Ole Miss drops GPA exceptions for rush

[Tippiechick]

is Ole Miss someplace where sophs or juniors are free or is it someplace where if you don't rush as a freshman it really hurts your odds? Because as much as having a grade exception for learning disabilities seems very compassionate, if a PNM can rush with success as a soph, it's probably a lot better for anyone without a 2.5 out of high school to wait a year and see how it goes.

There ARE exceptions. But, it definitely hurts your chances of getting a bid. I think OleMissGlitter can be more specific on current policies. But, if I recall, there were upperclassmen additions allowed. And, I could be wrong, but I think that was only up to total. Considering the groups at or above total, that doesn't leave much room for upperclassmen. If you are a group, do you really want to take the person who can pay dues for 2 years or someone who'll pay all 4 years?

But, like others have said, if a girl can't keep her shit together in high school well enough to get a gpa of 2.5, she's gonna have a hell of a time in college if she adds extra-currics. And, you'd want to have some major legacies going on if you have that kind of gpa. Groups still have their academic gpa averages to worry about. If you take someone who is borderline, and they cannot maintain the gpa of that specific group, you end up with someone who gets kicked out/suspended/whatever for grades.

[GatorDG]

Grades are only part of the package. A 3.5 student at some high schools would not be a 3.5 student at others. I was looking through the packet of my daughter's pledge class where a girl had a 96% out of 100% as her high school gpa but only a 22 ACT. Another had a 3.2 and a 29 ACT. My daughter had a 2.7 from her high school and a 23 ACT, yet is now on the Dean's list. You can have a 4.0 student that goes off the deep end in college.

There has to be standards, but I hate to see such a firm line drawn without a look at the overall package. Sometimes being part of a GLO can help a girl academically. It is very foreign to many of us whose schools have minimum admisson requirement of 3.5 and the reality is that even with a 4.0 you may not be admitted. But it is not for us to judge a school about their admission policies.

I am sure that Ole Miss has it reasons. It might be a way to cut down on the number of girls going through recruitment. I do believe that the last several years the pledge classes at Ole Miss have been larger than the chapter total on many campuses.

I wish all those going through recruitment in the fall the best of luck!

[Tippiechick]

Originally Posted by GatorDG

Grades are only part of the package. A 3.5 student at some high schools would not be a 3.5 student at others. I was looking through the packet of my daughter's pledge class where a girl had a 96% out of 100% as her high school gpa but only a 22 ACT. Another had a 3.2 and a 29 ACT. My daughter had a 2.7 from her high school and a 23 ACT, yet is now on the Dean's list. You can have a 4.0 student that goes off the deep end in college.

There has to be standards, but I hate to see such a firm line drawn without a look at the overall package. Sometimes being part of a GLO can help a girl academically. It is very foreign to many of us whose schools have minimum admisson requirement of 3.5 and the reality is that even with a 4.0 you may not be admitted. But it is not for us to judge a school about their admission policies.

I am sure that Ole Miss has it reasons. It might be a way to cut down on the number of girls going through recruitment. I do believe that the last several years the pledge classes at Ole Miss have been larger than the chapter total on many campuses.

I wish all those going through recruitment in the fall the best of luck!

Did you even read the thread or even the first post?

First, it's not admission policies we are talking about -- it's rush requirements!

Second, lowering the gpa requirement would INCREASE the total number of girls. It just means more girls to pay the rush fee and more girls to end up bidless when they don't meet the glo's requirements as mentioned below. Exceptions had been made to accomodate those with a learning disability. But, learning disabilities aren't going to be an excuse in the real world. And, they shouldn't be an excuse for someone with a low gpa to get into rush. (And, don't bitch about how heartless I am... It's the truth.) Dropping the learning disability exceptions will decrease the number of girls going through rush.

Third, it really doesn't matter much. GLOs have their own new member gpa requirements. It's ultimately their decision. So, if a girl rushes with a 2.5, at least some groups will drop her 1st round just on grades alone.

