[Mick]

[quote author=Mick link=topic=7902.msg85420#msg85420 date=1394646105]
As a baseline measuring system, the Ivies use the "Academic Index" to gauge prospective athletes.  It is a 240 point scale with three factors, each counting for eighty points.  A full third of the scale goes to class rank -- if your high school actually ranks students, and an increasing number of them refuse to do so.  The other two are grades and test scores, naturally.

Well, since a properly normalized GPA is class rank (at least I assume that is what they mean by "rank"), that of course gives 2/3rds weighting to GPA and 1/3 tests - which in a very general sense seems about right for an "academic index".

I was primarily thinking about non-recruited athlete admissions. I would assume that a recruited athlete has the "other thing" category covered by definition.

By the way, does the fact that your sons are/will be attending different Ivies than the one from whom you quote the admissions officer indicate that that particular school still has the unmet need to take an interest in more well rounded students?
[/quote]

You're right, class rank was intended to circumvent the whole weighted/unweighted gpa thing while at the same time giving credit to students who had achieved highest marks without the most challenging courseload (as I read it).  A top school might get 20 applications from a feeder high school with unweighted 4.0s.  It leaves the school to calculate academic rank based upon not just grades but difficulty of courses; e.g., some schools weight AP classes a full additional point, some schools weight honors classes either a full point, a half point or no extra points at all depending upon the class (incidentally, the University of California system lists honors classes by high school and which are allowed to claim extra credit.  For example, at my sons' high school, honors chemistry counts for an extra grade point by the UC, whereas honors bio does not.  Many of the students who take honors chem (there's a separate AP chem class) will actually take the Chem AP test.  I know one boy (not a science stud) who took honors chem, read three chapters in the AP prep book and passed the exam with a 4 (out of 5).

Actually, according to that particular AAD, that university made the conscious decision to seek a roughly equal blend of well-lopsided and well-rounded students around 2003.  By your definition, my elder son fit the well-lopsided category and my younger son fit the well-rounded category, although each had virtually identical athletic/academic/social/political/charitable profiles.  One son had slightly better athletics, one son had slightly better grades/test scores.  That particular school made somewhat clear to both of my sons that each was of interest to the school's admissions officers (although definitely not guaranteed; each was accepted in early decision by their school of choice, and took themselves out of the running at the other Universities to which they'd applied).  If you'd like broader detail, I'm happy to discuss it offline.

[Mick]

[quote author=Mick link=topic=7902.msg85420#msg85420 date=1394646105]
As a baseline measuring system, the Ivies use the "Academic Index" to gauge prospective athletes.  It is a 240 point scale with three factors, each counting for eighty points.  A full third of the scale goes to class rank -- if your high school actually ranks students, and an increasing number of them refuse to do so.  The other two are grades and test scores, naturally.

Well, since a properly normalized GPA is class rank (at least I assume that is what they mean by "rank"), that of course gives 2/3rds weighting to GPA and 1/3 tests - which in a very general sense seems about right for an "academic index".

I was primarily thinking about non-recruited athlete admissions. I would assume that a recruited athlete has the "other thing" category covered by definition.

By the way, does the fact that your sons are/will be attending different Ivies than the one from whom you quote the admissions officer indicate that that particular school still has the unmet need to take an interest in more well rounded students?
[/quote]

You're right, class rank was intended to circumvent the whole weighted/unweighted gpa thing while at the same time giving credit to students who had achieved highest marks without the most challenging courseload (as I read it).  A top school might get 20 applications from a feeder high school with unweighted 4.0s.  It leaves the school to calculate academic rank based upon not just grades but difficulty of courses; e.g., some schools weight AP classes a full additional point, some schools weight honors classes either a full point, a half point or no extra points at all depending upon the class (incidentally, the University of California system lists honors classes by high school and which are allowed to claim extra credit.  For example, at my sons' high school, honors chemistry counts for an extra grade point by the UC, whereas honors bio does not.  Many of the students who take honors chem (there's a separate AP chem class) will actually take the Chem AP test.  I know one boy (not a science stud) who took honors chem, read three chapters in the AP prep book and passed the exam with a 4 (out of 5).

Actually, according to that particular AAD, that university made the conscious decision to seek a roughly equal blend of well-lopsided and well-rounded students around 2003.  By your definition, my elder son fit the well-lopsided category and my younger son fit the well-rounded category, although each had virtually identical athletic/academic/social/political/charitable profiles.  One son had slightly better athletics, one son had slightly better grades/test scores.  That particular school made somewhat clear to both of my sons that each was of interest to the school's admissions officers (although definitely not guaranteed; each was accepted in early decision by their school of choice, and took themselves out of the running at the other Universities to which they'd applied).  If you'd like broader detail, I'm happy to discuss it offline.