3.0 to 3.3 (GPA) Parents Thread (2011 HS Graduation)

Parent Cafe
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<p>Fiona and Jordcin, my son is a much more typical B student. He will have had a couple of AP classes before he graduates but our school doesn’t put any weight on grades. I’m not a big poster on CC but I do follow many of the 3.0 threads and everyone is supportive and helpful. I’m not Jewish but received a warm welcome when I posted on their thread.</p>

<p>I’m sure if you post a little bit about what your kids want in a school and the general region you are considering people would help you with ideas of where to apply. I think a lot of the typical CC threads are overwhelming with high stats kids and some one-up-manship from parents but not these threads regardless if some of the kids have a little higher GPA.</p>

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<p>A few months ago when we decided to restart the 3.X thread, we knew that our old, long discussion would recede into the far-back pages of the Parents’ Forum. So it makes sense that people newer to CC would wonder where we are coming from. “3.0-3.3” itself was a name that was used to counteract a “B+” thread that people felt was shifting toward a more competitive/selective/maybe elite focus. Of course people using this thread care if we are moving again in that “upward” direction, and I appreciate any comments about its looking that way.</p>

<p>But reading back over the past few pages of posts, I’m not seeing a particularly “elite” atmosphere - just the same struggles we’ve all had for the past couple of years in helping our kids who make mistakes and have blips in the their record find the best next step for them.</p>

<p>If this thread as described doesn’t seem to meet your needs, then go ahead and start one that does - the more the merrier. Some of us might post there, since as it’s been said, these GPAs slide around quite a bit, and other factors do make all of these kids very different kinds of college applicants.</p>

<p>Many of us with seniors here had kids who only slowly raised their GPAs over the past year. For most of my D’s HS years,B’s were common and C’s were very possible in many of her subjects. This thread has been a great comfort and escape from the “usual” discussion of grades, scores, APs, National Merit, and college choices on CC, and much more appropriate to our needs. Like kathie’s and others’ kids, my D has inched her way up a bit, but she’s really in the same applicant pool as everyone else, particularly because of her earlier record. </p>

<p>Every once in a while we do have to ask someone whose GPA weights to a 4 or above, or who has 2100/30+ test scores to take their discussion elsewhere. That is specifically because they are not looking at the same kinds of schools and have very different options and concerns than these kids. </p>

<p>The 3.3-3.6 thread was created because the school choices did tend to get a little different, but I think it didn’t last because a different discussion really wasn’t necessary, and it faded from lack of use. Our kids have a lot in common, whether they are 3.1, or 3.3, or 3.5. That’s what, to me, makes this conversation relevant: that below the top stats there are great, human, exciting kids with a lot of potential, who just need to find the right place to thrive.</p>

<p>Having this thread specifically devoted to this year’s seniors has reduced the variety of conversation, but on the positive side we all can share what it’s like to see a late maturer, or a kid who works hard but can’t quite yet fit all the pieces together, or a kid who has only certain areas where s/he excels, pull it all together and move forward in his or her own way. My kid has bits of all three, and I’m proud of how far she’s come, even though she’ll never have those “CC” stats.</p>

<p>Please let us know who you are, and what’s on your mind. We’re all in the same boat. Welcome.</p>

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<p>Jordcin: I’m here…let’s just leave out the details …also, agree that even if you are not a “member of the tribe”, the Jewish “B” student thread is very helpful and has been spreading out across the country…</p>

<p>ditto the idea that on here, on that other thread and on others, kind contributors will be helpful if you need the help and guidance…</p>

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<p>Anyone know anything about the University of New Haven? Son gets almost daily e-mails from them.</p>

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<p>^^Kathie: yes, we are gettin lots of stuff from them also…don’t know much but I havent heard it mentioned here either; and not sure it isn’t a commuter type school…</p>

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<p>I have a kid who falls above the 3.0-3.3 range but although I read other threads including Class of 2011 (15) they seem to fall into the category of discussing the prestigious schools and kids with a gazillion EC’S and Leadership positions aiming high. Ideally I would like threads that look at the other not ‘name brand’ schools and I never visit ‘Chance me’ discussions. Our child has looked extensively at OOS schools and so any info I can glean about smaller LAC’s is good. So I guess what I am saying is, even though our child may be above the stats I generally find more relevant info and a less competitive discussion group here. : )</p>

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<p>That might be a valid concern, Rodney. From college data it looks like 79% of freshman live on campus but only 38% of the other students. That’s a pretty low percentage.</p>

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<p>kathie - we have a couple of schools on the list that flash “commuter” school, so I get your concern. </p>

