I have been offered by 4 separate people four separate amounts to take the SAT for them, 4,000, 5,000, 8,000 and 10,000 dollars. These are serious offers. I turned them all down. There are two problems this shows me a) people are trying to cheat in these and b) people who live me are way too bloody rich, and despite the ethical issues if I wasn't paranoid about getting caught I probably would have accepted the 10,000 dollar one... that's just so much money.
This problem seems rampant, what do you guys think?
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Good grief. Did they offer to finance your fake ID, too?
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
I don't believe it.
I suspect if you were to take them up on the offer, tell them to give you half up front - you'd never see $2000, $2500, $4000, or $5000 handed to you.
I think what you have are people making bold offers they know are going to be turned down, and who have no intention of following through on what they assert they will.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
That's what you would think if you lived anywhere except my neighborhood where I have no doubt in my mind they could come up with the money.
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
I say pocket the money and don't take the test.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
Yeah, aside from that being even more unethical... the guys who are offering are football jocks, they could beat the living tar out of me, which is probably why they need me to take the test for them: too much focus on sports.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
And here I thought this was a thread about how the SAT fraudulantly pretends to be an indication of inteligence and knowledge.
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
quote:Originally posted by JonHecht: Yeah, aside from that being even more unethical... the guys who are offering are football jocks, they could beat the living tar out of me, which is probably why they need me to take the test for them: too much focus on sports.
I'd take a beating for $10,000.
Posted by Celaeno (Member # 8562) on :
What was their plan for getting you into the test center?
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
As long as we're being unethical, you could take the money and bomb the test.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: And here I thought this was a thread about how the SAT fraudulantly pretends to be an indication of inteligence and knowledge.
That's a good idea too, that should be a separate thread.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
If you really think this is serious, report it to the testing board or your school officials.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
quote:Originally posted by JonHecht:
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: And here I thought this was a thread about how the SAT fraudulantly pretends to be an indication of inteligence and knowledge.
That's a good idea too, that should be a separate thread.
I'm pretty sure we have a few. Or more than a few.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
Woah this thread is generating a lot of posts, "What was their plan for getting you into the test center?" one of many reasons I said no. I commented that they check ID and one of them said "No they don't" another said "Only rarely" and the two others said "I know a guy who can get you fake ID".
"As long as we're being unethical, you could take the money and bomb the test." If I accepted they would probably do half first half after they get good scores back, and would once again beat the tar out of me if I got a bad score.
Anyway, I don't like theft.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
Is the KID paying the $10K, or is this parentally sanctioned? Forgive me if I find it hard to believe that a high school senior just happens to have $10K lying around for this particular purpose, but then again things have changed a lot in the past twenty years.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
quote:Originally posted by Belle: If you really think this is serious, report it to the testing board or your school officials.
As appealing as that thought is, there is no evidence and they are friends of my brother, and I would rather not.
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: And here I thought this was a thread about how the SAT fraudulantly pretends to be an indication of inteligence and knowledge.
Yeah, barely pulled a 3.0 in high school, but managed a 1200 on the SAT. Not quite sure how that happened. My wife had a 3.7 and got a 1000.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nighthawk: Is the KID paying the $10K, or is this parentally sanctioned? Forgive me if I find it hard to believe that a high school senior just happens to have $10K lying around for this particular purpose, but then again things have changed a lot in the past twenty years.
I have 6,000 dollars sitting around in my bank account. I am by FAR the "poorest" kid in my neighborhood. On my street alone I know of at least 7 CEOs. My brother's best friend's father is a billionaire. Let me repeat that they would have no issue financing it.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by JonHecht:
quote:Originally posted by Belle: If you really think this is serious, report it to the testing board or your school officials.
As appealing as that thought is, there is no evidence and they are friends of my brother, and I would rather not.
I would refuse, that is your best recourse. If you want to go the extra mile, figure out a way to talk them out doing something that could ruin any chance any of them have at attending college, getting a degree, and a decent job.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
quote:And here I thought this was a thread about how the SAT fraudulantly pretends to be an indication of inteligence and knowledge.
The SAT is set up to predict performance in college (more specifically, the first year of college), which, as far as I remember, it does better than any other single measure employed in the college admissions process.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade:
quote:Originally posted by JonHecht:
quote:Originally posted by Belle: If you really think this is serious, report it to the testing board or your school officials.
