Let’s be honest, there’s a game being played here. College entry has traditionally been about a very few factors that tell so much about a high school student’s ability to play this game, and not so much about the individual qualities that make that student an interesting person with the potential to be a great addition to the academic atmosphere as well as student life. Now COVID went a long way towards changing the game in radical ways. And we will get to some of the new currents in admissions such as student interviews.
For some students, they adeptly navigate these rules of the game from the outset. They understand that getting good grades contributes to their college entrance profile. These students often approach teachers about their grades and have a decent understanding of their cumulative GPA. They often prep themselves for standardized test either by watching YouTube videos, attending a Khan Academy class or find a local tutor who might promise to boost their test scores by a certain amount. More often, however, students enter high school unaware of these pieces of the puzzle, and they need the support of a guidance counselor to understand how these fit into the big picture of college entrance, college choice and career ambitions.
What this article aims to do is equip college guidance counselors with a good understanding of the typical rules in the game of college admissions. These come down to the big three items: the cumulative grade point average (GPA), test scores on standardized college entrance exams (SAT, ACT, CLT), and the application essay. For each of these items, I will offer some advice for how to coach your students.
The High School Transcript and Calculating GPA
Let’s begin with the high school transcript, the place where college admissions counselors will find the first item of interest, the cumulative GPA. Every grade received in high school is calculated on a scale, multiplied by the amount of credit that class is rated for, and averaged amongst all classes.
Here’s an example of a typical Freshman courseload:
| Freshman | Fall | Spring | ||
| Grade | Credit | Grade | Credit | |
| Ancient World Humanities | B+ | 1 | A- | 1 |
| Biology | B+ | 0.5 | A- | 0.5 |
| Geometry | C | 0.5 | C | 0.5 |
| Freshman Latin | A | 0.5 | A | 0.5 |
| Intro to the Bible | A | 0.25 | A | 0.25 |
| Rhetoric | A | 0.25 | A | 0.25 |
| Drama | A | 0.5 | ||
| Painting | A | 0.5 | ||
| Total Credits | 3.50 | 3.50 | ||
| Semester GPA | 3.41 | 3.59 | ||
The B+ this student received in her humanities class is equivalent to 3.3 points on a 4-point scale. This 3.3 is multiplied by 1 credit, the value of this class during fall semester. The B+ in biology is likewise earning 3.3 points, but this time is multiplied by 0.5 credits. The C in geometry is then calculated as 2.0 times 0.5. The A in Latin multiplies 4.0 times 0.5. The same happens for the rest of the classes for fall semester. The product of each calculation is then added up, totaling 11.95 grade points. This total is then divided by 3.5, to total credits earned during the semester to arrive at a grade point average of 3.41.
If you were able to follow all of those calculations, you’re doing well. Over the years I have taken time with many students and parents to walk them through those calculations, and there are always questions about how the calculations work. Calculating GPA is not an intuitive process. Just like any other game, you have to immerse yourself in the rules and conditions. Consider how these calculations compare to the rule sets for, say, chess or cribbage. All of this to say, as a college guidance counselor, it is worth your while to provide students and parents with basic information about your grading scale, how grades are converted into grade points and the calculations involved to arrive at GPA. And, having gained their audience, help these parents and students avoid fixation on GPA, instead show them that quality of classes and quality of work are what really matters.
Notice how the GPA of 3.41 tells us very little about the quality of courses taken during fall of freshman year and is disconnected from the rest of this student’s academic performance over her four-year career. Here’s where you come in as a college guidance counselor. You can tell the story in your letter of recommendation. Is this the typical freshman year for students at your school? Is this an academically challenging courseload? Did the student improve over time? Insights like this are ideal points to make in your letter of recommendation because it sets a context for an admissions committee to make sense of the numbers. In other words, a transcript tells a story of an academic journey. But it requires explication in order for that story to come across to the admissions counselors who receive the transcript amongst hundreds of transcripts from different high schools who all have differing grading scales, point scales, course options and calculation methods.
Telling the Story through the Letter of Recommendation
Speaking of admissions counselors, it is worth knowing that despite all your hard work to accurately calculate GPA, many colleges recalculate GPA. They have to compare many diverse expressions of GPA received from high schools across the country. This recalculation attempts to level the playing field so that they can get as accurate a point of comparison as possible to assess their incoming freshman. As a college guidance counselor, you can help these admissions committees understand your transcript by writing letters of recommendation that tell the academic journey of the student as well as how challenging the overall program is. For instance, does a transcript tell the story of increasing GPA each year? In the example provided above, you can already tell that the student has increased her GPA from one semester to another. If that trend continues, then there is a story to tell of increasing aptitude and college readiness. Parse out for the admissions officers reading your transcript courses that might be new or different to their ears, such as rhetoric, humanities, Bible or theology classes.
As you are writing your letter of recommendation, go above and beyond the academic transcript. Tell the admissions counselors about opportunities students have for leadership and mentorship in the school. Were there service projects or events where this particular student demonstrated tangible qualities? Did this student participate in any sports or performing arts? Even for courses that are core curriculum such as fine and performing arts, mention their participation in shows or on the crew. Tell about how this student is a well-rounded individual who will be engaged in the wider community of whatever campus they step on next year.
Now, you cannot possibly remember all these details about every student. So one of the items I have all juniors complete is a bullet-point resume of all of the activities they have participated in during their high school career. This includes school activities, but ought to go beyond school to include jobs, clubs, music or dance lessons, sports, missions trips, church participation, volunteer work, scouting badges, etc. I will come back to this bullet-point resume in the future, but for now it is important to see how this document will help you write a letter of recommendation that really captures the qualities of the student beyond what the transcript can say.
