the gpa game and college admissions your gpa and test scores are very good and your curriculum is...

The GPA Game and College Admissions

Your GPA and test scores are very good and your curriculum is challenging – so are everyone else’s who applies to competitive colleges,

so why should the college accept you?

Stanton College Preparatory SchoolDedicated to Academic Excellence

Stanton Guidance Department

• May Ibasco – A-D, grades 9-12• Penny Studstill – E-K, grades 9-12• Tanya Riggio – L-R, grades 9-12• Helen Osburn– S-Z , grades 9 -12• Matthew Hemphill- IB Coordinator

What is important in college admissions?• Your final grades in challenging courses are the most important

items of your college application.• You have taken an exceptionally strong academic program (+2)

• Your 7th and/or 8th grade Algebra I, Geometry, and/or World Language count, and all courses 9th through 12th .

• Your final grades determine your GPA, but not all GPA’s are equal!


Grade Point Average• State, Unweighted GPA –on report card

• All courses are included• District, Weighted, Ranking GPA

• All courses are included but Honors, IB, and AP are weighted.• All colleges: Re-calculated GPA

• Only English, Math, Science, Social Studies and World Languages are included. AP, honors, and IB are weighted.

• Florida Bright Futures GPA16 credits, weighted as above


Strong Academic Program

• “D” in an academic course at the end of your junior year (-3)• Wrote a letter to the college admission officer and explained the

extenuating circumstances surrounding a grade of “d” (+1)• Protect your GPA by not taking AP classes offered at your school (-2)

Activities and Experiences

• Direct the gospel choir at your church (+1)• No extracurricular activities (-3)• Significant community service project (+1)• An eagle scout (+2)• Varsity athlete (+1)

• If you’re all-region in a sport (+1)

• Participation in activities throughout grades 9-12 is most important. You can’t wait until 11th or 12th grade to get started.

• Start keeping track right now –see the Freshman and Sophomore pages on website.

• What kind of activities are important?• Quality participation in one or few activities

• Officer in club or organization• Captain/Co-/captain of athletic team

• Service to the community –volunteering• Scouting, Habijax, design own project Leadership and/or

significant contributions

from MIT Online : The “Right Activity”

• Right is what is right for you!• There is pressure to do everything "right" • There is pressure to do the "right" extracurricular activities. • We want you to do what's right for you, not what you think is right for

us.• Go out of your way to find projects, activities and experiences that

stimulate your creativity and leadership, that connect you with peers and adults who bring out your best, that please you so much you don't mind the work involved.

What is important in your activities?• The colleges and scholarships to which you will apply are looking for the

following:• What and how long you’ve been involved in an activity• Your understanding of the meaning of your involvement• They want to know:

• what you’ve been involved with in the past, and in the present, and then to determine the probability of your future involvement which is important to them (see UF essay prompt concerning your contributions to UF), they will use:

• the length of your involvement, • your understanding of the meaning of your involvement

• Get some ideas for projects at http:cyberguidance.net

• Kristin created classroom lending libraries for an entire elementary school in her community. She publicized the book collection drive, set up collection boxes throughout the community, contacted publishers and suppliers for donations and sorted the books into appropriate categories. Ultimately, she presented the school with over 3,000 books for its classrooms and library.

• Josh created a recycling center at his high school. The center raises money that will be used to provide a scholarship for a graduating senior, and it improves the environment for all Marfa residents. The school's National Honor Society will continue to run the center as a permanent project.

Type of admissions decisions

• Early decision application and commitment (+2)• Other types of decisions:

• Early Action• Rolling Admission

College Application Essay

• Besides having been involved in activities and experiences, an important tool that colleges use to measure your understanding of yourself is the college essay –how well do you know yourself?

• You did not write the optional college essay (-1)• You word-processed your college essay, you forgot to change the

name of the college (-3)• The topic of your college essay was sports as a metaphor for life (-1)• Yours was essay of the year, the one everyone passed around the

office (+2)

University of Florida Essay Prompt

• Please choose one of these essay topics if you are applying to the UF Freshman Class of 2020.

• You have been elected President of the United States. Write your inauguration speech for us.

• Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective." Describe a time when your perspective changed. How did your perspective change and why did it change?

• If you were offered the role of the villain or the hero in a movie, which role would you accept and why?