As appealing as that thought is, there is no evidence and they are friends of my brother, and I would rather not.
I would refuse, that is your best recourse. If you want to go the extra mile, figure out a way to talk them out doing something that could ruin any chance any of them have at attending college, getting a degree, and a decent job.
I've been doing the extra mile thing... mostly just calling them idiots and morons for even considering it.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
quote:As appealing as that thought is, there is no evidence and they are friends of my brother, and I would rather not.
There is no evidence, and I doubt you'd get any. Refer back to my first post. I still maintain that this is a bluff and if you called them on it, it would disappear.
And I don't care where you live, what they drive, what their parents make, I don't think any kid can get $10,000 without his parents knowing about it, so unless it's, as Nighthawk says, parentally sanctioned, I still don't believe it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling you a liar, I believe they may well have asked you, but I don't believe they'd follow through. Sounds like typical high school student blustering to me. No offense, but this type of thing is typical, predictable, and not anything to be taken seriously.
I volunteer with teenagers, I have one in my home, and I hear this kind of stuff every day and surprise! I've never seen it pan out to be real.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
quote:I have 6,000 dollars sitting around in my bank account. I am by FAR the "poorest" kid in my neighborhood. On my street alone I know of at least 7 CEOs. My brother's best friend's father is a billionaire. Let me repeat that they would have no issue financing it.
That does sound impressive. Where do you live? (area, community, zip code - I wouldn't ask a minor to post their address or anything.)
If you seriously think this is real and concern, ask for the money, and when you receive it, take it to the police and turn it in, along with a full report. Then you would have evidence.
Forgive me Jon, I may just be in a cantankerous mood today. Perhaps this is real, and I'm being unfair. It's possible. I just have seen this type of comment so many times, and like I said, it's just not real. I still have my doubts about this situation. Please don't take it personally.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
95070, Saratoga, California. Median house price is something like a 1 million. Across the street a house just sold for something like 16 million.
Posted by Celaeno (Member # 8562) on :
Oh, man, he's right. I live very near to Saratoga. Median house price there has got to be more than $1m.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Obviously a far cry from my little town in Alabama.
As I said, I admit it's possible this is common practice in that area, for teens to have that kind of cash and the willingness to use it for such an unethical purpose. It would be an interesting experiment to see if they do follow up if he offers to do it, but I don't suggest he do that. The best bet is to turn and walk away, or take the high road that was suggested.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
I really would not put it past a kid to pay someone to take the SAT for him. If Jon's school/neighborhood are as he says they are, they're a lot like the high school I went to, where many kids most definitely had access to enormous amounts of money, both in the form of credit cards and direct cash deposits to their personal accounts on a routine basis.
As one of the poorer among my classmates (and I'm by no means poor--my family was, at the time, lower-middle/middle class by Hawaii standards), I had friends who would routinely insist I make ludicrous bets with them ("I bet you I can't give you a ride home in under 30 minutes") and lose on purpose. I'm talking about $100, $200, $500, so they didn't have to financially dumb down their fun to include me, and I could participate without taking an outright handout (even if it fooled no one).
If they hadn't been as bright as they were, I could see a couple of them offering to pay a four figure sum to someone to take an important test for them.
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
quote:Originally posted by ElJay: As long as we're being unethical, you could take the money and bomb the test.
My thoughts exactly. The only problem is that obviously spoiled rich kids with loose morals who probably believe they can get away with anything might go to some rather extreme lengths for retaliation.
If you don't think they'll do worse than beat you up (with a low probability of permanent injuries), personally, I would do it and take my chances. I wouldn't even consider it unethical on my part. I might even do it if they refused to pay me up front. For me it would be about teaching them a lesson more than getting the money.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by MrSquicky:
quote:And here I thought this was a thread about how the SAT fraudulantly pretends to be an indication of inteligence and knowledge.
The SAT is set up to predict performance in college (more specifically, the first year of college), which, as far as I remember, it does better than any other single measure employed in the college admissions process.
Man, Squick! I was all ready to answer this as someone with real-life experience in college admissions, and you had to go and steal my thunder. Thanks bunches.
