admission consultant reported that the SAT, ACT, and PSAT are carrying more weight in college admission chances than ever before not because they are better indicators of college success, rather they are a way to differentiate students who no longer can be differentiated from high school grades.

Secondarily, colleges are focusing more on the intangibles. Those components which make up the Admit Insights Candidate Strength ScoreTM – areas like extracurriculars, community involvement, athletics, demonstration of leadership, etc.

College applicants should work with their college counselors and informal college advisors ensure as they focus on creating a great admissions profile, they keep adequate emphasis on both grades/standardized tests and the other “softer components” that make them a whole candidate in the eyes of the admissions committee.
Jamie Warder
www.AdmitInsights.com
Admit Insights
Jamie@admitinsights.com

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