Do the Upper School’s uninflated grading standards hinder our students’ with respect to college acceptance?
KATE: Unequivocally no. Just look at the impressive list of where our students go to college. If you compare the high school GPAs of students at selective private colleges to the GPAs of Catlin Gabel graduates at those same colleges you may see that the alumni from Catlin Gabel have lower GPAs. That is because the colleges know from the high school profiles we send with applications that we don’t hand out 4.0s like candy the way some schools do. We are in good company. Prep schools like Andover, Lakeside, Groton, Exeter, and Milton have grading standards similar to ours. What advice do you have for anxious students and parents? NANCY: Breathe! Know that you have very competent college counselors. We have worked with a lot of students and parents over the last 25-plus years. We will do our best to make it a process that everyone feels good about in the end. Allow the students to take the lead. This is their show. Let them star in it. KATE: And realize that the implicit message when you