And you did it more succinctly than I would have, to boot! *shakes fist*
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I believe Jon's story for one simple reason -- I've heard of people paying considerably more. I am also aware of people getting caught every year for trying this sort of nonsense. Proctors most certainly DO check each and every person's ID.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
for the people doubting him about whether people could get together the money...it all depends on where you live. I knew plenty of people who could have gotten together 10,000 on their own in high school without their parents paying attention.
Their parents might have an idea that something was up, but not really looked into it because they didn't want to know.
Posted by Valentine014 (Member # 5981) on :
I don't believe anyone has asked this question but, what exactly are the consequences for getting caught?
What was your SAT score? That seems like quite a few offers. Is that normal in your area for people to ask others to take their test?
Wow. $10,000 is so much money...
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Well, I'm sure anyone who got caught would have a hard time getting into college. And I think they might be able to indict you for fraud, but I'm not sure.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
Well, my scores weren't that impressive for myself, 2100, but I could easily get higher if I wanted. I didn't really try on my own, if I had really buckled down I probably could have shelled out 2300 at least. The issue for is that I knew how well I had to do to go where I wanted, and knew I could do it without trying so I didn't bother trying. That may seem a bit arrogant but that is why the people want me to take the test for them, because they also think I could have gotten 2300 if I had studied, prepared... actually slept before the test (there was a party, what can I say).
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
I've a buddy who has taken it for three different people. I imagine it's fairly common, if you go looking. Then again, I know people who have gotten the Bar early for 20,000 dollars. If you are willing to commit tens of thousands of dollars for an enterprise, especially if you don't value education as much as you are looking as college as means to get a high-powered job, what's a few grand to game the system?
quote:95070, Saratoga, California. Median house price is something like a 1 million. Across the street a house just sold for something like 16 million.
I know enough kids who went to Saratoga, Lynbrook, and Monte Vista to not have any trouble believing you.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
Oh, in case you guys who aren't used to the new system are wondering I just looked up the translation on wikipedia: 2100=1420, 2300=1550
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
If I could have gotten that high on the SAT, I think I might have been willing to make a year's salary tax-free while in HS.
Good thing for me none of the kids in my school had that much to spend. I might have been tempted down the wrong path.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
Good thing my fear of getting caught/ethics (that was only useful until the 10k mark) protect me.
Posted by theamazeeaz (Member # 6970) on :
Oh man, I wish I lived in your neighborhood. Back in the day, (four years ago), I got a 1570. Sadly no one offered me any money to take the test for them. I think I would have laughed my butt off though if someone offered. I never thought people would do that. It's pretty pathetic.
These people do not deserve to rent your brain at any price. They're not worth you, no matter how much money daddy has. If they didn't have daddy, they'd be broke. The end.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
It's pretty interesting to me, after having gone to college, graduated, and held many jobs, that a high school student can make $2-3,000 an hour before college, and can reasonably expect a tiny fraction of that after 4 or more years of study.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:95070, Saratoga, California. Median house price is something like a 1 million. Across the street a house just sold for something like 16 million.
No wonder you were getting five digit figures for SAT testing. It happens here, too -- I live in the richest zip code in my time zone. Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
"I've a buddy who has taken it for three different people."
Same.
It's really simple how they get in, they just got a camera, printed out a picture of themselves, and glued it over the other person's school ID.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
They require a drivers license or california state ID here... at least my proctor did.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Yeah, state-issued photo ID or two forms of student or other photo ID were required when I took it, and they checked signatures. They also did not accept unlaminated school IDs.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
I took the SAT twice, once I didn't have to provide an ID, but the person administering my room had been a parent of a friend since I was in second grade, I'd been to his house, he knew where mine was and knew my parents. The other time I was at a different school, and we were required to show our school id, but I'm pretty sure one from my school that was there was fake.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
quote:Originally posted by JonHecht: They require a drivers license or california state ID here... at least my proctor did.
I didn't have either one of those until my first year in college. I got in with my Social Security Card, which is hardly a valid ID.
