Colleges >> Browse Articles >> Admission Advice
Colleges >> Browse Articles >> Inside Dean Flagel's Office
Admissions: It's All About the Grades
In college admissions, it's all about the grades.
Featured Author:
Andrew Flagel, PhD
Andrew Flagel is the Dean of Admissions and Associate Vice President for Enrollment Development for George Mason University, where he also teaches in the Department of Communication.
Dean Flagel has an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Psychology and a Master of Arts in Education from GW, and his Ph.D. in Education from Michigan State University. He has been a featured guest on C-Span’s Washington Journal, and his quotes have appeared in recent educational stories in Newsweek, US News and World Report, The Washington Post, and even Teen Vogue.
By Andrew Flagel, Dean of Admissions and Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Development, George Mason University
As an admissions officer, I love hearing about all the SECRET WAYS TO GET INTO COLLEGE. These generally focus on some lame way to send your application, or some special club you can join, or worst of all some company that you pay a fortune. There’s never any evidence that any of that works, other than a story about somebody who got in at some point by sending in their application that way, joining that club, or forking over that fortune.
The reality, unfortunately, is really boring. Here it is (you might want to sit down for this): It’s all about your grades.
That’s really about it…except that when I say “grades” I really mean your whole academic record.
To start with, colleges are much more interested in grades in your core academic courses: Math, science, English, social studies, and/or foreign language. Every time I say that someone asks, “but what about band.” I usually say, yeah, maybe, if you’re seeking admission to a music conservatory…but mostly it’s the core academic courses. Usually the same kid (or more often, parent) jumps up and says, “but it’s HONORS band!” Yes, I get it, and no I’m not picking on band, since the question is just as often about debate, art, or a few dozen other courses that I’m sure are very rewarding and interesting. What they aren’t is your core academic courses, which is what admissions offices use.
To get an idea of your overall academic potential, still generally focusing on those core subjects, we look at trends in your grades (up is better, although best of course is to have stayed up all the way through), the quality of your courses, where you rank, the quality of your high school, etc. etc. All of that is factored, to one degree or another, by admissions officers to get an idea of what kind of student you are, and likely will be in college. That evaluation accounts for the VAST majority of your admission decision.
Of course we know that not all grades/high schools/courses are the same, so I’ll go into detail about that in a few days (or so). Be seeing you.
<a href = “/college-scholarships/”>Find scholarships now!
Andrew Flagel is Dean of Admissions and Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Development, George Mason University
WyattWallen
18 days ago
How imortant are AP classes.? Ive only taken one AP class (Govt AP), but i maintain a 3.258 GPA. Does it really matter wether you take AP or not as long as you maintain an A-B average?
DeanFlagel
3 months ago
Loran - nearly every college will tell you the same thing - great test scores will not overcome poor grades. Of course, those grades have to be taken in context - which is why i DON'T say grade point average. It's the whole academic record - courses, trends in grades, quality of school, etc, that paint the best academic picture, regardless of how well you can do on a test.
divinityunique
5 months ago
I completely agree with LoraN3
LoraN3
5 months ago
Truthfully, I disagree on saying grades will define how you are as a student. This is not nessessarily true for the student themselves and what they have gone through as a student. For myself, I used to be an absolute wiz when it came to English. It is only in my junior year that I am struggling with my English III honors course. Besides, just because a student is one way one school year, doesn't mean they will be that way in a college environment later. Also, a student can have failing grades while in high school, but do superbly on SAT and ACT tests. Would grades still matter then? I just believe a bunch of letters and numbers cannot define what kind of student a person is and can be.
AmberF418
5 months ago
That's a relief--I had some teacher tell our class the other day that colleges don't care about grades!