<p>I feel it’s true that you can only really know what was a reach or not when it’s all over. With my older d I’m assuming that the reaches were the ones that denied her, and the fits are the ones that accepted her, and, maybe, the waitlist ones. I don’t think she had any safeties. We were pretty naive about her chances back then. But luckily one of fits was a perfect fit, complete with a merit scholarship. Now with my younger d, we will probably apply to a couple of the schools that waitlisted the older one as her reach schools. I don’t see any reason to waste the application money by reaching for the sky this time around.</p>
<p>I guess my answer to “What if it’s AP Music Theory?” is “If they took it, and they have a grade, then there’s nothing to be done about it, anyway.” It’s not so much what your HS does with the list of grades; the point is that different colleges will take the transcript and interpret it however they want. Hopefully if a class was taken at an advanced level, a school that would see that grade as weighted would do so - and this depends on the GC’s explanation of the transcript. But we really have no control over it, so I’m just figuring, what will be will be.</p>
<p>For this group, reaches really are reaches - as opposed to a high stat kid who IS in the top 25%, or 10% of applicants anywhere - but we always hear stories of kids who somehow make it, hooked or not. I think if a kid is in love with a program, they might as well give one or two reach schools a shot. But I agree that it’s very important to have a really great group of options in the “good fit” category. </p>
<p>My kid happens to have a very “bird in the hand” attitude about applications - she has chosen not to have anything higher than a highish match on her list. Academically she has some great choices and might get accepted to just about all of them. </p>
<p>However, even though her auditioned schools fit this description academically, their theater acceptances can be as low as 8%. So really she has a bunch of ridiculous reaches after all, although that’s just part of the game with these kinds of arts programs. And because those acceptances are not stats-driven in any way, it would be unfair to tell her she’s “reaching” too high or too much. Soon she’ll decide just how many she’s going to write the applications for right now (she’d have the opportunity to add a few this winter on the spur of the moment), but that won’t really depend on reach/match, just whether she really thinks it’s worth taking the chance because of the school itself.</p>
<p>This is such a weird experience for us, but we’re stuck with it. At least I know that she’s got a pretty solid sense of herself as an academic applicant … and with the non-auditioned schools she’s on a good track and will have some lovely options even if all of the auditions come up with zilch.</p>
<p>But it’s going to be a long, long ride until we know the end of the story.</p>
<p>In looking back now, S did not play the “game.” Did it his way, very happy at his school! </p>
<p>1.) We wanted him to apply to 10-12 schools, he did not, he applied to 5 schools.
2.) We wanted him to dress up for interviews, he did not.
3.) We wanted him to record music CDs as part of application, he did not have time.
4.) We wanted him to take the ACT to see the results, he would not.
5.) He decided to take SAT one more time, last minute, stand by, best score yet & we listened to him & I think that was one thing H & I did right-we listened to him. </p>
<p>End result, accepted to 4 out of 5 schools. 