I have to admit, back then if someone offered me $10K to take it, I probably would have, especially considering back then they were much more lax about proper ID (I'm talking 1989 here). Of course, I would have spent the $10K in three days and wound up dead in a ditch somewhere, but they would be some seriously entertaining three days.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by JonHecht: I have been offered by 4 separate people four separate amounts to take the SAT for them, 4,000, 5,000, 8,000 and 10,000 dollars. These are serious offers. I turned them all down. There are two problems this shows me a) people are trying to cheat in these and b) people who live me are way too bloody rich, and despite the ethical issues if I wasn't paranoid about getting caught I probably would have accepted the 10,000 dollar one... that's just so much money.
This problem seems rampant, what do you guys think?
I was offered $50 when I was in high school. I think it was because I was willing to cheat on tests for classmates (finish the test first, go to the front of the room to ask the teacher a question, come back to find a blank test on my desk, lather, rinse, repeat). But if you get caught, you're screwed. Don't do it.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Stephan:
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: And here I thought this was a thread about how the SAT fraudulantly pretends to be an indication of inteligence and knowledge.
Yeah, barely pulled a 3.0 in high school, but managed a 1200 on the SAT. Not quite sure how that happened. My wife had a 3.7 and got a 1000.
3.247 GPA. 1440 SAT. My little brother got something in the 1000s and had a much higher GPA. It's the stupidest test ever.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I wonder if proctors in areas that are more prone to cheating are stricter on ID. I know I took my SATs in a very, very rich area with kids widely known for cheating (it was the rich school district next to us, not mine. In an unrelated statistic, the community with the highest rate of anorexia and bullemia in the nation, at least when my dad was in med school.)
Posted by Mr. Stryker (Member # 10517) on :
I know for a fact, when I took the SAT's... there was one person in the room taking the test for another person... He had a fake ID (which the other person paid for) and he made $500 for it...
The sad thing is the fact that this individual got a solid 200 points higher on the test he took for another person, than the one he took for himself...
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
I wonder if I could get anyone to pay me $10,000 to do their job interview for them.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by MightyCow: I wonder if I could get anyone to pay me $10,000 to do their job interview for them.
Actors do it all the time, it's called an "Agent."
Countries also do this all the time, they are called, "Ambassadors."
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
If the SATs measured the exact same thing as your GPA did, there wouldn't be much point, neh?
Which is why most colleges look at the two things together, and not either single measure alone. (UCLA used to have a sliding scale -- the higher your GPA, the lower your SAT scores could be, and vice versa. It's the only reason I got in. My GPA wasn't very good.)
Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
Darn you smart people. I'm so average. 3.4 GPA and 1180 on the SAT.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
SAT has no correlation to intelligence, well maybe just a bit. It tests how good you are at taking tests more than anything.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
While it may or may not be true that the SAT does or does not correlate to intelligence, I suppose the best way to argue is provide facts.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
The SAT is not meant to correlate to intelligence. That's what IQ tests are for.
It has a good correlation to doing well in one's freshman year in college. That's what the test is designed to do, and it does it quite well. Especially when combined with GPA, it helps college admissions committees make decisions.
No more, no less.
Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
I'm one of the "high SAT scores, low GPA" crowd. On the PSATs I got a 680, 580, and 710. My GPA is just below a 3.0 Posted by Xaposert (Member # 1612) on :
quote:It has a good correlation to doing well in one's freshman year in college.
My understanding was that, among other factors they consider, SAT scores generally are less useful for predicting success in college.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Your understanding apparently ignores the majority of the research done on the topic.
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
I'm not sure success in college should be the most important consideration in admissions, just as one shouldn't always take the highest paying job, or buy the lowest priced good. I also think this brand of singular thinking pervades, but who knows?
[ June 04, 2007, 01:28 PM: Message edited by: Irami Osei-Frimpong ]
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by rivka: Your understanding apparently ignores the majority of the research done on the topic.
You got me to crack a smile with that little gem Rivka. Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade:
quote:Originally posted by rivka: Your understanding apparently ignores the majority of the research done on the topic.
You got me to crack a smile with that little gem Rivka.
I loved it as well. Though not only was she funny...she was right. Posted by Xaposert (Member # 1612) on :
quote:Your understanding apparently ignores the majority of the research done on the topic.
I would say that is a given for those of us who are not experts on the SAT and haven't studied "the majority of the research done on the topic". My understanding is based on that statements from my university's admissions officer (at UVA), who said they didn't weight the SAT very heavily because they had found that although it was useful, other admissions factors were better predictors of success. I suppose it is possible that the Admissions Office also had an understanding that ignores the majority of research done on the topic, but given they are supposed to be experts on the matter, my best guess is that either their view was consistent with at least some interpretation of the research or they found through experience that the research was incorrect.
