High schools' reputations boosted applicants' GPAs

By Katie Plona
Daily Staff Reporter

MARGARET MYERS/Daily Ann Arbor Pioneer High School graduates receive a 0.2 boost to their GPAs when applying to the University. Documents released in July give extensive details of the University's admissions process, including the revelation that the Office of Admissions frequently adjusts applicants' GPAs based on personal traits and geographic factors.

The sometimes frustrating process of getting into college may be more complicated than University applicants previously assumed.

University admissions counselors tack on additional points to undergraduate applicants' GPAs, based on factors like high school curriculum levels and other features that set students apart from their peers.

The highest amount of bonus points a high school can receive is 0.5, according to the SCUGA index obtained by The Michigan Daily through the Freedom of Information Act.

Students can also receive points for minority status, geographical remoteness and close familial relation with alumni.

Lisa Baker, associate vice president for University Relations, said SCUGA guidelines are given to admissions counselors as a starting point to familiarize themselves with high schools.

"The most complete data really reflect what the counselors know," Baker said. "One shouldn't read too much into this single document."

The SCUGA guidelines do not imply that a student who went to a school with fewer resources than another school is penalized, Baker said.

"It brings standardization to what is a very complex process," Baker said, adding that the guidelines are not always absolute.

The master SCUGA report may not contain updated information for all of the schools, both private and public listed in the guide.

"There is a degree of flexibility and a degree of subjectivity, but in the end, we're seeking students who succeed at Michigan," Baker said. "We're trying to choose the students who are likely to succeed at Michigan and that's really what admissions is about," she said, adding that a 94-percent first-year-student retention rate indicates the University's success.

Baker said that 80 percent of undergraduate students who enter the University attended public high schools.

Duffy Ross, director of Public Relations for University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe, which received a 0.3 rating (one of the highest marks in Michigan) said the University has the freedom to evaluate high schools as it chooses. Each college or university must use the system that works best for it to select potential students, he said.

"It's not for us to evaluate why they did what they did," Ross said.

The University's use of the high school ratings does not lead to competitiveness among Liggett and other prestigious private schools, Ross said.

"His relationship with the other headmasters at other schools are all very good," Ross said. "I think we all can agreed that each school has lots of strengths and complements each other real well in southeast Michigan."

However, Robert Galardi, principal of Ann Arbor Pioneer High School, said any way by which high schools can be compared may be hazardous.

"When it becomes publicized knowledge, (parents) start to shop for schools," Galardi said.

Pioneer, one of Ann Arbor's three public high schools, received a 0.2 rating according to the SCUGA guidelines. Galardi described his philosophy is that of a public school educator, saying it is the school's responsibility to educate every student in the district, as opposed to weeding out students who do not show potential success.

"It's hard for me to truly approve the ability to say we only want the kids who will be successful here," Galardi said. "I think it all goes back to the mission of the college."

Mike Gill, director of development for University of Detroit High School, said he can see the reasoning behind the SCUGA list.

"I can understand why the University would need to put a system in place for them so they can make sure they attract the best types of students possible," Gill said. An 'A' at one high school may not be an 'A' at another, he said.

On the other hand, a student whose school is in a below-poverty district and receives fewer resources than other schools could be at a disadvantage, Gill said.

"It seems like that kid has a lot stacked against him from the start," Gill said.

The SCUGA guide lists University of Detroit High School as receiving a 0.1 boost, but the school was told that its accurate rating was at least 0.2, Gill said.

Steven Stout, assistant principal of Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard High School, said universities as well as high schools must have a loose set of criteria.

Gabriel Richard received a 0.1 SCUGA rating by the University. "Based on what we have offered, we just felt that was low," Stout said.

Tia Bennett, whose son Justin attended Gabriel Richard and will enter the University's College of Engineering this fall, said many factors may contribute to the admissions counselors' tallying process - but the extra points will only take students so far.

"They're going to get them in the door, but then it's up to them," Bennett said. "Ultimately, it's up to the student.

The numbers game:
Phillips Exeter Academy: 0.5
Birmingham Detroit Country Day: 0.4
Ann Arbor Greenhills: 0.4
Cranbrook Kingswood: 0.3
Grosse Pointe - University Liggett: 0.3
Sidwell Friends: 0.3
*Ann Arbor Huron: 0.2
*Detroit Martin Luther King: 0.1
*East Grand Rapids: 0.1
*Midland High School: 0.1
-Asterisks identify public high schools.

09-03-97