</p>
<p>One of my son’s favorite colleges only calculates the GPA on the core subjects. I don’t know how that plays out with our school when his CS programming classes are in the course selection guide as being in the math department but they don’t count that way for graduation - they’re just an elective. For a student that heavy in just one subject, that would be pretty bad, especially if it was like EmmyBet’s daughter and the one subject was not a core one. My son has not done really well in Science so he doesn’t like that method.</p>
<p>Emmybet, you mentioned theatre student acceptance rate. What is your resource(s) for that info? My son isn’t a theatre kid, but I’d love to find more details than just things like mid ranges for GPAs and test scores.</p>
<p>I just want to add some very general info re GPA calculation. I have to stress that this is a generalization because every college has their own methodology. Most colleges look at grades from core classes only - science, English, math, social studies and foreign language. They do not typically look at gym, health, art or music grades. The exception to this would be for AP classes - AP Music Theory, AP Studio Art and so forth would be considered. Colleges do not really look at the sequence of classes and note that your child is a year ahead in their math sequence, for example, because that will vary so much from one state to another - they will look for the honors classes and AP classes to detect rigor - based on what your high school has available to offer its students.</p>
<p>A very typical methodology is to pull out the core classes and then add weight to the honors and APs. Thus, the college arrives at a weighted GPA composed of core classes. But, this is not always the case. Very large universities, for example, do not have the time to do this and are more likely to just take the GPA straight off the transcript. </p>
<p>My personal opinion is that while it is interesting to inquire how a particular college evaluates the transcript in the admissions process - you will make yourself crazy trying to keep track of 8-10 schools and how they each calculate GPA. You also have to remember that they are looking at your child’s transcript within the context of the entire pool of applicants - whether for the college as a whole or maybe just the pool of students who have applied to the business program or the engineering school. The pool will change from year to year - further complicating the process. </p>
<p>So, this is an area I personally don’t worry about too much. I look at it in very broad strokes - this school accepts B/B+ students is enough for me.</p>
<p>In a nutshell - there are 2 ways to get a theater degree: auditioned (BFA or BA) and non-auditioned. For non-auditioned programs (meaning you get into the school in the regular way and then choose to major in theater), the admissions stats and details are just like anyone else’s.</p>
<p>For the auditioned programs, the academic admissions requirements sometimes count a lot, and sometimes hardly at all. It depends on the school. The program admissions percentages are vague and vary greatly, and they don’t depend on any stats. Some schools might audition 1000 kids for 8 spots; some schools audition 100 kids for 50 spots, etc. That all depends on how many kids want to go to a particular school (based on prestige, location, whether it’s said they will get great contacts, etc.) and what the school is looking for in a particular year. </p>
<p>The only way we “know” these percentages is if the schools release their numbers from the previous years, and some schools will tell you how they calculate filling their spots. The schools base their acceptances on three basic things: experience, talent, and “fit” in the class. All subjective, all unpredictable. And they all weigh these characteristics differently.</p>
<p>My D has about a 50-50 split in her school list of auditioned and non-auditioned programs. She can’t control any of the audition variables (except that this summer she got a lot more theater experience - but only for her own education, since the programs don’t expect anything specific). All she can do is prepare her audition material as well as humanly possible. She has some less selective auditioned programs on her list so that her “chances” will be improved. </p>
<p>The Theater Forum on CC has some interesting discussions about this strange subsection of college applicants - as do all of the other forums based on specific majors. </p>
<p>I’m trying not to load my discussion here with our little theater quirks, but I know a couple of us are dealing with these major-specific issues, and honestly I can’t help it. It’s just such a big part of our experience.</p>
<p>I feel like she’s in one of those silent movies where the hero is hanging on for dear life, dangling between two speeding trains on parallel tracks - that might diverge at any moment. But we’ll know if she has to pick one or the other in a few months, when the audition results start rolling in. In the meantime, she’s holding just as tight to the “regular” schools’ train. I’m grateful that she wants to go to college, primarily, and that there are so many good theater programs still that do not require an audition.</p>
<p>to add to RM’s post: some schools actually rank high schools as well and look at the students’ GPA’s at those particular schools differently…private HS v Public HS in many cases are looked at differently due to “supposed” rigor even in regular classes…</p>
<p>agree with RM: if it’s considered a school for the B/B+ student, works for me…</p>
