By Sabena Moretz (Associate Director of Admission) and Tom

Our average GPA is a 22.96.

Seriously.

We’re asked that question so frequently – “What’s your average GPA?” – that we thought we’d actually go ahead and calculate it. So we took all of the enrolled students in our current first-year class and averaged together all of the GPAs that their high schools reported to us last year. And the golden number came out to be 22.96.

We’ll come back to that crazy (and accurate) number in just a minute. We find that, for many students in the college search and application process, GPA tends to get a whole lot of attention, often being used as the measuring stick for likelihood of admission. But when an admission office looks at your transcript, there is much more that directs us toward a particular decision than just a GPA. Admission offices all over use very different practices in this regard, so there is not a singular approach, but we think it’s important for you to have a deeper understanding of this statistic and its use in admission decisions from the point of view of UR.

The most important academic factor in our process is rigor of curriculum. Not just the number of honors or AP or IB or Dual Enrollment or whatever your school calls their best classes, but how deeply you’ve continued your studies into each of the five academic core disciplines of English, mathematics, lab science, history, and foreign language. The student who stops taking math after Algebra II/Trig is differently prepared for college than the student who goes on with higher level math, especially if they’ve gone on to calculus. Two students with the same GPA can have made enormously different choices in regard to curriculum, so when students start asking about average GPA, a smart admission person would be very cautious about commenting.

Grades are weighted in a myriad of ways, so we never really know what kind of performance a student has until we actually look at their transcript. We’ve seen straight-B students with 4.0 GPAs. (And the families really are convinced that their students are “4.0s”!) Highly selective colleges would be looking for students with grades of A in weighted courses, not grades of B that are inflated in the GPA calculations. (Though most of us would much rather admit a student with an A/B mix in a weighted curriculum than one with straight As in a basic college prep curriculum.) We find this to be a source of great frustration to parents and students. Not all GPAs mean the same thing.

This is not even to mention the many different grading scales out there. We do look at what the scale is, and we expect a little higher GPA in more generous grading scales to try to offset that difference. Most students I (Sabena) have met in my years in this business think that their school’s scale is the toughest in the world and puts them at a disadvantage. Trust us – most colleges and universities are smart enough to put measures into place to try to minimize the influence of different scales, although no system is flawless in this regard.

A strong GPA can mask some serious individual grades that demonstrate weakness in a particular curricular area. If it’s a curricular area that is required for graduation at UR, we can be reasonably concerned about a student’s likelihood of success in required courses. Senior semester or trimester grades can also change a decision if they show dramatic decline from the previous performance.

So when a college publishes an “average GPA” for its enrolling students, the smart prospective student would ask the source of that number. Is it a straight average of all the GPAs as calculated by the high schools? Or is it a recalculated GPA based on the way that college might recalculate? We regularly see high schools using 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 40, and 100-point scales – some weighted, some unweighted. (That’s where our average GPA of 22.96 comes from!) Some high schools don’t even calculate a GPA. At a school on a 6.0 scale, a “4.0” student is usually a straight-C student.

We hope you’re beginning to see how GPA is much more complicated than it might appear, and why the individual grades on your transcript are much more important to us than that one number. We also hope this is making clearer why, when you ask about GPA, we say that the typical student admitted to Richmond has average grades of A- in highly rigorous courses, not that our average GPA is 22.96.

By Carolyn Foster

Office of Admission

As an alumna, 18 year staff member, and the holder of football season tickets for 16 years, I have a long history with the University of Richmond. I was fortunate enough to make the 9 hour ride to Chattanooga last Friday to attend the game. I don’t think I have ever been so impressed with the class act that is University of Richmond.

The students drove from various towns since they were already home on winter break. The staff, faculty, and parents came from all over to support our wonderful team and coaches. They didn’t disappoint any of us! From the first play to the last one, they made all Spiders proud. Their humility, pride and confidence showed both on the field and following the game.

We all descended on the team’s hotel and in the ballroom; we were one entity as we shared in the celebration with the team, coaches, and players’ parents. I wanted pictures taken with a few of the players and they were happy to accommodate my request!

These young men have sacrificed time, sleep and energy for their school. All while maintaining their class obligations. This is what is expected of them at the University of Richmond and these young men, as all of our athletes, have come into the university with intelligence and skills in the classroom as well as on the field. They can soar in academics, athletics, and in lives and careers after they leave here.

Our school is proud to prove that academics and athletics can go hand in hand. No matter where your interests lie, whether it’s football or one of a thousand other things, the University of Richmond will allow you to experience it here.

I’m proud to be a Spider!

By Catherine Orr

Office of International Education

Guest Blogger

It seems like this campaign season is never-ending. Months of hotly contested primaries followed by months of debates, radio advertisements, and yes, Saturday Night Live skits, have left many people politically exhausted. But aren’t you still a little excited?

Richmond students are. Many of them took time out last Friday to participate in an open forum about the world’s opinion of the U.S. presidential race. This forum, the first Jepson International Forum and a part of the Office of International Education and Department of Modern Literatures & Cultures Culture Klatsch Series, is a perfect example of how international education permeates all aspects of a Richmond education.

International students and scholars representing 13 countries and U.S. students who have studied abroad in places from Cambodia to Spain, crammed into a classroom to talk candidly about the world’s opinion of the candidates, media coverage, and the implications of the U.S. presidential race.

The conversation centered on the hot topics of the election: health care, Iraq, the economy, etc., but this political discussion went beyond the typical back and forth of personal opinions on the issues. Instead, students challenged each other to think beyond our domestic borders and put this U.S. election in a global context.