<p>Maybe you saw the discussion about this on another thread (the Jewish thread?). A couple of points made were: 1) those 38% of students might be upperclassmen living in apartments adjacent to campus, and to most of us who did this in college, we realize they’re not “commuters” and 2) if there is a critical mass of students who are “residential” - i.e. not driving in from a half hour away, around for evening and weekend activities, etc. - the residential feeling can be just fine.</p>

<p>Sadly, this question is hard to answer from stats. Probably the best thing is to ask around people who know the school and what it feels like there. One of D’s favorite schools has a LOT of commuters, but she has been reassured by locals and people who go there that the residential/local/evening/weekend life is thriving, and we definitely got a “regular college” feeling when we visited.</p>

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<p>Jordcin and Fiona, I hear you. It is CC disease and the best antidote is to post your own questions, stick to the threads mentioned above and ignore almost everything else, especially those parents whose comments on B student schools begin with “My S only looked at it as possible safety…” or “My D goes to a top 17 school (lest anyone think it was only top 20?) but I read somewhere…”</p>

<p>Happy, how is the LAC search going? I know the hard way that finding a lot of info on B student LACs is very difficult.</p>

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<p>My son had a 3.3 out of 4.5. Two AP’s in senior year - Psych and a science. Top students in our school have already taken 3 -5 AP’s, and their senior year will be almost all AP’s. So…a B student.</p>

<p>He is not lopsided…ACT is 25. If a kid with this average has very high test scores…or all advanced/honors courses…they have other options than my kid. But, I understand that when reading the thread. I have found this thread and the Jewish B thread to be very helpful and not at all elitist.</p>

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<p>I hope the kids here are finding rolling or early admission safety schools for some peace of mind at this stage in the game. </p>

<p>My D sent a priority app in about 3 weeks ago, and I can’t help watching the mail/e-mail like you see people obsessively do in April. I’m grateful we have this chance to have an early acceptance to base our year on. Also, we’re going to visit there at the end of October, and I know going with the acceptance in hand will change her visiting experience hugely (that happened to me way back when). But until we see it in writing, we can’t count on it, and I’m nervous … I don’t want to think what a rejection would feel like to her at this stage, after all of the great work she’s done to build her confidence and self-esteem.</p>

<p>Good luck as this whole process starts, everyone! Any new stories to tell?</p>

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<p>I would be interested in hearing about any first-hand experience (or reasonably reliable second-hand information) with the following list of PUBLIC liberal arts colleges. These schools are not as selective as SUNY Geneseo, St. Mary’s of Maryland and The College of New Jersey and admit many “B” students. All of these schools – excepting SUNY Potsdam – are members of COPLAC. I’d also be interested in hearing about any other good public LACs (with no more than 4,000 undergrads) that I might have missed. Thanks:</p>

<p>Fort Lewis College (Durango, Colorado)
• Comprehensive Fee: $12,455 (in-state), $25,147 (out-of-state)
• Merit Aid: Merit awards of $750 to $2,000 in-state, $4,000 to $8,000 out-of-state</p>

<p>Henderson State College (Arkadelphia, Arkansas)
• Comprehensive Fee: $10,561 (in-state), $14,833 (out-of-state)
• Merit Aid: Academic Scholarships range in value from $1,000 to $11,000 per year</p>

<p>Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (North Adams, Massachusetts)
• Comprehensive Fee: $15,200 (in-state), $15,700 (New York), $24,100 (out-of-state)
• Merit Aid: Most merit scholarships are awarded in the range of $1,500 to $3,000 annually</p>

<p>Shepherd University (Shepherdstown, West Virginia)
• Comprehensive Fee: $13,272 (in-state), $22,084 (out-of-state)
• Merit Aid: Application process for scholarships, criteria varies, not all are renewable yearly</p>

<p>State University of New York College at Potsdam (Potsdam, New York)
• Comprehensive Fee: $15,820 (in-state), $24,230
• Merit Aid: Scholarships from $1,000 up to cost of attendance by separate application</p>

<p>The Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington)
• Comprehensive Fee: $15,540 (in-state), $26,667 (out-of-state)
• Merit Aid: Scholarship consideration requires separate application</p>

<p>The University of Virginia’s College at Wise (Wise, Virginia)
• Comprehensive Fee: $15,083 (in-state), $28,155 (out-of-state)
• Merit Aid: Renewable merit scholarships range from $1,000 to $6,500 per year</p>

<p>University of Maine at Farmington (Farmington, Maine)
• Comprehensive Fee: $16,876 (in-state), $20,940 (New England), $25,612 (out-of-state)
• Merit Aid: Awards ranging from $3,000 to $4,500 annually are offered to out-of-state students</p>

