Just wondering

[Sean/vaulter/naeS]

I'm a junior in high school and I'm starting to look at Colleges and I was just wondering what kind of grades do you need to get into a college on a polevault scholarship? If anyone could help me out that woud be great.

[EIUvltr]

well the grades depend on the school. Most schools aren't going to make much of an exception in the case of a pole vaulter unless you are going 5.20m+, then maybe you can get away with a little on the academic side. And as far as scholarships go, if you are a male and a single-event athlete, you are kind of SOL unless you are going over 5m. If you are a good sprinter or long jumper, you may be able to get a little more money tho.

[EIUvltr]

welcome to the world of NCAA sports that don't generate money

[rainbowgirl28]

The same kind of grades you need to get into that school anyway.

The higher your grades the better.

[apsully]

Sean,

I went through the same stuff as you are dealing with right now....last year. I had pretty much the same questions and was always asking all the coaches at school about it.

If you didn't alreay read me post, like 2 posts under your topic right now, Ill summarize.

Cal State Fullerton is offering me a *half* scholarship based on the following "credentials".

PR last year (junior year) of 15-8.
GPA of 3.82
ACT of 28

Also, in my entire high school career, I have only taken one AP class, so don't get caught up in the mindset, as many do, that just because you're not taking 2 or more ap's every year that you won't get into a good college.


Basically, like EIUvltr said, unless you have an insane PR (5m or higher), schools generally are going to focus quite heavily on your academics. You could be a fantastic vaulter, but if you're not doin so hot in the classroom....you're not going to be near as valuable an asset to the school.

[bvpv07]

Also, in my entire high school career, I have only taken one AP class, so don't get caught up in the mindset, as many do, that just because you're not taking 2 or more ap's every year that you won't get into a good college.

I wouldn't think that that's to say that if you are capable of taking advanced courses (honors, ap, whatever your school calls them) you shouldn't. Colleges are also looking at the rigor of your high school curriculum--seeing whether you are ready to be at that level of learning (or if you've already demonstrated that ability)--in addition to your grades. However, if you don't have the time or you'd be getting a C/D in an AP class where you would be getting an A/B in a regular course, go for the unweighted class.

Don't kill yourself, of course, but if a subject interests you and you are able to do the coursework, it will only add to your college appeal.

[apsully]

Extremely well said.

A tip of the cap to you sir.

[SKOT]

Also, in my entire high school career, I have only taken one AP class, so don't get caught up in the mindset, as many do, that just because you're not taking 2 or more ap's every year that you won't get into a good college.

I wouldn't think that that's to say that if you are capable of taking advanced courses (honors, ap, whatever your school calls them) you shouldn't. Colleges are also looking at the rigor of your high school curriculum--seeing whether you are ready to be at that level of learning (or if you've already demonstrated that ability)--in addition to your grades. However, if you don't have the time or you'd be getting a C/D in an AP class where you would be getting an A/B in a regular course, go for the unweighted class.

Don't kill yourself, of course, but if a subject interests you and you are able to do the coursework, it will only add to your college appeal.

I will COMPLETELY DISAGREE with everything said here. When you are a borderline applicant and a college/university, they will look at the classes you took and DIDN'T take. I got into a couple of schools with equal ACT scores and a significantly lower GPA (.35 lower) that one of my friends that took easier classes. Admissions departments look at a vast array of things when admitting students. A squeaky clean GPA in blow-off classes will always come back to bite you in the butt!

[theczar]

The higher your grades the better.

I got a GPA of 3.25 in high school, and I got a decent schollarship to UMR, (nowhere near a full ride, but definatly nothing to scoff at!)


but the better grades you get, the better chance of getting ANY schollarship is.

[rainbowgirl28]

Extremely well said.

A tip of the cap to you sir.

bvpv07 is a girl


I know when I applied to Florida (the only college I applied to) they had their own formula for calculating GPA. They dropped all the electives like PE and Art and had their own formula for weighting honors and AP classes.

Every college is different, you'll really have to check out their standards and see what their deal is.

AP/honors classes are good if you can, don't if you can't.

[apsully]

woops, sorry about that bvpv, errrr mam. haha.

[bvpv07]

Also, in my entire high school career, I have only taken one AP class, so don't get caught up in the mindset, as many do, that just because you're not taking 2 or more ap's every year that you won't get into a good college.

I wouldn't think that that's to say that if you are capable of taking advanced courses (honors, ap, whatever your school calls them) you shouldn't. Colleges are also looking at the rigor of your high school curriculum--seeing whether you are ready to be at that level of learning (or if you've already demonstrated that ability)--in addition to your grades. However, if you don't have the time or you'd be getting a C/D in an AP class where you would be getting an A/B in a regular course, go for the unweighted class.

Don't kill yourself, of course, but if a subject interests you and you are able to do the coursework, it will only add to your college appeal.

I will COMPLETELY DISAGREE with everything said here. When you are a borderline applicant and a college/university, they will look at the classes you took and DIDN'T take. I got into a couple of schools with equal ACT scores and a significantly lower GPA (.35 lower) that one of my friends that took easier classes. Admissions departments look at a vast array of things when admitting students. A squeaky clean GPA in blow-off classes will always come back to bite you in the butt!

I think that that was what I was saying.

If you can get good grades in honors/AP classes, by all means take them. If you're blowing through a regular class, most teachers will advise you to move up and transfer into an honors or AP class.

However, let's say that you're a student who can get As and Bs in regular classes, but will get Cs and lower if you decide to fill your schedule with AP courses. This isn't going to help you. So, having a 3.0 with all weighted classes is not impressive if it really means that you received Cs in all of them. (see below for the point system)

IF you CAN get good grades in AP/honors classes, take them.
IF you CAN'T get decent grades in these courses, you're better off with a regular course load.

If you have the ability, don't just take the easy way out.

Becca, I know what you're talking about. It's the same with the UC system...here they're called A-G courses and only certain academic ones qualify (it's the same for CSF...which is just a scholastic honors program for CA). Honors/AP are weighted and are worth 5 points on a 4 point scale for As, 4 instead of 3 for Bs, 3 instead of 2 for Cs, and I think that it stops there. To be applicable for a UC school you have to have a certain combined total from your GPA and your SAT or ACT score.
(Note: I only know that this is for the UC system, although other state university systems might also have a similar system in place.)

Check with your counselor if you have questions, but sometimes even they aren't really knowledgeable about it. (most unfortunately)

But perhaps I'm just justifying my own schedule...

I will say that a bonus to AP classes is that you learn SO much more about a subject (ex. the hows and whys instead of "this happens just because") than you would in a regular class...and of course the possibility of college credits if the college/university that you decide to attend accepts them and you do well on the AP test.

And, apsully, don't worry about it.