WS prides itself on the number of challenging classes its students take and the high grades they make in these classes. West Springfield students pride themselves on the extra points gained from taking these classes. However, at the end of the day, is the extra point worth the stress and heavy workload students have to deal with? Does it even help students that much during college applications?
In short; not exactly.
“Some [colleges] are [steering] away from GPA and [focusing] on core curriculum and grades” said Career Center Specialist Tisa Frederick.
Colleges are also taking a more “holistic approach,” by looking at the student as a whole and not just as a number. This means they are taking extracurricular activities like sports, clubs, and jobs into account as well as personal essays and letters of recommendation from teachers, coaches, or counselors.
“A lot [of colleges are] reconfiguring GPAs and taking the weight off.” Frederick said, meaning that those ‘easy A’ classes might not even be considered in the application process.
Why is this even necessary? They do this because “GPA scales differ from school-to-school,” Frederick said. A 3.5 at one school might not be the same at another school. Case in point: there’s a school in Florida that functions on a 9-point scale.
If colleges aren’t focusing as heavily on GPA, how much emphasis should high or secondary schools place on GPA? “I don’t think there should be as much emphasis. [Too much focus] gives students and parents misconceptions.” Frederick said.
Despite what students and their families have been told for years, a high GPA doesn’t always equal a better chance gaining admission to a certain school. Unfortunately, this school doesn’t seem to see eye-to-eye with Richardson.
In an executive summary of WS conducted by AdvancED back in 2013, it was noted that because WS, “not unlike the rest of Northern Virginia,” tends to “overemphasize grades and GPA.” This leads to a competitive environment among students; whether they like it or not they are competing against one another.
The emphasis on GPA is notable in other aspects of the school specifically the average Spartan’s weighted GPA which is around a 3.5—roughly a 90 on a 100 point scale according to The Princeton Review. The reason it is this high, Richardson theorizes, is because so many students take so many AP classes, something the school places a heavy amount of focus on.
With that in mind, prior to applying to college and speaking with admissions counselors, the loss of weighted points is a fact not outwardly expressed to students. Perhaps the school fears that if students were aware that colleges don’t always consider weighted GPAs they wouldn’t continue to enroll in challenging courses.
“Only if I had an interest…or…thought I would do well,” junior Abby Thompson said when asked if she would enroll in AP and honor courses if she didn’t gain the extra point.
“Yeah, I would. Maybe not an AP but definitely Honors,” senior Oliver Steenman said when asked the same question, proving that, for the most part, the school shouldn’t fear students not enrolling in advanced classes.
GPA plays an important role in college admissions but not as much as students are taught to believe.
When students are deciding how many challenging classes to take, remember they aren’t the end-all be-all in college applications and, in the words of Thompson, “Who needs that much homework?”