<p>A national study of student experiences at colleges attempted to measure how engaged students were in their education, using a wide variety of factors, such as workload, small classes, interaciton with faculty, etc. Not every college participated, but hundreds did and USA Today published the results last year. It is the only tool I have seen of this type:</p>
<p>Thanks, yabeyabe. Some results are surprising to me. For example, Springfield College in MA did quite a bit better than I would have guessed. I never visited the school, and I don’t know anyone who attended. My past opinions came solely from comments made on the internet. Well, I think that they did quite well! Perhaps it is a hidden gem for the right student.</p>
<p>I suspect a long look at the data would find some interesting comparisons between small colleges and the big time sports and party places which kids flock to at OOS tuition.</p>
<p>I took a look at my transcript today. 3.33 weighted. That, somehow (?), makes me well within the top 3rd of my class, but not quite to the top 1/4th. Is that a typical rank for someone in this thread?</p>
<p>I guess my unweighted would fall near the lower range of this thread, then (my school doesn’t give unweighted so I can’t say for certain).</p>
<p>Thread includes all kinds, but I don’t think my son is in the top 1/3 of his class, and his weighted and unweighted UC GPA (academic classes only) are the same; 3.09! (whew!)</p>
<p>I’m not sure where my son falls in his class but his gpa is 3.1 uw and 3.4 w. Nice upward trend in his Junior year that we were both happy to see.</p>
<p>We didn’t get a class rank with the year-end report card, although we did last year. I guess we’ll have to wait. We’re guessing it went up (she was at the bottom of the top 25% after 10th grade) because there are always kids who start strong and then flounder, but she had an upward trend, too. But she’s unlikely to make the top 15%, probably will end up top 20%. Whatever!! </p>
<p>Got some good advice from a friend about re-taking standardized tests: My D took ACT twice, had similar scores, but was upset because her composite dropped a point from April to June. She’s considering taking it one more time. My friend, an experience test tutor, said don’t take it as a “roll of the dice,” but only if she is going to prioritize seriously prepping for it. My D understands this, and right now would like to do just that. We’ll look at the fall schedule and see if she can manage it. I can’t help wondering if she’d even be tempted to do this if her score had gone UP one point. But many of her friends have higher scores, and I think she wonders if she could nail it.</p>
<p>Yet while higher scores could help her, of course, she really doesn’t NEED a higher ACT for her current list of schools (many are test-optional schools anyway). I think it’s a matter of pride, and insurance. But it may not be important enough to take time away from ECs and maintaining her GPA. Again, though, she might get a couple of Bs no matter what (Calc? Chem? Pretty likely!), so why not let that happen and put some time into ACT. Those classes are weighted, anyway.</p>
<p>BUT this is all her decision. I’m proud that she’s taking the reins and making thoughtful plans. She is such a different kid from a year ago! On the other hand, she’s already predicted how much she’s going to “hate” this year … well, I don’t blame her. Senior year is a really rough ride. I congratulate all of these kids in advance!</p>
<p>CIA - She put a deposit down at A & M, but they now have no housing left for freshman. There are apartments off campus, but she doesn’t have a car and the apartments are not on the bus line. They are just frustrated that freshman housing wasn’t guaranteed even though the deposit for housing was sent early. Because of the lack of housing, she may not attend A & M.</p>
<p>Hi Everyone,
I’m trying really hard to help my best friend find some colleges that will be a good match for him. We’ll be applying to college this fall.</p>
<p>His GPA is lower than a 3.0…He actually has a 2.7. High C or Low B average I believe. His SAT combined is a 1660, hopefully he’ll be raising this to a 1750 or 1800 though (if practice tests are any indication of how well he’ll do.)</p>
<p>He want’s to study something in the medical field, and his only big criteria for college is that they be on the East Coast and have some sort of medical program. So far, we’ve looked at UMBC, University of Pittsburgh, and Boston U. BU is obviously a reach, and it’s looking like the others might be too.</p>
<p>I’ve looked for help on the college search and selection baord, but nobody has been very helpful. Almost everyone as said he should just go to CC. He’ll consider CC if he can’t get in anywhere else, but he would really rather not…</p>
<p>So does anyone know of schools that could be a good match for him?
I’ve looked into Towson recently, and it seems like a possibility. What do you know about Towson?</p>
<p>Kbott–what can he afford and what do you mean by “spme sort of medical program”–pre-med or something similar to occupational therapy? Large college or small?</p>
<p>Yabeyabe2: Most likely pre-med, he’s not really sure yet though. He’s told me that size isn’t going to be much of a deciding factor for him.
As for what he can afford…I don’t have all the details on his financial situation, but he’ll probably have a pretty large need. His mother his unemployed and he has 3 siblings, but they never really have financial problems, they always seem pretty comfortable financially. So I’m not really sure what he could pay for.
Towson seems like it could be in his reach with some aid, and their tuition is about $19,000.</p>
<p>Towson–assuming he is from MD–would be a good chocie but whether he can get in is unclear. Perhaps UMBC?</p>
<p>He should chat with his parents about money and with his guidance counselor about schools. And he should should look at schools’ averag GPA/SAT stats–BU and Pitt seem very unlikely unless he is a minority.</p>
<p>He should also consider that attaining that same GPA in college will be more difficult–and will likely leave him well short of getting into med school, so a Plan B is a good idea.</p>
<p>He should look into state schools within his own state if he wants to go to a large public. State schools are known for giving very low, if any, financial aid for out of state students with low stats. My older son was accepted at Towson (his stats were a bit higher) but offered no aid at all. Going to a CC for two years and then transferring is a very attractive option for many people, especially for families with multiple children. If your friend is intending to continue his education, as you say, then it only makes sense to have the undergrad be as low cost as possible.</p>
<p>Community Colleges can vary a lot in quality but most really are pretty good and when there’s an agreement with a CC and a four year university, the only downside is the social aspect.</p>
<p>I don’t think that being hispanic is that much of a boost for Pitt or BSU, IMHO.</p>
<p>Yesterday, my son spent all of the daylight hours working on his personal statement/essay, but didn’t want me to see it until it was done. Which is isn’t -yet. He has been making notes and brainstorming ideas on and off for a couple of weeks. Began yesterday w/ energy and enthusiasm about this great idea he had for the essay. It would have to do with his remarkable relationship w/ his older brother who has Down Syndrome, and the angle would be along the lines of - who is really the teacher here? He wrote and revised all day and became increasingly discouraged about getting the point across concisely and meaningfully. So be it. I am available to help if/when he wants an editor. He knows that.</p>
<p>After dinner, he sat down to recalculate his gpa and, specifically, to try and figure out the arcane UC gpa. (Santa Cruz) Not one to express a whole lot of emotion, this bright, kind boy looked at me w/tears in his eyes and wondered out loud whether he would get in anywhere that he really wanted to go, and I assure you, his same list a mere three years ago would have been all safeties and matches. In light of recent developments, the list seems to have morphed into matches and low reaches to reaches. I understand that it is competitive out there, more so now than ever before, but how is this level of stress (on the student and the entire family) in any way productive? </p>
<p>I’m just trying to keep my big mouth shut and offer food and editing help from time to time.
This is no fun!</p>