On that note, here is the reasoning one of the admissions officer gives on their admissions blog:
quote:I got an interesting comment today and thought I'd turn my response into a full-fledged entry.
I totally agree that the admission process is, and should be, holistic. However I don't understand why UVA puts A LOT MORE weight on GPA than on SATs. Afterall, SATs are standardized as you mentioned, and standardization makes it more comparable than high school GPAs, which can be arbitrary and inflated in one school vs. in another.
BTW, I'd like to know if a rumor I heard is true: UVA will deny/waitlist an applicant if s/he has an average GPA below 3.8 even if the applicant has high SATs (by high I mean 75 percentile or above)?
Thanks! A VA Dad
The fact is that the SAT is not perfect. True, you can find stats that show those who score well on the SAT tend to do well in college, BUT you can't say that those who don't score well are destined to do poorly in college.
I have a fantastic story to illustrate this. Last fall, a 4th year at UVA (a senior) came by my office looking for advice about crafting a letter to law school admission officers. She was trying to draw a correlation between how she did on the SAT and her performance at UVA and her performance on the LSAT and her potential for performance in law school (here's a "retro" joke for those who took the SAT before the format change: SAT:UVA::LSAT:Dream Law School).
This young woman scored very poorly on the SAT. I won't post her score, but it was bad. She is #20 in her class of over 3000 at UVA. Reread that. She's TWENTIETH in a class of THREE THOUSAND.
Thank goodness the admission officers who read her application didn't weigh that SAT score more heavily than her performance in high school! Thank goodness we look at how each school calculates GPA and how grading works at each school (an A starts at 90 in some schools, 93 in others) when we read an application.
If that didn't convince you, consider this: The SAT is four hours long. The high school transcript shows us four years of work. I'd rather see a great transcript with nice teacher recommendations, sincere essays and evidence of some involvement than perfect SAT scores.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong: I'm not sure success in college should be the most important consideration in admissions, just as one shouldn't always take the highest paying job, or buy the lowest priced good.
Fortunately, there are many schools that have non-competitive (or not entirely competitive) admissions. Even competitive-admission schools certainly consider other factors. However, a school's mission will limit to what degree that is possible. So will the ratio of qualified applicants to available spots.
quote:Originally posted by Xaposert: My understanding is based on that statements from my university's admissions officer (at UVA), who said they didn't weight the SAT very heavily because they had found that although it was useful, other admissions factors were better predictors of success. I suppose it is possible that the Admissions Office also had an understanding that ignores the majority of research done on the topic, but given they are supposed to be experts on the matter, my best guess is that either their view was consistent with at least some interpretation of the research or they found through experience that the research was incorrect.
Clearly, that admissions officer is not a fan of the SAT. A quick perusal of the blog confirms as much. And he is of course entitled to his opinion. And quite possibly, for the particular population that he serves, some of the deficiencies of the SAT may be an especial problem.
However, one admissions officer is a single data point. Last I heard, while the members of NACAC had criticisms of the SAT (and the ACT, which is better in some ways and worse in others), very few were in favor of not using the test(s) as an important part of the admission process.
I've been doing college admissions for a less than two years, so I can't claim many years of experience. But IMO and IME (and based on extensive conversations with colleagues with many decades of experience in the field), any competitive-admissions school that ignores SAT scores is foolish. And any school that makes them the sole (or even primary) criterion is foolish as well.
As I said earlier, SAT (or ACT) scores are most useful when looked at in combination with GPA (and other criteria). However, the data is clear that as a single measure, it has the highest correspondence to success as a college freshman. Fortunately, admissions officers are not forced to choose any single measure! Nor are they required to follow the pack.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
A 3.8 is -- in theory -- a 95 average. That's pretty darn impressive. The weird thing is that my average is only about 90 and I have an SAT that is 99+ percentile, yet I see many, many people with much better GPAs and SATs that are much lower.
It's oddish :/.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
How so, Phanto?
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
I've given up trying to compare anyone's GPA to anyone else's, ever since I found out that some schools actually add points for Honors and AP classes.