<p>Hey, 3.Xs … how are your not-so-type-A kids doing getting the app work finished? When do you plan to jump in and manage the process? Any suggestions?</p>
<p>I know it’s early, but she HAS to get a significant amount of this done in September, for a bunch of reasons (publics that fill up, preliminary acceptances needed before scheduling auditions, etc.).</p>
<p>She’s become so darn capable and I’m so proud of her right now … except for this. Argh!</p>
<p>Thanks, CC - the best place to vent!</p>
<p>Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Keeping an eye out for no-essay apps. Son got one a few days ago, for one of MY top picks. HIS top pick ( a CSU) doesn’t require an essay either.</p>
<p>I agree, it is nice to see them becoming responsible in so many new ways. I just keep telling my self that someone, somewhere, will see it too, and it will all work out.</p>
<p>There have been a lot of 3.x schools reviewed in CampusVibe lately–Wooster, Susquehanna, Elizabethtown, Binghamton etc–worth a look to spot some “hidden gems”</p>
<p>So after I wrote my note - I got the mail, and she got a priority app invitation from UMinn, just as Shrinkrap says, with NO essay! This school is very much on her list, and when she came home from school she was psyched to get it done. I imagine she’s at or above some threshold where they just need to approve her stats and be done with it. Yay!</p>
<p>And she says we’ll sit down on Sunday as promised and get her to-do list done and chart out essays. She’d asked to wait until this weekend, and I have just been champing at the bit. She and I are very different in this way. But once she starts, I know she’ll do it, especially when she has a visual on the deadlines.</p>
<p>I noticed some of the priority apps S has received require him to submit a graded paper of his choice instead of writing an essay. I almost think he would be better off rewriting the paper and submitting that as his essay.</p>
<p>“some of the priority apps S has received require him to submit a graded paper of his choice instead of writing an essay”</p>
<p>Yes. University of Portland and Willamette offered son this option.</p>
<p>I remember that U. of Rochester asked for a graded paper, though I can’t recall right now whether this was instead of or in addition to an essay.</p>
<p>My S has a 3.3UW. I made him sit down for a couple of days in August to knock out one rolling admission app and the easy parts of the common app. Now his AP English teacher has taken over the reins and has him working on his main essay. His first deadline (ED1 for a super reachy school) is Nov. 15 and only two of his schools ask for supplemental essays, so I’m hopeful he’ll have plenty of time to finish. But, it could be tough to get him back to that task because wow, the homework load this year is up from last year. He has 4 APs including two science lab courses that are taking a lot of time.</p>
<p>We are officially done applying to all of her schools. She finished her essays in early August to my disbelief. Some of the schools are rolling admissions and some are late December notifications. Of course, her favorite choice is the last to notify, this is a reach school for her and she is already commenting " I don’t think I’ll get in here." We will just have to wait and see.
She’s already been accepted at Bama so I know shes going somewhere. Her other applications were sent to College of Charleston, her first choice, Ohio University, University of South Carolina, Auburn, East Carolina and Winthrop. It’s sad that none of the Virginia schools of interest had her major but it is what it is. We will see where the chips fall, she is really set on Charleston, but again many have told us this will be a reach. Good luck to all the others in getting the process done and complete.</p>
<p>RSC,
Congrats and best of luck!</p>
<p>That’s terrific rscqueen! I’ve heard that Charleston is a really cool city. I will be very happy when my son is done. Sure hope it’s soon! niceday, It is helpful when the English teachers help the kids with their essay’s. Do they do peer edit’s or just teacher? Four AP’s is a lot, That wouldn’t be possible at our school just because of time constraints.</p>
<p>Good luck and congrats to everyone who has some results! We will have a nice year-long stream of news, won’t we?</p>
<p>My D has 3 APs and an Honors Science class. But our HS doesn’t kill them with HW; for example, her Calc class is structured to include a lot of work time, and her Gov class is a laugh riot with only 8 kids in it who all have a wonderful time working together (my D is the type who has a musical theater song or something from Schoolhouse Rock ready for any situation). She also says taking honors Chem is a breeze after AP Bio last year. </p>
<p>These are amazing words coming from her mouth - when she was a freshman we weren’t allowed to use letter grades in conversation or she’d freak out, and it’s been a long journey to confidence and a feeling of accomplishment.</p>
<p>I was tickled to see her punching in the info on her UMinn priority app (no essay!) and first part of the Common App today … she believes in who she is and what she’s done. Sure, she leaves a lot of the “Leadership positions held” and “Awards received” spots blank. But she knows she is a good, solid, respectable candidate, and has some pretty juicy tidbits of achievement thrown in. </p>
<p>Something about being a senior is really agreeing with her. I’m happily riding this phase right now. There will be hits to come, I’m sure, but she’s building a pretty strong footing to withstand them.</p>