To expand on this … I’ve visted about 30 schools over the last couple of years and contiue to be amazed how much I like each school we visit … they continue to exceed my expectations. If you son likes LACs there are a ton (and I mean a ton) of excellent LACs that might not quite be Swathmore (or Amherst or Williams or Bowdoin) but which are just terrific schools … and which might be a good fit for your son if he does well his junior and senior years … schools like Trinity, Dickerson, Colgate, Hamilton, Skidmore, Muhlenberg, etc … there a boatload of great options.</p>
<p>ChemistSon… Our S’s sound very similar. I was very happy to hear from your post that your S turned it up a notch his Junior year. My DS is also very smart and has managed a B+ average at a top private college prep school with almost NO studying… and I mean literally, no studying and almost no homework. He ended up getting a 219 on his 10th grade PSAT. He also likes schools that have a very intellectual student body, i.e. Reed College for example and I have shown him the grades he needs to get in to a school like that. He says that he is going to actually put some effort in this year, but I remain skeptical. So, we have been looking at a broad range of LAC’s that are similar to Reed and Swarthmore that are a little easier to get into. If he really does happen get some A’s this year, some of his reaches may be a little more likely… we will just have to wait and see.</p>
<p>Schools that he has researched and liked… Reed, Lewis and Clark, Sewanee, Vassar, Carelton, Bates, Colorado College,Coast Guard Academy, Whitman, Skidmore and Warren Wilson. I think it’s a pretty good list of reaches, safeties that give merit aid, and matches. Also L&C, Colorado College, Sewanee, CGA all have EA, which I love.</p>
<p>QuestioningMom…we’re from Cincinnati and my son is also considering Xavier…dd went to camp there for years and never seriously considered the school in her back yard…hubby and I both went there for grad school, ho hum very commuter 25 years ago. Last week, I picked my dd up, now working the camp, and even though I drive near the campus regularly, hadn’t been on campus…WOW! new construction and great feel…new business building, new housing and dining…all in addition to other recent new construction. It’s small, @7,000 with DivI basketball that has garnered great national attention. The business school has a great mentor program with the local business community (P&G, GE, Cintas to name a few). We actually have a good friend who went to Xavier after growing up in Florida…had a friend with a family connection…loved it and still lives here! My son attends the Jesuit school here in Cincy and gets closed out of his AP classes due to his grades.</p>
<p>Chemist, if you explain what your son likes so much about Swarthmore, many suggestions will be forthcoming. For example, LACs can be either be work hard all week/play hard on the weekend or more laid back. Some are preppy; some more countercultural. Swarthmore is notable for its Quaker tradition and for being an extremely rigorous school, with a beautiful campus near a big city.</p>
<p>~5boys - Do you have a list of LACs that has a strong chemistry department? Several of the colleges on your S’s list are on my S’s too. </p>
<p>~yabeyabe2 - He enjoys so many things about the school, that I don’t know where to start. Mainly, he enjoys the ability to have a strong science program while being able to get a liberal arts education, since he enjoys studying other courses. He also enjoys being in a small school, with intelligent people in the school. Swarthmore is also far away for us to visit him whenever we want to, but he can come visit us over a weekend by plane (we live in Boston). Also, Naviance for his school shows that in the past five years, no one has applied to Swarthmore before, and when he asked other students around, no one had ever heard of the school. He’d like to be distant from this town we live in, and so going to a place no one in his school has ever heard of is his best chance. Once I ask him some more questions, I’ll post again.</p>
<p>Chemistson (oddly enough, I am also a chemist’s son), the good LACs nearly all are small, intellectual and with good science departments, although some are better known for literature (such as Middlebury, Skidmore, Sara Lawrence and Bard). Among those where I think he would have a good or very good chance of admission that are known as good science/premed schools where intellectuals can shine are Franklin & Marshall, Muhlenberg, Juniata and Ursinus in PA and Alfred and Union in NY. If escape from the Boston area were not on his mind, Clark and Trinity would come to my mind.