You can hem and haw 'til the cows come home about the "overall package," but if a girl underperformed in high school academically, she should be focusing her efforts on her academic life. Sorority life is great. But, the goal of college is to prepare you for your career path. If you are struggling academically (I consider anything below a 3.0 in high school to be just that) you don't need to join. You need to keep your ass focused on what really matters.

Plus, let's not bullshit about the "overall package," ok? When someone says that we need to look at the overall package, it just means that the girl was underperforming in one of the areas of focus. She's ugly, but look at the overall package-- she has great grades and community involvement so overlook her third eye. She has shitty grades, but look at the overall picture - she's cute and would look so nice in the composite so overlook the fact that she doesn't care about her academic performance.

If you want to be in a sorority at Ole Miss, you'd better be pretty outstanding in every way-- period. Or, you should be the third generation legacy of a chapter. But, hell what do I know about it, right? I only went there. BTW, I think that gives me the right to discuss my feelings about their policies.

And, we are talking about Ole Miss. Girls who want to get into a sorority at Ole Miss know that they have to have the grades. They get one shot basically. Those that choose to piss away their high school days having fun or being lazy, etc. do not have a great "Overall Package."

[gee_ess]

I am wondering if Ole Miss dropped the exceptions policy in order to give more leeway/room for exceptions, and conversely, stricter cutoffs, to the individual chapters.

This new policy seems to take the work out of the gpa dilemma out of Greek Life's hands and put it on each sorority - where it belongs.

Also, on a related note, I don't know what the OP implied with the "cute girls" comment. But, in my experience in the south, anyone who is young is often described (by adults) as "cute." It is not necessarily as shallow as it sounds, I promise

[AOII4ME]

Originally Posted by gee_ess

I am wondering if Ole Miss dropped the exceptions policy in order to give more leeway/room for exceptions, and conversely, stricter cutoffs, to the individual chapters.

This new policy seems to take the work out of the gpa dilemma out of Greek Life's hands and put it on each sorority - where it belongs.

Also, on a related note, I don't know what the OP implied with the "cute girls" comment. But, in my experience in the south, anyone who is young is often described (by adults) as "cute." It is not necessarily as shallow as it sounds, I promise

In the horse show ring, we even refer to a really nice horse as CUTE.

[gee_ess]

^^^exactly!

[carnation]

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

You can hem and haw 'til the cows come home about the "overall package," but if a girl underperformed in high school academically, she should be focusing her efforts on her academic life. Sorority life is great. But, the goal of college is to prepare you for your career path. If you are struggling academically (I consider anything below a 3.0 in high school to be just that) you don't need to join. You need to keep your ass focused on what really matters.

Plus, let's not bullshit about the "overall package," ok? When someone says that we need to look at the overall package, it just means that the girl was underperforming in one of the areas of focus. She's ugly, but look at the overall package-- she has great grades and community involvement so overlook her third eye. She has shitty grades, but look at the overall picture - she's cute and would look so nice in the composite so overlook the fact that she doesn't care about her academic performance.

If you want to be in a sorority at Ole Miss, you'd better be pretty outstanding in every way-- period. Or, you should be the third generation legacy of a chapter. But, hell what do I know about it, right? I only went there. BTW, I think that gives me the right to discuss my feelings about their policies.

And, we are talking about Ole Miss. Girls who want to get into a sorority at Ole Miss know that they have to have the grades. They get one shot basically. Those that choose to piss away their high school days having fun or being lazy, etc. do not have a great "Overall Package."

rotfl

[fantASTic]

I also feel like there are a LOT of people who use learning disabilities as an excuse to underachieve. For example...my little sister has mild ADD. When she gets a bad grade, she blames it on this, even though she's on medication. I know for a FACT that she is using this as an excuse...and if she does it, there are college kids who do it too. I think this will keep people focused on their grades as a gateway, instead of something they can excuse with a, "But, but..I have ADD!"