<p>University of Minnesota Morris (Morris, Minnesota)
• Comprehensive Fee: $18,582
• Merit Fee: Merit awards of $1,000 to $3,500 per year are offered based on class rank</p>

<p>University of Montevallo (Montevallo, Alabama)
• Comprehensive Fee: $11,348 (in-state), $17,132 (out-of-state)
• Merit Aid: A variety of merit awards range in value from $3,500 to $7,000 per year</p>

<p>University of North Carolina Asheville (Asheville, North Carolina)
• Comprehensive Fee: $11,812 (in-state), $24,584 (out-of-state)
• Merit Aid: Scholarships of $1,000 per year to full tuition and fees, must apply by November 15</p>

<p>University of Wisconsin – Superior (Superior, Wisconsin)
• Comprehensive Fee: $12,898 (in-state), $13,070 (Minnesota), $20,472 (out-of-state)
• Merit Aid: Renewable merit scholarships generally range from $1,000 to $3,000 per year</p>

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<p>I know a couple of kids at Potsdam- both with merit scholarships… One with a full scholarship (Mt Emmons) . Both are very happy there. My d is applying. Liked it alot when we visited, but will revisit this winter so she can experience the North Country winter ( which can be brutal).</p>

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<p>Will not having a science course my senior year heart my chances of admission in to the pre med at the Ivy league schools? I am taking the most demanding curriculum that my high school has and that comes up with an Ap calc course and a second math course called Discrete Math Honors along with AP English and AP European History.</p>

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<p>hudson: Evergreen State is a really great school, usually recommended for the nonconventional, unusual type of learner (similar maybe to Hampshire College). UMinn-Morris is highly touted as the “LAC” of the Minn system, but it’s definitely in a “remote” location.</p>

<p>I don’t know anything about UW-Superior. You clearly are very concerned about cost (which I respect and understand), but I don’t think the UW schools vary that much among them. Does Superior have programs that attract you? Otherwise I can certainly give you a snapshot of many of the other campuses’ characteristics.</p>

<p>workhorse: I think you are posting on the wrong thread. You should start one of your own, probably under admissions/chances. This thread doesn’t tend to discuss applications to the Ivies.</p>

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<p>EmmyBet – I’m personally not concerned with cost, nor am I looking at any of these schools for my daughter (she is a 3.5ish student in the HS class of 2012). However, I do volunteer work with promising students from low-income families to help them with the college search and application process and over the past year I’ve collected a lot of information (including financial aid data) about schools that accept diamonds-in-the-rough. While I am quite familiar with Potsdam and MCLA, and somewhat familiar with UNC Asheville, I’ve never been to the other schools listed and the opinions of CCers are always informative.</p>

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<p>Fiona, Jordcin and others - - ever think about starting a 3.0 student thread? I suspect that even on CC a thread for B students who are taking a standard college prep curric (no APs, maybe a few honors classes) would generate a fair amount of interest.</p>

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<p>Hudson, have you explored the University of Mary Washington in VA?</p>

<p>Please tell us more about your work–I offered to set up a similar program at our HS and the guidance department insisted they gave our few low income studnets all the help they needed. I then asked them whether that help included looking for local scholarships and the result was dead silence, followed by being blown off.</p>

<p>FoolishP, I am sure you mean well, but it seems wrong to me that Fiona or Jordcin would have to set up a separate 3.0 thread in place of a 3.0-3.3 thread. I think their issue is that kids with UW 3.0-3.3’s who take a lot of honors or APs are really 3.5-3.8 kids. If anyone is on the wrong thread, it is not them. I believe Emmybet’s response was excellent.</p>

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<p>hudson - that’s a great thing you’re doing. Best wishes! Are the students from all over the country? I guess I’m wondering if a low-income kid is going to benefit from low tuition and scholarships when there are high travel costs. But in the midwest there are some real gems with very reasonable financial offerings. Keep asking, maybe with more specifics about locations, programs, etc. I’ll try to help all I can.</p>

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<p>Thanks EmmyBet. The kids I work with all live in the Hudson Valley, but many of them have family in the south. A few even have links to the midwest, so I try to gather as much information as I can from around the country. </p>

<p>yabeyabe2 – I looked at UMW with my older daughter as a more accessible back-up to William & Mary. In the end she only applied to William & Mary – probably for sentimental reasons as the other schools she applied to were LACs. UMW is primarily an undergraduate institution and has something of a LACish feel to it, but I didn’t put it on my list above because of its size (5,400 students). Also, only 22% of enrolled students, according to the latest Common Data Set, had a HS GPA of 3.24 or below, so while B students are admitted it is anything but a sure bet. Nice medium-sized school though.</p>