And the new SAT? Yeah, NO clue.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Eros, most schools that do that, also tell you your real gpa. Or at least mine did. We only started weighting our senior year though.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
And many colleges recalculate GPA from transcripts according to their own formula.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by erosomniac: I've given up trying to compare anyone's GPA to anyone else's, ever since I found out that some schools actually add points for Honors and AP classes.
I thought that was standard. At my high school, honors math got you a 4.5 for an A and a 3.5 for a B (C and less didn't get the extra half-point). We had a higher math class called telescopics, where you got a 5 and a 4, but when my math teacher took over the class, he did so on condition that it would be only a 4.5 and a 3.5, like honors. He wanted only students who were in it for the math. If they just wanted the extra grade points, they could stick with honors.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Some add a whole point, some add a half, some it depends on the class, some don't do any...
My school provided a "weighted" and an "unweighted" GPA on each grade report. Your weighted GPA only counted for stuff in-school or in-district, valedictorian and such. Your unweighted GPA was what they sent to colleges.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Ours was a whole point for AP and a half for honors. They kind of counted both for Valedictorian, only people with an unweighted 4.0 got nominated, but the highest weighted was the validictorian.
The colleges I applied at did get rid of music, art, and other fun electives, I think including the state required gym. Grr.
Posted by Angiomorphism (Member # 8184) on :
all this talk about sat's is making me think more and more about my august 20th mcat! stop it guys!
Posted by Mr.Funny (Member # 4467) on :
My school doesn't weight GPAs. As a result, we have something like 18 valedictorian candidates (in a class of ~300). Also, as another data point, I fall into the "high GPA, high SAT/PSAT score" crowd.
Posted by charles_martel (Member # 10172) on :
My school does weight GPAs and we still have 18 (actually, 21, I think) valedictorians...not candidates. They all get to give a speech. Painful.
Posted by Mr.Funny (Member # 4467) on :
Well, we're only candidates because we technically haven't finished school yet - in theory, someone could get a B and drop down to salutatorian.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:Originally posted by charles_martel: My school does weight GPAs and we still have 18 (actually, 21, I think) valedictorians...not candidates. They all get to give a speech. Painful.
That happens about every other year at my HS. But they only choose one-- if there are too many candidates to choose one, they base who gets it on extracurriculars, emphasis on community service, special honors given outside of the school community, adversity overcome, and suchlike.
Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
quote: The weird thing is that my average is only about 90 and I have an SAT that is 99+ percentile, yet I see many, many people with much better GPAs and SATs that are much lower.
It's oddish :/.
Makes sense to me. My SAT scores were a combination of how much I had learned and how well I did on tests. My GPA was a combination of how much I had learned and how much I participated and how much work I did. You can learn the material and be lazy (like me) and not do enough of the work, and your GPA will be lower than your SAT.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
My husband is prone to bombing tests if he tenses up. I think probably a lot of people experience a kind of stress on tests that they don't when doing regular projects, etc.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
Right, Jenna, but when someone gets a 1000 on the SAT old and I got around 1550, and my GPA is a 3.5 while theirs is a 4.0, it makes me wonder if grade inflation is giving them an edge that my deflated school doesn't give.
I think that over the last 30 years there has in fact been a 5 or more point shift upwards in average grades which hopefully would represent more material learned and mastered. It may also represent nation-wide inflation.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Phanto: Right, Jenna, but when someone gets a 1000 on the SAT old and I got around 1550, and my GPA is a 3.5 while theirs is a 4.0, it makes me wonder if grade inflation is giving them an edge that my deflated school doesn't give.
Or you do well on standardized tests and they don't.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Or they are not taking classes that are as advanced/difficult as yours.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Or you're really smart but blow off homework because it's boring and that affects your grades.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
Stop offering reasonable explanations that mildly malign me! Stop!
Either way, I do not know the actual statistics beyond the easy remember one that at Harvard 50% of students get an A or A-, so I can't make an actual argument for grade inflation.
^_^
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Other than ElJay's (which is totally a description of what I was like in high school, but not in college), how did those suggestions malign you at all? kq's certainly didn't.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
I was being more facetious than anything with that comment, but yes, KQ's comment is more a compliment ^_^.
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Thanks bunches.![[Embarrassed]](redface.gif)