[OleMissGlitter]

I agree with Tippie....as someone who works with a chapter there, I can tell you that this policy will only help the chapters. Like Tippie said, most of the PNMs going through rush are well prepared and they know how to play the game too. Another point she said that I agree with is that each sorority has their own policies. I have seen PNMs go through with a 1.9 GPA and they just end up getting released from every sorority. If anything Ole Miss is doing them a favor I think. I think this just benefits everyone, full circle.

[Blue Skies]

Learning disabilities can occur in students with any level of intelligence. For instance, many teachers suspect that Albert Einstein may have had a learning disability due to the fact that he was unable to read until he was in the third grade. There are many different types of LD's and they can range from mild to severe. LD's can also occur in combination, or in combination with other disorders such as ADHD.

I've seen students with a mild LD get excellent grades with minimal support (such as additional opportunities to respond to oral questions, or extended response time to oral questions.) Some students with moderate disabilities "grow out of it" in the sense that they learn strategies to cope with their LD as they mature, and they can also do quite well.

My feeling as a teacher is that there is an appropriate time for the "training wheels" to come off, and that time is college. LD students should be able to succeed with only minimal accommodations. College is not for everyone.

I do not believe that there should be a grade exemption for learning disabilities at the collegiate level.

[gee_ess]

I am almost positive that the exceptions rule was just for recruitment admission - not college admission - and that was just to allow the pnm to sign up with a lower than the minimum gpa. Once, they were allowed to participate in recruitment (through this exception) then the individual chapters could choose or not to pledge her based on their own criteria.

[sigmadiva]

Sorry to butt in here, but I just wanted to ask a question: Would it be better to 'cut' based on a national standard like ACT and/or SAT rather than hs grades, since like it was said a 2.5 at one hs may be a 3.0 at another hs?

FYI - in the NPHC the student must obtain at least 12 hrs of college credit with at least a 2.5 before they can be eligible to join. In the olden days, when I came through you had to have 30 hrs of college credit with at least a 2.5.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

Sorry to butt in here, but I just wanted to ask a question: Would it be better to 'cut' based on a national standard like ACT and/or SAT rather than hs grades, since like it was said a 2.5 at one hs may be a 3.0 at another hs?

I think ACT/SAT scores are an even worse predictor of college success than HS GPAs. 50% of it is just not getting nervous when you take the darn test. I've seen intelligent, straight A students totally bomb on it.

It would be a lot easier if everyone had deferred rush and what your HS grades had been would be a moot point since everyone would have a college GPA, from that college. But I know I'm shouting into the wind on that one.

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I think ACT/SAT scores are an even worse predictor of college success than HS GPAs. 50% of it is just not getting nervous when you take the darn test. I've seen intelligent, straight A students totally bomb on it.

It would be a lot easier if everyone had deferred rush and what your HS grades had been would be a moot point since everyone would have a college GPA, from that college. But I know I'm shouting into the wind on that one.

Thanks! I hadn't thought about it like that before. Since, like I said, for the NPHC hs grades / college entrance scores are a moot point. Looking at the college grades, even after one semester, can really level the playing field.

[couggirl]

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

Those that choose to piss away their high school days having fun or being lazy, etc. do not have a great "Overall Package."

Just because someone has a low GPA or SAT scores does not mean that they are lazy or pissed away their high school days. I know this is off topic, but this kind of offends me. I worked really hard in High school and had a okay GPA (3.3 due to lots of Art classes which =graranteeded A at my school) and Low SAT scores, but the does not mean that i did not work hard. I had a problem and the doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me. In college my grades were some times good, but sometimes bad. I could not figure out why. My GPA was barley a 2.3 for most of my college education. It was not until after I graduated from college that someone figured out that I have a pre-diabetic condition. Now that I am being treated for that this condition School is soo much easier and what use to take me hours to do I can do in about 30 minutes.

So please don't assume that just because someones grades are lower that they are lazy. Obviously their are exceptions, but there are actually reasons that some people have a hard time in school and therefor low GPA.