I think Carnegie Mellon, Vassar, Wesleyan and Haverford would be reaches; even Villanova tells pre-med kids a 3.75 GPA is the minimum.</p>
<p>yabeyabe2, Should he still apply to Swarthmore EDI or II even though his chances are minute? Or should he apply to another school in which he has a better chance of getting in for ED/EA?</p>
<p>If you can afford ED, why not? It’ll (slightly) improve your chances. But you better be sure he wants to go there and don’t get your hopes too high.</p>
<p>Chemist, it is up to you. You should chat with your guidance counselor–although, if no one has applied to Swarthmore in 5 years, he or she may know less than you do about the average stats of those admitted to Swarthmore. My suggestion would be to research a lot of schools, in terms of their attractiveness and likelihood of admission. You might find that ED would still result in a slim chance at Swarthmore, but might push a second choice college from 50/50 to 70/30. </p>
<p>You may face difficult choices–such as whether your son should go ED 1 at Swarthmore at a 5-10% chance, of go ED 1 elsewhere for a 70% chance, with the option, if that does not work, of ED 2 to push another top 3 choice from 50% to 70%.</p>
<p>I know it will be hard to tell your son he has little chance there.</p>
<p>You should also think about your finances: in short, as you go down the selectivity levels, you may find that your chances of receiving merit aid increase, because your son becomes a relatively stronger candidate. If this is important to you, it will affect your strategy.</p>
<p>Above all, I think that the sooner your son sees how many fine LACs there are, the better he will feel.</p>
<p>My older Daughter who graduated from HS in 2006 fit this profile . She had a 3.3 , around 1100 SAT’s. At that time I was surprised at the schools she got admitted at! Goucher, George Mason, Towson St., Wagner, Nazareth, Manhattan, only rejection was James Madison.</p>
<p>Chemist Son— I can’t help you with the best LAC’s for Chemistry/ Science but I’ve heard that most of the small LAC’s have very strong Science departments and will have ample opportunities for research and one on one time with professors… which I think is one of the huge advantages of a small school. My S is interested in the Classics and Humanities in general, but wants to go to Med school. One thing is that it is very hard to gage where these kids with the low GPA’s and high SAT scores will gain admittance. Even Naviance doesn’t help you. These kids, like our S’s, love to be in an intellectual environment but shoot themselves in the foot when they don’t put in effort in high school. I am on the fence on whether to try to see if he can miraculously get into one of these Swarthmore/Reed type schools or direct him to schools based on the evidence of his grades. Like everyone says, there are just SO many great LAC’s to choose from so I’m sure he will end up at a great place. </p>
<p>I think as far as a strategy, have him apply to an EA school, and then if he gets in, he can relax knowing that he got into a school… that hopefully he loves, and then shoot for the moon on some of his reaches. That’s what my S is doing.</p>
<p>Also, I think that since your S’s grades improved Junior year, colleges are really going to want to see evidence of improved grades first semester Senior year too. Since ED applicants don’t show their first semester grades, it might be tougher to get in ED that RD.</p>
<p>I’m a student but I fit in this thread.
I was wondering if anyone knows about low GPA students getting into University of Rochester?
My weighted GPA is 3.4 and my SAT scores are average but I hope to improve a lot in the fall on that.</p>
<p>all4game, my son got into Rochester with a weighted GPA that was 3.2 after junior year and 3.4 at senior midyear. He did have very good SATs, and his high school has a well-deserved reputation for rigor.</p>
<p>I really appreciate your reply. My son has been resistant to Ohio schools thus far probably not knowing that there is much to be said for Cleveland (John Carroll and Case) and Cinc.(Xavier) but I will work on that seeing the positive comments…
As to the cold weather question- that is in his mind a positive- we are not hot weather fans- don’t ask why we are in Fla!!!
The one comment that BC is a strech was a good one. I agree. And, I would hope he will agree to focus on some schools where he might rise to to top a bit and have a chance for a scholarship etc. We are not going to qualify for musch if any need-based- though beleive me, my definition of need is that we need it!
Last list includes now (partially thanks to your help) the following:</p>
<p>Marquette
Fordham
BC
Santa Clara
Possibly Xavier
Possibly John Carroll
Also would love to have a shot at Bentley, Babson and Northeastern</p>
<p>Any thoughts on acceptance/scholarship possibilities on his stats?
3.4 Jesuit High school
Good Ec with a good hook
700 CR 630 Math SAT
29 ACT
(Needs to get math up so may retake one or both if necessary)
Steady imporvement GPA (and while he will probably do well Sr. year with core classs load and one H program Econ/Am Gov’t even a perfect 4.0 would not move up the ovverall gpa) so he is planning applications for early action.</p>
<p>I also meant to include Villanova (but thought that might be a stretch) and we just looked into Providence…will visit next week- but concerned they are not yet accredited for the business school.</p>
<p>^^^ I’m wondering about safety issues and Philly. Schools in Philadelphia have been on and off my son’s list (we’re on the west coast, so we have no accurate idea) because of concerns about crime. Temple comes to mind, but there are others that may be matches… but not if my kid is having to navigate sketchy neighborhoods.</p>
<p>St Josephs and Villanova are on the border between Philly and very affluent suburbs. At Temple and ZLaSalle, the campus is safe, but surrounding area is sketchy.</p>