@RichInPitt i think my point referred to the “generic” GPA calculator not specific to a school so students can be compared to each other. It was just a warning that although her son has a 4.0 at his school, I don’t know that colleges will look at it that way when they recalculate the GPA from a transcript. If the transcript uses a 93 and not a 4.0 scale it will leave it even more to interpretation.
My DD23 has a 96 unweighted average and that is what is on her transcript. I would not say she has a 4.0 when I use a generic calculator for GPA because she had a couple of 90s during high school. Hopefully a 93 in his magnet high school is a strong GPA compared to others in his school with similar rigor. - ultimately that’s the best measurement
If a gap year is considered, check the colleges of interest to see if NMF or other scholarships are available for those who took a gap year after high school graduation.
I agree with this. I think the two grades skipped and younger-than-usual academics would, in many cases, not be helpful. Trying to get into the head of the admissions committee, two things come to mind.
First, they’ll be wondering what role the student will play in the class. How will the student add to the campus and to the student body?
The second thing that the admissions people will think about is, what’s the risk of admitting a 16-year-old? What’s the benefit? Colleges are risk-averse.
With the trend over the last 20 or so years being to hold students back, not push ahead, and with the popularity of gap year, a good proportion of entering freshmen are 18-20.
When student looked for summer opportunities, age was often an issue, as many programs had a minimum age of 16 yo. So student had to think creatively about solutions for summer engagements, or year-around engagements, and wrote about it in applications. Age definitely played a role (negative; socially) at the beginning of high school; thankfully this is no longer an issue.
As to IV, I agree with you - it is complex. It is being able to initiate/hold a lively conversation, having depth, but it is also knowing a lot about many subjects (self study/learn), being naturally curious and engaging. APs and subject tests were a result of it.
Thank you. Will be visiting school(s) before final decisions. So many factors at play; and student still evolves and matures. Student is in a HS that sends a lot of students to a lot of good colleges, so hopefully company will be easier from the start.
Very true with raising the bar and the curve. This student is not a perfectionist (therefore not a top GPA) and grades were never (maybe unfortunately) too much of a concern. The student knows that it is about the journey, not the destination. The student does not really have a dream school and sees themselves happy in a quite a few. We will see…
@momofdys my impression from your responses are that you are very tuned in to the needs of your son. He is clearly intellectually exceptional. He is lucky to find a nourishing environment in which to flourish in High School both academically and socially. I think of my daughter at 16 and now at almost 18 and there is a big difference in her maturity level. Just focus on what is the best environment for your son in college and avoid the “reputation” traps - my guess is that your son will find his way to succeed as long as he he follows the path most comfortable for him.
Just coming back to the thread. I’ll add that when my daughter proposed to us that she wanted to graduate high school a year early, on top of the fact she was already a year ahead in school, I called all the colleges on her list anonymously to ask if they take early graduates and all said yes, as long as she had earned a high school diploma, which would be her case.
Again, I will reiterate that going to college at a young age, 16, like my daughter did, and your son wants to, must be about more than academic readiness. There are various solutions to deal with academic acceleration. My D made a compelling rationale to us as parents, and eventually wrote a statement to her colleges explaining her rationale for going to college early, that got into readiness on an academic, social, personal, and in her case, artistic level for her field, that was compelling. Nothing else on her app dealt with her age, only her statement about being an early graduate. Plus, her school counselor supported this plan in his counselor report.
It turned out to be the right journey for her…she didn’t just excel academically in college, but was a leader there and all her friends tend to be older than herself. She had no issues adjusting to college life. However, I don’t think going to college at 16 is right for everyone. The only time my D’s age ever arose in college was on her birthday, when people realized what her true age was.
I agree with others’ comments regarding the categorization of the various schools on your list (i.e. likelies are reaches). Have you given any thought to universities that have a residential college/house system? That seems as though there might be a closer-knit social environment and a few more protective eyes (whether faculty advisors or just thoughtful older students). Yale is an obvious example, but Union’s Minerva Houses might play a similar role while being a likelier acceptance and not too far from home. Franklin & Marshall is also known for this type of house system, as is Rice (another reach). But, I thought it was worth a mention in case you hadn’t thought about it before.
Thank you for your thoughts. Girls might be more mature at this young age, although it is certainly individual. This student’s school college counselor skipped 2 grades herself, too, so she was onboard on the idea of going to college early and did not think too much of it. I hope she stated it in her report, which is not available for viewing. We still have a good few months ahead of us to observe the situation and consider options. I wonder myself how it all ends.
Thank you for your reply. Student will be applying to Yale and Rice, as well, RD. So many applications. Probably too many. But we just do not know how this will play out, as some factors are excellent, some average, and some atypical.
As a female you will have an edge getting into CMU (aka “The Nerd Farm”) because of their gender parity policy for STEM majors. While the overall acceptance rate for CompSci is around 6%, the acceptance rate for women is higher (my guess is double the base rate). The bad news is that CMU is miserly with need based aid and does not award merit aid.
Based on your list, it appears that you are focusing on high prestige schools or schools in the northeast. Have you considered UIUC? It is very strong in CompSci (#5 USNWR) and my guess is it is easier to get into than CMU, MIT, Stanford, etc. and is less expensive (OOS tuition $35,110-$42,763). You might also want to look at Purdue (#16), which was less expensive for OOS than UofM was for in-state when our son applied.
Thank you. Student is aware of the gender disparity in CS. UIUC was too expensive OOS for the family, and student did not apply to Perdue. But student applied to WPI and is already accepted at U Minnesota Twin Cities (rolling). Also applied to UTD to maximize national merit. Georgia Tech does not accept younger students, we learned from the admission office. Is your son happy where he ended up?
Our S attended Stanford and was 17 yrs old for most of his first year. I don’t think he ever mentioned anyone that was as young as your student though, so I’m not sure if it’s an issue.
On the academic, he chose Stanford specifically to study machine learning. He was able to to take many ML classes including graduate level classes. Loved the area. Loved the opportunities.
As a Stanford alum he now works at a startup just down the road from campus, doing what he loves - machine learning.
Congratulations on meeting the needs and passion of your son. Stanford is a dream for CS/ML loving kids, and it would be a dream for this student, as well. Acceptance rate is a killer, as with many others these days. But you are right - access to graduate level classes, plus concentration in AI/ML, is at the top of the list, more than the name of the school, a ranking, etc. Although, they often go hand in hand.