GPA and recruiiting

[softball_parent]

When I helped my daughter's team with recruiting the most common for coaches was 3.0 and over 1000 on the SAT which was on the old system. Some of the more academic schools looked highter and then over 1200 became the measuring stick. Again the most common was that AP classes wasn't a deal breaker or a deal maker. The bottom line is every school is different. If high academics is what you daughter wants in a school the higher the requirements are going to be.

[ECSB]

Great post - my daughter is a sophomore and we are struggling with the same thing. Last year she had a 3.6 G.P.A while take three of four honors core classes. This year her first semester she took four honors core classes and came home with straight B's. For this kid, this was her worst report card. We have a very challenging high school - rates as one of the best in CT. Now if she drops down to the non-honors classes (we call them "academic") she would probably get straight A's. But she would rather take the honors classes because the kids are more focused and don't act up. She only gets a quarter point "boost" for the honors classes - so it doesn't help much.

I told her she had to work on her grades more and a good way is to do the extra credit. She found out she gets an extra point in math if she joins math league. So my pretty, athletic daughter is now a "mathlete". Ouch.

[CityLawyer]

I think that college coaches weigh more heavily on the standardized testing because they are an objective criteria. It is almost impossible to compare the GPAs from two students from different schools because of different academic standards and subjectivity in grading. Certainly, a coach wants to know if the grades are real (as in taking more academic based courses such as AP or seminar classes) or fluff. But I believe that within reason, a lower GPA coupled with higher SAT/ACT scores is better (especially with AP classes) from a recruiting standpoint than a higher GPA with lower test scores. Remember that there are two reasons why a coach will look to the academics. The first is that he/she wants to make sure that the student can only get admitted to the college but will remain eligible. The second is economics. The more academic money that the player can get, the more the coach can spread the athletic money around. Keeping that in mind there may be a minimum SAT/ACT score required for academic money in many schools.

[Tucson]

I googled AP classes and GPA. I don't know why a school wouldn't boost the GPA for these classes. But, here is a good article. http://www.curiousparents.com/Main/xq/a ... rticle.htm

[GIMNEPIWO]

"So my pretty, athletic daughter is now a "mathlete". Ouch."

LMAOWIOAB ... hey, at least it isn't soccer !

[Kat]

The reason I want my daughter to take challenging classes and do well in school is so she is ready to take on college classes. I want her to know what to expect and have good study habits so college courses are more of a breeze rather then struggling through them...especially if you are going to also be playing a sport. My DD has never taken any courses lower then honors and has several AP classes she maintains a 3.99 gpa (she is ranked 11 out of 389 kids) and it is not weighted....don't know why but our school district does not weight grades and only takes the top 10 students from each school for their Valedictorians but only if they have a 4.0. My dd will not be eligible because of an A- her freshman year in honors biology. Without weighting a child in our school district in remedial classes with 4.0 could be a Valedictorian but one taking all honors and ap classes with a 3.99...will not be. It makes our principal so mad because he has seen this happen time after time but its the district policy...what can you do?

[Demonboy]

That said, I know some D1 athletes that are carrying a 2.8 in college. If you are a stud, all you need to do is stay eligible, at least at this state university.

"

You might be surprised at how many big D1s will take a kid with a HS GPA under 3.0. Not the Stanfords, CALs, Ivy Leagues, etc., but many nationally known schools in the PAC-10, BIG-10, etc. will take such kids.

John

UCLA for instance isn't very hard to get into if you're a stud.

[coolstuff]

Regarding the GPA on the profile, I was told most schools look at the GPA without the freshman year. My DD had a freshman year that was not the greatest, but has done much better since then and scored well on her ACT and SAT. I always give any interested coaches a copy of her transcript but I've wondered what GPA we should put on the profile.

At my DD's HS, freshman grades do not count toward GPA.

[coolstuff]

After reading all the posts here, there's something that sort of bothers me. Is anyone reading this serious about dropping their DD out of AP classes so their GPA is higher and more attractive to college coaches? What message are you sending to your daughter? I know there are many colleges that put their athletes into "easy" majors so they can retain eligibility. I recently read an article about a college athlete who graduated with a degree in social work. He wanted to be a veterinarian, but when he struggled in college biology, the athletic dept. convinced him to transfer to a different (re: easier) major. He enjoyed a successful college athletic career but did not get drafted by the pros, so now he's highly trained in a field that he has no interest in. Very sad. Personally, I am concerned that my DD may choose a college that is not on par with her academic abilities, and she may "settle" just to get to play college ball. I want her to be prepared to enter a career that she loves, because we all know there's no juicy pro contract waiting for softball players

[sbfan502]

Not specifically dropping AP for athletics - but I wonder about the effect on GPA in general. Add the time requirements of sports and I really wonder about GPA versus potentially higher test scores.

I think it is a questions for many parents...not just of athletes.

My original question was to get input from those that may have knowledge on the relative importance of each side - GPA versus tougher schedule.