A German student spoke about her countrymen’s support of Barack Obama because in Germany national health care is a given. A student from Swaziland told the group that most people in his country support John McCain because they believe age is a key factor in experience and maturity. As in any healthy debate, everyone in the room did not see eye-to-eye on all the issues, but I think it’s fair to say that everyone walked away from the discussion having learned something from their international and American peers.

That’s the beauty of going to a school where 8 percent of students are international and approximately 60 percent of students study abroad some time during their college career. Cultural exchange is constant both in and outside of the classroom and it inevitably results in a deeper understanding of the world.

So on Nov. 4, as some of you vote for the first time (you 18-year-olds are voting, right?) and the rest of you watch intently as the nation makes this decision, stop for a second and consider the implications not only for you, your community, your state and your country, but for the world. That’s what Richmond students will be doing.

By Anna Weichel

Summer Intern, Office of Admission

Guest Blogger

Hello everyone!

I’m so glad that you’re checking out the Admissions blog! Hopefully some of the previous blog entries have provided you with valuable information that might help you prepare for the college application and decision processes. I know information on inquiry email etiquette, resumé revision, and how to differentiate myself (and my application!) from the pool of thousands of other applicants was helpful as I prepared to apply to colleges four years ago. That is certainly hard to believe it was only four years ago! But lo and behold, my senior year is here.

My name is Anna Weichel and, as I mentioned, I am a senior this fall at the University of Richmond. I’m from Bradenton, Florida and am majoring in Rhetoric and Communication Studies and minoring in Spanish. I interned in the Office of Admission on campus this summer with six other fabulous interns. We had a great time getting to know students (like you!) who attend information sessions and go on a tour of campus, led by other Richmond students. One of our primary tasks as interns, however, is to interview prospective students through optional, non-evaluative informational interviews. So, what exactly is an informational interview and how can you sign up for one? Read on!

Richmond’s informational interviews are an optional part of the application process. As I mentioned, they are non-evaluative and serve as an opportunity for us, as interns, to get to know you better and for you to get to know Richmond better through an exchange of information! As interns and representatives of the university, we love learning more about your academic and extracurricular interests and achievements in high school as well as learning more about what you’re looking for in a college experience. We also love to share with you more about what attracted us to the University of Richmond, our academic majors and interests, as well as the university community here at Richmond that has made each of our college experiences so amazing.

In these informational interviews, you should know that you’re interviewing us, as Richmond students, as much as we’re interviewing you! We encourage you to ask us questions on any topic, from questions about specific majors to what activities happen on and off campus on weekends! The interviews are really a great way to share with us more about yourself and your passions while learning more about what Richmond may have to offer you in your areas of interest. I should also mention that these informational interviews are reserved for rising seniors and seniors only (sorry underclassmen!).

If you’re interested in participating in an informational interview and you’re planning a visit to the University of Richmond soon, call the Office of Admission at (800) 700-1662 to schedule an appointment. Most interviews occur before information sessions (in both the morning and afternoon) or after the student-led campus tours. You have the option to choose when you’d like to have your interview, but be aware that due to a limited number of interns, we can only offer three interview spots per time period. These spots do fill up in advance so plan ahead and schedule yours as soon as you can! Now, even if you’re not going to be visiting campus anytime soon, you can still participate in an informational interview with an alumnus in your area! Go to the alumni interview website to look up the major cities and locations where alumni host informational interviews. The link also provides information on when these specific interviews are offered. Contact the Office of Admission to schedule an alumni interview in your area!

We’re so glad that you’re looking more in depth at what the University of Richmond is and what it can offer you through its high academic standards, vibrant student life, and unparalleled leadership opportunities and resources on campus and in our community. As an intern, conducting informational interviews with students like you has been a highlight of my intern experience (even my college career!) as I’ve loved getting to know y’all and talking more about the role the University of Richmond has played in my life. As we are quickly approaching this next school year, we hope to hear from or meet y’all soon! Feel free to contact me (anna.weichel@richmond.edu) or the Office of Admission staff if you have any questions about anything. Best of luck to all of you in the college search and application process!

Anna Weichel

By Jenny Pedraza

Career Development Center

Guest Blogger

So you’re at the point where college is right around the corner. You’re thinking of roommates, classes, new friendships, professors and moving away from home. I’m sure you’re also planning your first visit to the university’s career center. No?

Stop the presses – you’re thinking: “I haven’t even started college and you want me to think about grad school or getting a job?”

Well, yes in some ways. Here at the University of Richmond, the Career Development Center (CDC for short) is a wonderful resource for you throughout your college career – you should drop by for a visit your first year here.

CDC advisers, in addition to being a really fun bunch of people, can help you:

• explore your interests and abilities;
• choose a major;
• connect with internships and research opportunities
• investigate graduate and professional school options;
• and help you land your first job

At the CDC, our goal is to partner with you to explore your passions, navigate challenges, and achieve your success. And we don’t mess around – 95 percent of 2007’s graduates found their pathways to success, whether that be graduate or professional school, a dream first job, a research or internship opportunity or an international experience.

And better yet, we’re getting ready to move to a brand new facility on the third floor of the Tyler Haynes Commons. Now you have no excuse not to drop in.

For more information, call us at 289-8547 or visit http://cdc.richmond.edu.

Meg McCall, a rhetoric and communication studies junior, experiences Spanish culture in the form of miniature sandwiches called “montaditos.” Meg spent five weeks in Spain this summer studying Spanish as part of her foreign language minor. She decided to study abroad after talking with her CDC advisor about how an international experience can give her a “leg-up” when she begins her job search.

Laura Musser, a leadership and international studies senior, works with children at the Amelio School in Cambodia through the non-profit, Caring for Cambodia.