• If admitted to the University of Florida, tell us three SPECIFIC things you plan to do during your time here.


Essay Questions: FSU

• We firmly believe that every person is unique and of value. Our University is enriched by embracing individual differences and creating a community that is much more than the sum of its parts. In 650 words or less, share your story with us. Tell us how you came to be the person you are today, and about your passions and future expectations. Describe how you will benefit from our community and how our community will benefit from you.


Essay Questions: UCF

• Respond to two of the topics below. Your personal statement should be no longer than 250 words each or a total of 500 words for both statements.

• If there has been some obstacle or bump in the road in your academic or personal life, please explain the circumstances.

• How has your family history, culture, or environment influenced who you are?• Why did you choose to apply to UCF?• What qualities or unique characteristics do you possess that would allow you

to contribute to the UCF community?

Learn About and Evaluate Yourself

The questions which follow can help you focus college selection and admission where it belongs, on you as an individual.


What values are most important to you?

How do you define success?

Your Goals and Values

Your Education

What do you choose to learn when you can learn on your own?

What has been your most stimulating intellectual experience?

Your Activities and Interests

What activities do you most enjoy outside the daily routine of school and other responsibilities?

What do you consider your most significant contribution?

The World Around You

What viewpoints have challenged you the most?

How would you describe your school, family and hometown?

Your Personality and Relationships With Others How would someone who knows you well describe you?

How do you respond to pressure, competition, or challenge?

Intended Major

• Intended major is Greek (+1)• Intended major is psychology or biology (-1)

Other considerations in college admissions• Legacy (+2)• Last name is Bush, and the name of the college library is bush (move

to front of line)• Plagiarized an American history paper (Out of game)• First in your family to attend college (+2)• Single-parent household and must work part-time to help with

expenses (+2)• Enriching summer program between your junior and senior years (+2)

College Application History: Where our students have been accepted

Ave Maria UniversityBarry UniversityEckerd CollegeEmbry RiddleFlaglerFAMU, FAU, FGCU, FIU, FSU, UFL, UCF, UNF, USF, UWFFSCJFL TechFL SouthernFull SailHillsboroughITTJacksonville UJohnson and WalesNew CollegeNova SoutheasternRollinsSt. LeoSanta FeStetsonTallahassee CCTrinity BaptistU TampaU MiamiValencia CC

Atlanta ChristianBerryBrenau Clark AtlantaEmoryGA TechGA Military CollegeGA SouthernGA StateLaGrangeMercerOglethorpeSCADSavanah StateSpelmanThomasU Georgia

Centre U KentuckyU Louisville

States of:FloridaGeorgiaKentucky

CampbellDavidsonDukeLenoir-RhyneMethodistNC StateU North Carolina Wake Forest

BaylorSouth PlainsSMUTrinityU Houston

St. Louis UU Missouri

States of:

MichiganMissouriNorth CarolinaOklahomaOregonTexas

Michigan StateU Detroit MercyU MichiganWestern Michigan

Oklahoma BaptistOklahoma StateU Tulsa

George FoxLewis & Clark

C William MaryFerrumHampden-SydneyHamptonJames MadisonLibertyMary BaldwinU RichmondU VirginiaVA CommonwealthVA TechWashington & Lee

HoodJohns HopkinsU MarylandWashington C

CapitalCase WesternCedarvilleDenisonKenyonMiami U OhioOhio StateOhio UTiffin U Cincinnati

UC BerkeleyUC DavisUCLAUC San Diego

States of:CaliforniaMarylandOhioVermontVirginiaWashington

Champlain

DigiPen UU Puget Sound

American UCatholic UGeorge WashingtonHoward

Indiana UPurdueNotre DameValparaiso

NorthwesternRooseveltU Illinois Seton Hall

Arizona State UU Arizona

States of:ArizonaDCIndianaIllinoisIowaNew JerseyNew Mexico

Grinnell

New Mexico State

ClarksonCornellFordhamHofstraManhattanNYURensselaerVassarYeshiva

Carnegie MellonDrexelDuquesnePenn StatePoint ParkU PennsylvaniaU SciencesVillanova

Boston CBoston UHoly CrossNortheasternSt. John’s SemTuftsU Mass AmherstWellesleyWorcester Polytech

States of:

MassachusettsMontanaNew YorkPennsylvaniaWyoming

U Montana

U Wyoming

Athens State UAuburn UBirmingham Southern Huntingdon CSpring HillU Alabama

Missippi StateU Mississippi

LSUSouthern A&MTulane

BelmontCarson-NewmanRhodesSewanee – U of SouthU TennesseeVanderbilt

CitadelClemsonCollege CharlestonColumbia InternationalU South CarolinaWinthropWofford

States of:AlabamaLouisianaMississippiSouth CarolinaTennesseeWisconsin

Concordia Marquette

McGill U Canada

American U in Paris France

Holsby Brunn Sweden


$ Meeting College Costs $

• Merit Scholarships• Need Based Financial Aid


How To Choose a College That's Right For You by Martha O'Connell

• You can afford to go to college.• If you make the assumption that you cannot afford college based on the "sticker

price" of tuition, you will miss out. • If you investigate all the options and ask for help and advice, you will find

affordable choices. • Online resources, as well as financial aid workshops sponsored by high schools in

local communities• College and university financial aid Web sites offer useful information and links as

well. • Investigate early and ask for help.


Meeting College CostsMerit Scholarships

• Based on a talent or merit• Very competitive - national pool of applicants• High GPA and test scores


Meeting College CostsMerit Scholarships

• Essay Competitions• United Auto Workers - “What organized labor means

to me.”• Fire Sprinkler Association - “How fire sprinklers affect

my community.”• Artistic• Take science project and develop it• Discover DNA!


Meeting College CostsWeb Sites

• Florida Academic Counseling and Tracking for Students: https://www.floridashines.org/

• Bright Futures http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/ssfad/bf/• Financial Aid Page http://www.finaid.org• http://www.fastweb.com• http://www.collegeboard.org


BRIGHT FUTURES SCHOLARSHIPRequirements

• Florida Academic Scholar Award: • 1290 SAT, 29 ACT; 3.5 GPA; 100 hours of community

service.• Florida Medallion Scholar Award: • 1170 SAT, 26 ACT; 3.0 GPA; 75 hours of community

service• Application opens Dec. 1st of their senior year


BRIGHT FUTURES SCHOLARSHIPAward Levels

• Florida Academic Scholar Award: • $101.00/credit hour• Florida Medallion Scholar Award: • $76.00/credit hour• Most college courses are 3 credit hours; the average credits per year = 30.• Most FL Public University are ~$207 per credit hour.


Meeting College CostsNeed Based Financial Aid

• Most students and families receive need based financial aid• Families complete FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid• Do Not Send until after January 1 of 12th grade.• Results are EFC - Expected Family Contribution


COLLEGE A Private Moderate cost: Jacksonville University

COLLEGE B State U, In-State: UNF, UF, FSU, (avg)

COLLEGE C State U, Out-of- State: UNC Chapel Hill, etc

COLLEGE D Private University: Stetson University

COLLEGE E Public - 2 year, Live at home: FCCJ

COLLEGE F Private - highest cost Ivies, MIT, Duke

Tuition and Fees $27,900.00 $5,000.00 $27,000.00 $36,002.00 $2,388.00 $42,098.00Room and Board $8,340.00 $8,700.00 $8,900.00 $10,200.00 $11,800.00Books and supplies $1,000.00 $1,000.00 $1,150.00 $1,250.00 $2,000.00 $1,200.00Personal Expenses, miscellaneous, travel

$3,000.00 $4,000.00 $3,800.00 $3,800.00 $3,590.00 $3,000.00

Cost of Attendance (Sticker Price *)

$40,240.00 $18,700.00 $40,850.00 $51,252.00 $7,978.00 $58,098.00

Expected Family Contribution EFC (based on results of FAFSA)

$6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000

Need – amount needed to attend this college

$34,240 $12,700 $34,850 $45,252 $1,978 $52,098

Financial Aid Package:

Grant (Gift Money) $26,990.00 $9,134.00 $27,600.00 $38,002.00 $44,848.00Loan $5,250.00 $2,566.00 $5,250.00 $5,250.00 $5,250.00Work Study $2,000.00 $1,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00Total Aid Package – if college meets 100% of need

$34,240.00 $12,700.00 $34,850.00 $45,252.00 $52,098.00


Thank you for your attention to your student’s future!

Stanton’s Guidance Office

the gpa game and college admissions your gpa and test scores are very good and your curriculum is...

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