A Very Basic Overview of Standardized College Entrance Tests
The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) first appeared in 1926 as the first test to incorporate intelligence testing as a means of verifying the innate ability of students entering top universities. The College Board, originator of the SAT, had been providing essay exams for the previous two decades. These were hand-written and hand graded, taking weeks to complete and assess. Now with a single test, students could be compared to other test takers across the nation, with the hope that colleges could assess the merits of entering students in an unbiased manner.
Prior to the founding of the College Board in 1899, universities in the United States had students sit entrance exams either on site or at testing locations in major urban centers across the country. As an example of the rigor of exams at the time, the Prince University Archives notes in an example of a typical exam from 1880 that, “the exams included English grammar and composition, world and U.S. history, geography, Latin grammar and literature, Greek grammar and literature, and mathematics” (Course Examinations Collection (AC054), Box 1). It is interesting to see how fundamental a classical education was at the time.
After World War II, the was a rapid increase in the use of the SAT, reflecting the influx of new students taking advantage of the G.I. Bill. An alternative to the SAT was created in 1959 called the American College Test (ACT) administered by ACT, Inc. Even more recently the Classic Learning Test (CLT) was created to provide an alternative utilizing classical literature and historical texts for its reading selections on the test.
Today, students are able to take any of these tests or all of these tests. In fact, students are permitted to take these tests multiple times. Unlike the original vision of the College Board in the 1920s, these tests are far less markers of individual intelligence than they are about the ability of students to achieve scores in keeping with the amount of work they have put into preparation for these tests.
The Scoring of College Entrance Tests
Beginning with the SAT, a student takes three subtests: Reading, Writing and Language, and Mathematics. The Reading and Writing components receive a combined score out of 800 points, which is then added to the Math section with a score out of another 800 points totaling 1600 possible points.
The ACT comprises four subtests: English, mathematics, reading, and science. Each subtest is calculated by taking the raw score as a percentage and then scaling that score in a range of 1-36. The composite score is the average of the four subtests, with a 36 the highest possible score on the test.
Finally, the CLT provides three subtests: Verbal Reasoning, Grammar/Writing, and Quantitative Reasoning. Each subtest is scored taking the percentage correct and then scaling that score in a range of 0-40. The overall score is the sum of each scaled subsection, with 120 begin the highest possible score.
All three tests offer an optional essay that is graded separately, meaning that the essay results are not factored into the composite or overall score. Because the subtests and scoring are so different for all three tests, each test offers concordance tables to show the equivalencies between the tests. For instance, a student earning a 110 on the CLT has achieved the equivalent of a 1520 on the SAT or a 34 on the ACT.
When it comes to guiding students, know that each test has its own peculiarities, making it such that some students perform better simply as a factor of the mechanics of the test. Students can take all three tests are allowed to take any of the tests multiple times. Many colleges offer “super scoring” which means that they will take the highest score of each subtest and create a super score from those multiple test results.
Since COVID, many colleges have made test scores optional. I think this has revealed the limited value of test scores in the decision-making process for many admissions committees. Gone are the days when you could chart GPA and SAT on the X and Y axes to determine both the admissions standards and the scholarship award. Still, the entrance test remains one of the essential tools used by schools to differentiate applicants. As you advise students today, the optionality of the test might mean that a student is better served by not submitting their scores. In the next article, I will help to build a framework for guidance that will enable you as a guidance counselor to provide insight into whether to submit scores. In most cases, they should still submit scores. And in all cases, they all should take at least one test.
Telling the Student’s Story on the Application Essay
The final component of the standard college application process is the essay. The essay must be well written, personable, authentic, and help the applicant stand out amongst thousands of candidates. It needs to convey the qualities of the student’s personality, his or her academic potential, and itemize some of the accomplishments achieved during high school. The essay obviously needs to showcase the writing abilities of the student, demonstrating the capacity to engage in college-level work. In addition, it needs to show awareness of the programs and characteristics of the college to which the student is applying. An excellent essay even develops themes about life and meaning. All of this in the space of 300-500 words.
When we develop a framework for guidance in the next article, we will return to the application essay to capitalize on this opportunity to say something meaningful to an admissions committee. For now, it is important to understand that most applications provide an essay prompt. Popular prompts might ask a student to share about learning from an obstacle, or to describe a person he or she admires. Christian schools might ask for a personal testimony. Non-Christian schools might prompt a student to describe a situation where they challenged a belief. Often these prompts are open-ended and general in nature. This can be very frustrating for students who find that the prompt gives little guidance on what the committee is actually looking for.
As an individual providing guidance, have your students write sample application essays during their junior year. Give them a few typical prompts so that they get a feel for what will be asked of them. Provide feedback about how they can convey the story of their life’s journey and how the potential college will be the next step on their journey. In essence, this is the simple maneuver of the application essay. It’s a succinct piece of communication between a student and a college. It needs to speak in the language of the college. And it needs to tell the college why this particular student would thrive at that location.
A good portion of the time you will spend with students during the application process is reviewing application essays. Coaching students in this way can be a great moment of connection as you help them craft their story and envision themselves at the next stage of their career. Sometimes these personal details are the hardest for them to express in terms that are authentic but not overly vulnerable. So carve out time to meet with your seniors early in the school year to go over application essays. If you have a large senior class, you may need to deputize some of your faculty to do some essay coaching. These moments of guidance are critical to the success of their applications. But I have also found that these moments also strengthen their relationship with the school.
A Short History of Narration is a follow up volume to A Classical Guide to Narration published by CiRCE that explores the history of narration as a teaching practice in the classical tradition, from Quintilian to Comenius. This history is explored through commentary on the primary texts of great educators, with practical reflections for the classroom and connections to modern learning science. Charlotte Mason’s own innovations in using narration as a central teaching method come into clearer focus, and suggestions for novel uses of narration in our contemporary context close out the book.